The Shanhai Cannon is GWM's ultra truck

The Shanhai Cannon is GWM's premium truck offering. If you don't look at the price, the truck actually sounds quite good.

When GWM Malaysia announced that they would be launching nine cars in the next three years, we hope one of them would be this, the newly launched Shanhai Cannon pickup truck.

GWM has labelled the Shanhai pickup as their more premium truck, which we suppose will be a more upmarket product than their POER truck.

Unveiled at the recent Guangzhou Auto Show, the "new large-scale high-performance luxury pickup" will be offered in a hybridised V6 petrol or diesel engine.

The 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, which is paired to a 48V battery mild hybrid system, packs a punch, as it produces a potent 349hp and 500Nm of torque. 

The 2.4-litre diesel engine, which is also paired with a 48V battery mild hybrid system, is decent too, as it generates 181hp and nearly the same amount of torque as the petrol engine (480Nm).

Both engines are mated to a nine-speed auto and BorgWarner's famed on-demand 4WD system with front and rear diff locks. GWM also claims that the truck has a wading depth of 800mm, which altogether gives the truck some excellent off-road credentials.

To give it a good balance of ride and handling for either smooth or off roads, GWM has equipped the car with SUV-like suspension, comprising of double wishbones up front and a multi-link coil-sprung solid rear axle.

If you know your GWMs very well, then you would have probably picked up that the Cannon's front end looks similar to the GWM Tank, and the reason for that, as reported by CarExpert Australia is that "Based on GWM's off-road tank platform – understood to be close to the new Tank 300 SUV".

The rear however is typical of any pickup truck with a truck bed after the cab, but the Shanhai Cannon does come with a unique truck bed tailgate, where the door can be dropped down like a traditional truck or split in the centre like barn doors.

On the inside, the attempt to make the truck more premium is more apparent, as it can be had with a dual interior. The truck is also equipped with large 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen system, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, head-up display, panoramic sunroof and ventilated leather seats.

The truck is also packed with lots of safety systems and driver aids, as it is equipped with six airbags, AEB, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, and adaptive cruise control.

What's not so lovely is its price, as its pricing in China starts from 228,800 to 248,800 yuan (RM146k to RM159k) for the diesel, and 258,800 to 301,800 yuan (RM165k to RM193k) for the petrol.

GWM did say that the Shanhai Cannon is a premium product, so it won't be cheap. At these prices, they do rival those of Ford's Ranger, which does give you some food for thought.