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The five-door Ora Cat might look a bit like a stretched classic Beetle, but there’s an electric powertrain under the throwback panelling
The Great Wall Motors (GWM) Ora Cat small electric car will gain new Punk Cat and Ballet Cat variants in March, with both editions of the EV wearing distinctive styling when compared to the standard car that remains under consideration for an Australian launch.
If the shape of the new Ora Cat variants looks familiar, that’s because the silhouette of the small EVs is arguably similar to a classic Volkswagen Beetle.
Volkswagen is investigating the new GWM model, with the German giant telling automotive publication Carscoops that it “reserves the right to take any necessary legal steps”.
Mooted legal action does not appear to be holding GWM back from releasing the Ora Cat and its special versions in China. The first images of the Punk Cat and Ballet Cat variants emerged in April 2021 after the car was initially unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show.
So how do you tell apart the Ballet from the Punk?
The easiest way is to look at the headlights. The Ballet model has horse-shoe shaped headlights while the Punk has circular headlights.
The GWM Ora Ballet and Punk Cat measures in at 4401mm long, 1880mm wide, 1633mm tall with a 2750mm wheelbase.
That is much longer, wider and taller than the original Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle which was 4079mm long, 1539mm wide and weighed just 840kg. To compare to a modern car, the Toyota Corolla hatchback isn’t far off the size of the Ora Punk/Ballet Cat, measuring in at 4375mm long, 1790mm wide and 1435mm tall.
Both Ora Cats will weigh a not insignificant 1780kg and will be powered by a front- mounted electric motor which will produce 126kW of power and 250Nm of torque. Top speed is rated at 155km/h.
A 59kWh lithium-ion battery pack will help give the car a range of around 500km.
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