√The future is retro: GWM SAR Mecha Dragon electric car revealed for China

It is a cross between an Audi RS7 and a car from RoboCop, and according to Chinese giant Great Wall, it’s the future.

If you think car design is heading down a pathway of uniformly homogenous aerodynamic blobs, the world’s largest electric vehicle market wants to disagree with you.

Meet the SAR Mecha Dragon, the latest vehicle from Chinese car giant Great Wall Motors (GWM).

At more than 5200mm long and 1950mm wide, the Mecha Dragon has a footprint larger than a Kia Carnival – and is powered by a 400kW/763Nm electric drivetrain, the ideal high-tech, long-range machine for the well-heeled futurist.

It looks like an unlicenced mashup from a computer game, that is a cross between an Audi RS7 and the 6000 SUX sedan from 1987’s RoboCop movie.

There’s a retro-inspired nose loosely akin to a 1990s Nissan 300ZX sportscar, kinks in the shoulder reminiscent of a Lamborghini Urus SUV, bolt-on fender flares, a bonnet scoop, even an aggressive rear diffuser with fake exhaust tips.

Put simply, if it transformed into a battle robot, we wouldn’t be surprised. But in a retro-future-anime way, this is the future imagined, realised for the road.

And if you think the design is out there, the technology steps even further ahead.

The Mecha Dragon is fitted with a 27-inch 4K digital dashboard, complete with an interactive voice assistant, which is represented by a friendly avatar called ‘Xiaojia’.

Using the artificial-intelligent algorithm and sensors within the cabin, the Mecha Dragon will adapt the display, lighting and other elements to provide an interactive and ‘warm’ (iGWM’s words) experience for the occupants.

Fitted with four lidar arrays, seven high-definition cameras, two surround cameras, twelve ultrasonic sensors and a precision GPS system, the Mecha Dragon is stated as being capable of high-level autonomous driving in a variety of situations.

Paired with the dual-motor setup, this gives the car a sub-3.0-second 0-100km/h claim, which is almost de rigueur for an electric car of this calibre.

It’s even advertised as having an actively insulated cabin to provide ‘deep space level quiet’.

Part of the Great Wall Motors group of companies – which includes Haval for SUVs, Ora for electric cars and Tank for four-wheel-drives – SAR (translated as Saloon) is positioned as an ultra high-end brand.

The SAR website notes seven concept showrooms dotted around China, which will open – eventually.

As despite all the images on a highly-detailed website, plus a pre-production car that was shown at the Guangzhou motor show last year, the SAR Mecha Dragon and its hyper-wackiness, is still in ‘register your interest’ phase, with no clear sign of a production model.

While the likes of the Mecha Dragon are unlikely to ever hit Australian shores, we’re keen to see how this machine evolves into a real-life doorway into tomorrow’s transportation needs.

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