2026 Tank 800: GWM to hunt luxury SUVs in Australia with new V8-powered flagship

GWM has a new flagship off-road SUV in development and the Tank 800 is locked in for Australia, where it’s set to become one of the most expensive Chinese models on sale.

CarExpert spied a prototype of the Tank 800 in Baoding, China, where GWM’s headquarters are located.

“We will see it next year,” GWM Australia product planning manager Tim Leong told Australian media in Baoding. The vehicle is expected to be revealed in production guise this year ahead of its 2027 local launch.

“[It’s] going to be V8… It will be on its own platform, bigger [than the Tank 700].”

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The Tank 800 is not the only flagship SUV that GWM is introducing, with the full-size Wey V9X revealed at this month’s Beijing motor show and riding a new unibody platform.

CarExpert understands it will be built in right-hand drive and the official word on the V9X is that it’s under consideration for our market.

GWM is planning to offer a range of premium vehicles in Australia under its Wey sub-brand, which will debut this year with the Gaoshan/G9 people mover.

The Tank 800 has been in development for some time now, and this prototype appears similar to a vehicle spied early in 2024. The flagship SUV was first revealed in concept guise in 2021.

GWM is working on a pair of V8 engines, one for a supercar currently referred to as the GF, and the other for use in the Tank 700 and larger models.

That may include a full-size pickup to take on American rivals like the Ram 1500. GWM confirmed in 2025 that this model had been in development and planned for a US market entry, before those plans were paused. It’s unclear if development has resumed.

“Just like Tank 500 and Cannon Alpha shares the front-end, the Tank 800 has the capability of doing the same,” said Mr Leong.

By offering a V8 engine, the Tank 800 will have a leg up on the Toyota LandCruiser and Lexus LX, which no longer have V8s under their bonnets, as well as the Nissan Patrol which will soon lose its V8 in favour of a twin-turbo petrol V6 as it changes over to the new Y63 generation.

This new petrol V8 is brand-new and not related to any of GWM’s four- or six-cylinder engines.

It’ll have a ‘hot vee’ configuration, with two identically sized turbos located in the middle between the cylinder-heads, and a 6000rpm redline.

The V8 will also support hybrid and plug-in hybrid systems to help keep emissions down, something particularly important in Australia where CO2 targets under the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) will continue to get more stringent each year.

As the Tank 800 will ride on a larger ladder-frame platform than the Tank 700 – the current Tank flagship, which rides on its own platform – it’s expected to be a properly full-sized SUV with three rows of seating.

The five-seat Tank 700 measures 5105mm long, 2061mm wide and 1985mm tall on a 3000mm wheelbase, making it larger in every dimension than the LandCruiser, which measures up to 5015mm long, 2000mm wide and 1950mm tall on a 2850mm wheelbase.

A stretched version of the Tank 700 has also been spied, and it’s also expected to offer a third row of seating.

GWM’s most expensive Tank-badged model in Australia presently is the Tank 500, which tops out at $76,990 drive-away in Ultra PHEV guise.

The Tank 800 could therefore wear a price tag north of $100,000, which would make it among the most expensive models in Australia from a Chinese brand.

Currently, the priciest Chinese-brand models are the MG Cyberster electric roadster, the Denza B8 plug-in hybrid large SUV and the Zeekr 009 electric people mover, which top out at $115,000, $97,990 and $139,900 before on-road costs, respectively.

For context, the Nissan Patrol currently tops out at $110,660 before on-roads, and the LandCruiser 300 Series at $147,910.

GWM established its Tank brand in 2021, after initially revealing its debut model – the Tank 300 – under its existing Wey premium marque. It exclusively offers large, body-on-frame off-road SUVs, with a choice of petrol, diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains.

As with all GWM brands, its models are sold under the GWM banner in Australia. The Tank 300 and Tank 500 are currently the only Tank models offered in Australia so far, but GWM is weighing the Tank 400 and Tank 700 for our market.

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