This GWM Tank 300 is heading all the way down south to support China’s upcoming Antarctic scientific expedition.
While many who visit the southernmost regions of the world expect to see penguins and icebergs, there might soon be something rather orange to spot down there as well. Such is as GWM has recently announced that the diesel version of its Tank 300 SUV will take part in China’s next Antarctic scientific expedition, serving as a support and logistics vehicle for the research team.
According to the automaker, the Tank 300 Diesel will operate at the Great Wall Station on King George Island. This oil-burning SUV will be used down south for personnel transport, material delivery as well as field operations support.
Rather impressively, the Sino SUV heading to Antarctica is apparently a standard production vehicle without any major modifications. GWM nevertheless reports that the Tank 300 Diesel has undergone extensive durability testing, including over 14,000 hours of engine bench tests and multi-season field trials spanning the deserts of Turpan to the frozen regions of Heihe.
As part of this collaboration, the Tank 300 Diesel has been officially designated as an “Approved Vehicle for China’s Antarctic and Arctic Scientific Expeditions.” The announcement follows a formal cooperation agreement between GWM and the China Polar Research Centre (CPRC), signed at GWM’s technical centre in Baoding.
Under the agreement, both parties will jointly conduct research and testing projects for polar expedition vehicles, focusing on cold-weather validation, off-road capability, and reliability under extreme environmental stress. Notably, GWM technicians will also participate as official members of the polar expedition team for the first time.
Beyond this expedition, GWM and the CPRC plan to establish long-term collaboration mechanisms, such as shared testing platforms and data exchange on cold-weather vehicle performance. The goal is to enhance China’s capability to design and produce vehicles suited for polar research and other demanding applications.
Now in addition to the Tank 300, a fleet of Avatr 12 electric sedans will also apparently be accompanying this expedition. These will be touted as the first new energy vehicles to land in Antarctica for real-world testing in extreme environments, though it is worth noting that Nissan had previously already reached the South Pole with an equally electric Ariya a couple of years ago.
And if we’re really going back in time, the first production car to make it to the bottom of the world was actually a Scottish-made Arrol-Johnston motorcar, brought along by the famed Ernest Shackleton during his Nimrod Expedition. The more famous four-wheeler in those parts however was to be a vintage Volkswagen Beetle, with this rather excellent YouTube video documenting the history of the bug down south:
Back to the Tank 300, this Sino SUV is currently on sale in Malaysia powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that outputs 220 PS and 380 Nm of torque. Drive is sent through a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission to a dual-speed electronically controlled part-time four-wheel drive system (with selectable 2H, 4H and 4L modes). Its off-roading chops are further complemented by electronically controlled differential locks on both front and rear axles.
On the tech and comfort side, the GWM Tank 300 comes equipped with Level 2 driving assistance features, including Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), and Highway Assist (HWA). Its surprisingly plush interior is trimmed in black Nappa leather and highlighted by twin 12.3-inch digital displays with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, 64-colour ambient lighting, a nine-speaker Infinity sound system, as well as climate-controlled and massaging front seats.
This Chinese Wrangler copy currently retails in Malaysia at a rather reasonable RM 250,000. Four colour options are available locally: Dusk Orange, Fossil Grey, Crystal Black and Pearl White.
