Following the initial teaser pics released last week, GWM’s sub-brand Ora pulled the covers off its new battery-powered hatchback that takes unashamed inspiration from the original Volkswagen Beetle. This is the Ora Punk Cat.
Although it might not have been the outright star of the Shanghai Auto Show this week, we doubt that any car there actually turned as many heads as this one did. We also know its name now, with Ora having settled on Punk Cat following an online vote. Apparently Cat is a common naming convention for the Chinese carmaker, which also offers a more conventional looking compact hatch called the Cool Cat.
The Ora Punk Cat’s exterior design might be unashamedly Beetle, but it has evolved into a five-door format to meet modern expectations regarding practicality, and it’s a lot more luxurious than you’d expect from a reincarnated Beetle.
The cabin, for instance, is bathed in leather and soft-touch surfaces and there are plenty of sparkly surfaces, including gold and crystal inspired trim pieces. The cabin design is certainly a more lavish interpretation of the original Beetle’s cockpit, but it does appear to meet all the modern needs with a wide LCD touchscreen taking pride of place in the centre of the dashboard.
Chinese media outlets are reporting that the Ora Punk Cat will go on sale in that market around the fourth quarter of this year, although it remains to be seen whether other world markets will get to enjoy this retro creation.
Ora has yet to release any technical information about this car, but we do know that it will be battery-powered. Paultan says that the car is likely to offer a similar drivetrain with the aforementioned Cool Cat, which boasts 107 kW and a range of between 400 km and 500 km between charges.
