The GAC EMPOW is every sedan lover’s dream, when it was launched here locally a couple of months ago the brand was keen on highlighting its sporting tendencies and is billed as a direct competitor to the Honda Civic Sedan.
GAC EMPOW R
Doubling down on its message of the EMPOW being a true sports sedan the brand has just unveiled an even hotter version; the EMPOW R. In essence, the EMPOW R has more aggressive race-ready looks and more power.
The overall look actually changes quite a bit from the standard EMPOW, the front fascia features a two-tier look as well as big side intakes on the sides of the bumper. It sort of looks like the Kia Forte sedan from the front but more modern, and of course, the grille gets the “R” badge.
The rear is where things take more dramatic turns, which consists of a big diffuser, and the skirts are a lot chunkier than the standard Empow. The wheels look much bigger than what the top-spec GE has, and GAC added a rear spoiler as an aero element to keep the Empow R grounded at high speeds.
Inside the GAC EMPOW R, it gets more racing-inspired materials and features like semi-bucket seats and R logos embossed on certain panels of the interior. What’s interesting are the additional gauges that display performance details such as turbo boost etc. That gauge is actually also available in the non-R EMPOWs when Sport Plus mode is unlocked.
Gone is the 1.5-liter turbo, and in its place is a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline 4 that pumps out 265 PS and 400 Nm of torque. Power is transferred to the wheels via a sport-tuned 8-speed automatic.
No exact performance benchmark figures have been released yet, but we’re already salivating at the prospect of maybe getting it here in the Philippines.
