With the confirmation of the Yue 7 SUV and Aion i60 crossover for South Africa, GAC’s next market entrant could well come in a from of the bakkie aimed at key legacy and other Chinese brand offerings.

Latest bakkie entrant

Called the Smilodan, the ladder-frame double cab comes in two distinct versions, the “normal” variant and the seemingly more upmarket Pro.

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Available mainly in South America, without the Pro suffix, a newly discovered post on social media has suggested the latter variant could, at some stage, be offered in South Africa.

Posted on Instagram by drivescape_ruben, the Smilodan Pro is seen as one of the attractions at GAC’s media drive held after the Beijing Motor Show in April.

Fundamentals

While details are sparse, including whether the Smilodan Pro has gone on-sale in China or not, an official brochure posed by GAC Qatar has revealed the following.

In terms of dimensions, the Smilodan Pro is listed with the following:

Length: 5 388 mm;
Wheelbase: 3 230 mm;
Height: 1 815 mm;
Width: 1 920 mm

It also indicates a ground clearance of 200 mm, payload of 820 kg regardless of the chosen engine, and a towing capacity of 2 500 kg.

Powertrain mix

On the power side, three engines are mentioned; a Mitsubishi-sourced 2.4-litre petrol, the same 2.0-litre turbo-petrol, without the hybrid system, as on the M8 luxury MPV, and a 2.8-litre Isuzu-made turbodiesel.

In terms of power, the Mitsubishi unit outputs 155kW/320Nm, which goes to the rear or all four wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox only.

*_{Brochure image shows the Smilodan Pro in what appears to be flagship Luxury guise. Picture: GAC Qatar}*

The turbocharged 2.0-litre develops 145kW/365Nm, which is also directed to the rear or all four wheels through a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic.

Finally, the Isuzu unit comes in two states of tune; 88kW/285Nm when connected to a five-speed manual gearbox and 110kW/400Nm when specified with the eight-speed automatic.

As with the pair of petrols, both the diesel can be had with rear-wheel drive or part-time four-wheel drive.

Spec sheet

As for specification, the brochure mentions two trim levels across all engine variants; two-wheel drive Elite and four-wheel drive Luxury.

For the former, noted specification is listed as the following:

LED headlights;
fabric seats;
two-speaker sound system;
LCD audio sound system;
dual front airbags;
ABS and EBD

Interestingly, all variants are noted as having 17-inch alloy wheels, but not the two-wheel drive diesel, which has 16-inch wheels.

*_{Luxury grade is fitted as standard with a 12.8-inch infotainment display. Picture: GAC Qatar}*

Reserved for Luxury versions are the following:

17-inch alloy wheels;
side-steps;
leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel;
imitation leather upholstery;
12.8-inch infotainment display;
four-speaker sound system;
reverse camera

Listed on the 2.0-litre and the higher-powered 2.8 only is Electronic Stability Control and traction control.

For the Elite, the Smilodan Pro comes ]with a black interior, while the Luxury sports a two-tone black-and-brown finish.

Colours

In total, six colours feature:

Alpine White;
Obsidian Black;
Chrome Silver;
Matte Black;
Carmine Red

Arrival?

As it stands, GAC importer, Salvador Caetano Auto, is still to officially approve the Smilodan Pro for South Africa.