Tank 300 Hook Road: China's extreme off-roader rolls out 40-inch tires from the factory
Great Wall Motors has unveiled the Tank 300 Hook Road, an extreme off-road variant that goes well beyond a cosmetic upgrade. The company fitted it with solid front and rear axles and factory-mounted 40-inch tires — a spec that no major US or European off-roader matches at production level. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and Ford Bronco Raptor top out at 35–37 inches from the factory, and hitting 40 inches typically means an aftermarket lift kit and a voided warranty.
The hardware
The standard Tank 300 uses a double-wishbone independent front suspension. The Hook Road throws that out and replaces both axles with solid-axle setups — the same architecture that dedicated rock crawlers have relied on for decades. Solid axles flex more predictably over uneven terrain and handle the stress of large tires far better than independent setups.
To fit those 40-inch tires cleanly, engineers also moved the front axle forward, lengthening the dash-to-axle ratio. That improves approach angle and articulation — two numbers that matter more than horsepower when you're picking a line up a rock face.
Tank 300 Hook Road on rough terrain. Illustration: GWM
The powertrain and the testing claim
The engine stays the same as the standard model: a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder producing 231 hp and 400 Nm of torque. That's a modest output for tyres this size, and GWM doesn't appear to have retuned the drivetrain to compensate. Pre-orders are already open in China, though full specifications haven't been published yet.
Before production, GWM handed the Hook Road to experienced off-road enthusiasts for testing in the Helan Mountains. The brand also claims the vehicle became the first Chinese SUV to complete the Red Top section of the Hook Road trail in the Gobi Desert. Tank brand head Gu Yukun put the philosophy plainly: extreme off-roaders should be shaped by enthusiasts, not just engineers.
Worth watching
The Hook Road appears to be a China-market announcement for now. There is no confirmed timeline for US, UK, or broader export sales, and 40-inch tires face additional certification hurdles under EU and UK road regulations. For buyers in the US and UK, the vehicle is worth tracking — but there's nothing to order yet, and no pricing has been released.
GWM's approach mirrors what Chinese EV brands have done with software: use community feedback loops to iterate quickly, then present the result as a validated product. Whether that holds up over long-term off-road use is a question the Hook Road will eventually have to answer outside a press release.