Despite reports to the contrary, the almighty V8 engine is alive and well. The Big Three US manufacturers are all committed to the format, with Stellantis recently announcing that the Hemi is coming back from the dead.

Now China is getting in on the action, with Great Wall Motors (GWM) ripping the covers off a twin-turbo, plug-in hybrid V8 at the Shanghai Motor Show. GWM’s suite of brands includes Haval, Ora, Wey, Tank and a new luxury brand dubbed Confidence Auto.

The new hybrid V8 was developed in-house over three years by GWM and runs a ‘hot vee’ configuration that sees the turbos sitting in the valley, as we’ve seen on Cadillac’s mighty Blackwing V8, BMW’s N63 and AMG’s M177 and M178 V8s.

An electric motor is sandwiched between the V8 and the transmission, a format known in the biz as a ‘P2 hybrid’. While no power outputs have been claimed, one GWM engineer described the transmission as being 1100Nm capable.

Likewise, detailed specifications are yet to be revealed, but it is confirmed that the V8 will run two fuel systems: a high-pressure system and a port-injection system, using the latter at start-up. We also saw one report that claimed the motor will boast IPX8 water resistance, allowing it to operate submerged!

And if all of that isn’t enough, the engine will also work on the Miller cycle, rather than the usual modified Atkinson cycle. Aussie car nerdlings will remember the Eunos 800 and its Miller-cycle supercharged V6 in the 1990s, and Miller-based engines have made a comeback in recent years, with the likes of VAG, LDV and GWM all employing the technology.

According to GWM’s Yang Weiqi, the new V8 has been designed to run in electric mode around town, with the ICE motor kicking in during towing or hard acceleration.

He sees this approach as a way to overcome one of the challenges of pure electric powertrains in demanding conditions: heat build-up and torque drop-off during sustained loads. “Low-speed, high-torque situations like towing or technical off-roading aren’t ideal for electric motors alone,” Yang explained. “That’s where the V8 comes in.”

While it is unconfirmed what vehicles the new V8 will be used in, the smart money is on the Tank 4×4 brand, the new premium Confidence Auto brand, and maybe a new line of full-size utes to rival the likes of Ford’s F-150.

Will we see these engines in enough numbers in Oz that they become engine-swap candidates in the future? And if so, will the sheer complexity of the design put the mockers on that? Probably, but no doubt someone will try!