Jetour is gearing up for an adventure with a concept vehicle that will not only take you beyond any road but do so without adding any fossil-fuel-driven guilt. Well, at least that is the idea behind the Jetour T-3 Concept that was unveiled at Auto Shanghai 2023.
Built on top of Jetour’s new Kunlun multiple new energy platform, the T-3 Concept embodies the Chinese brand’s Travel+ strategy. Designed to maximize the interaction between people, vehicles, and scenarios, the Jetour T-3 Concept is set to deliver maximum enjoyment and performance.
But enough of the fluff; let’s appreciate what Jetour has presented here.
An unapologetic lovechild
The design resembles a fusion between a Toyota FJ Cruiser (Specs | News) and the Land Rover Defender. With its suicide rear doors, you can’t unsee it now. It comes as no surprise, too, as Chery, Jetour’s parent company, has an existing joint venture collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover in China. You could almost fault the British brand for lagging behind Chery in releasing a BEV version of its Defender.
Despite the obvious references, Jetour did envision this concept as a Battery Electric Vehicle with front and rear dual motors.
Measuring 5.3 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 1.9 meters high, the T-3 Concept also features a 3-meter-long wheelbase. The space inside is quite impressive as well. Lined with Alcantara fabric, it houses sport seats, a floating center console, digital displays on the doors and the instrument cluster, and event left and right-side panoramic sunroofs.
Decked with accessories and paraphernalia any serious off-roader would take to a trail or campsite, the T-3 Concept is geared up for hardcore adventure and is built for one too.
Hardcore to the hilt
The body-on-frame structure is intended for complex off-road conditions. A dual motor with intelligent vector control governs its performance. Rated with a maximum speed of 22,000 rpm, each motor peaks at 250kW, with torque at 400 Nm. This gives the T-3 Concept a total of 1,300 HP at its disposal.
While the T-3 Concept can negotiate a 100% slope or 45-degree angle, like the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon or a Rivian R1S EV pickup. It can also do 100 km/h on a flat road in three seconds. Imagine that for an off-roader.
As a product of 2023, the T-3 Concept has AI scene recognition which identifies the kind of terrain ahead and sets the vehicle up to tackle it appropriately. Oh, it comes with a drone, too, you know, to extend the vehicle’s line of sight.
With ride height adjustable suspension, the T-3 Concept can increase the approach and departure angles from 30 to 35 degrees and even its ground clearance from 220mm to 360mm.
And it’s not only with climbing hills and rock formations that the T-3 Concept was designed for. Like any serious off-roader, it can also ford river-crossings with its IP68 waterproof sealing.
But as its coup-de-grace, the T3-Concept can turn in a dime. With the ability to have its rear wheels turn by as much as 6 degrees, this Jetour can maneuver in and out of tight hairpins and trails.
And with each of its wheels able to change direction independently, because it is, after all, a dual motor-electric motor setup, the T-3 Concept is designed to make an on-the-spot U-turn. Imagine being in a small campsite with no space for a multi-point turn. The T-3 Concept should get you out of that bind by doing a Lazy Susan about-face.
With its envisioned 1,400-kilometer range in Extended Range EV form, and the ability to fast charge at 800 Volts, there seems to be no location that’s too far away to enjoy the wilderness with the T-3 Concept.
Show us the money
All that remains now is for Jetour to see it through production. According to Chuandeng Ke, Vice General Manager of Jetour Auto in China, the T-3 will hit the assembly line by early 2024. As to how much of the concept truck will make it into reality, and if it will make it here in the Philippines, we will have to wait for another round of product releases closer to Job 1, or the start of production, for more information.
Is an all-electric off-roader something you can get on board on?
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Source: The Jetour T-3 Concept is a bonkers EV SUV, and it’s made in China