GAC’s Hyptec SSR Baja concept turns electric hypercar into a desert racer

This is the GAC Hyptec SSR Baja concept, an electric supercar that’s also a Dakar rally car.

Inspired by the world’s most famous desert race, the SSR Baja is, for now, just a concept.

But it’s certainly a promising concept.

And there’s one more reason why we should celebrate this.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

The SSR Baja is a striking concept, and finally, it also has a cool name

Chinese automakers occasionally pick cumbersome names for their vehicles, but they’re clearly getting better at this.

SSR Baja sounds a lot better than, say, Dongfeng M-Hero M817 or YangWang U9.

Levity aside, the Hyptec SSR Baja, a tribute to Baja California, by the way, is a Dakar rally racer, but also an electric supercar.

Visually, it looks like a supercar with increased ride height and off-road tires.

The interior looks snazzy, with Mexican serape seats, an exposed white carbon frame that also doubles as a roll cage, and pink straps instead of side windows.

Now, that’s a first.

But the best part, by far, is Mr. Pincho.

This is apparently the first concept car that comes with its own gadgets and mascots.

There’s EVNONOIL, a play on Pennzoil’s Liberty Bell logo, and Mr. Pincho, a cactus mascot.

Outstanding.

GAC, the company that built this, didn’t provide too many details about the car, but it’s supposed to be based on the Aion Hyper SSR, which puts out 1,224hp.

The bad news is this is just a concept vehicle, but there’s one reason why there’s still hope.

The reason why GAC might actually end up building this

Vehicles like this – halfway between a supercar and a Dakar rally car – used to remain confined to archives and museums.

But, in recent years, automakers have begun putting these fascinating vehicles into production.

Porsche did it with the 911 Dakar, and Lamborghini also did it with the Huracán Sterrato.

Even Morgan did it with the Plus Four CX-T, which is basically a ‘regular’ sports car fitted with some overland features such as extra roof lights and spare wheels at the back.

Chinese automakers have been showing some pretty spectacular executional capabilities recently.

Xiaomi, for example, went from tech company to automaker in a couple of years.

With that in mind, a production SSR Baja is probably on the cards.