Three tons of steel accelerating like a sports car sounds like a marketing fairy tale. But on TANK's stand at the Chengdu Auto Show, this turned out to be no fairy tale at all — it's series production reality.
The stars of the stand are the TANK 400 Hi4-Z and TANK 500 Hi4-Z, body-on-frame plug-in hybrids whose numbers don't just edge past the ordinary versions of these models — they belong in a different league entirely. Parked modestly nearby is the TANK 300, the compact member of the family, but today isn't its day.
The Hi4-Z system pairs a longitudinally mounted 2.0-liter turbo petrol engine with two electric motors and a three-speed DHT hybrid transmission. Together they produce a combined 635 kW, or roughly 864 hp, in the TANK 400 Hi4-Z, with peak torque reaching 1,195 Nm. Here's where it gets interesting: at a curb weight of nearly 2.95 tons, this boxy off-roader sprints to 100 km/h in just 4.3 seconds — about the same pace as plenty of sports sedans that don't have to haul a ladder frame and solid axles around.
A 59.05 kWh battery pack delivers up to 200 km on electric power alone. The architecture runs on 800 volts, with fast-charging power reaching 163 kW: a 30-to-80% top-up takes roughly 15 minutes. In China, the Hi4-Z trim starts at 319,800 yuan, or roughly $44,500.
Standing next to it is the TANK 500 Hi4-Z, running essentially the same powertrain: the same 635 kW (864 hp), the same 1,195 Nm of torque. Its 59.05 kWh battery stretches to 201 km of electric range. The car itself is noticeably larger — 5,078 mm long — with a curb weight edging toward three tons.
The character of these two models couldn't be more different, and that's not just marketing talk. The TANK 500 plays the executive card: chrome trim, elaborate headlights, a leather cabin, big displays. The TANK 400 goes the other way entirely — a vertical body, an exterior spare wheel, chunky fender flares, and all-terrain tires. One dresses up for a gala. The other wades into the mud.
For the TANK brand, the Hi4-Z system has become a way to turn heavy body-on-frame off-roaders into machines with sports-car-grade acceleration, without giving up the ability to drive on electricity every day. The 400 Hi4-Z in particular stands out as a fascinating piece of engineering: on the outside, it's still the same boxy off-roader familiar from markets worldwide. Under the skin, it packs a powertrain that outguns most production sports cars. Remember that combination of numbers: nearly three tons, and 4.3 seconds to sixty.
