Arctic Trucks is a name closely associated with no-nonsense body-on-frame builds that you can take with you to the worst of wilderness, but the company has never dealt with China-made cars before – at least, not on our record. This has changed now with the unveiling of the Great Wall Wingle 7 AT35.
The Wingle 7 is a ladder-frame pickup rated for a metric ton of carried weight. It debuted four years ago and came closest to the Ford Ranger in terms of both length (5.4 meters) and exterior design.
Aftermarket additions included new fenders flared by all of 230 mm (9 inches), 17-inch wheels shod in 35-inch rubber, and reinforced, rust-protected suspension. With 180 mm (87 inches) of extra wheel span and 276 mm (10.8 inches) of ground clearance, the truck appears ready to go overlanding any day now.
The AT35 package comes with such options as a winch, extra heat insulation and an automatic engine heater. Even without these, a truck with an approach angle of 36 degrees and a departure angle of 29 degrees should be quite versatile.
Power for the model is still supplied by its stock 2.0-liter turbo diesel engine driving all four wheels with 145 PS (143 hp / 107 kW) through a six-speed manual transmission. A Borg Warner reduction gear and a rear diff lock help deliver the power to the ground.
Orders are already available in Russia and China, with the tuner saying it takes around a month to get one truck up and running (largely due to long certification procedures).