- Ballet Cat keeps its looks but gets more powerful electric motors.
- GWM aims this curvy little hatchback squarely at female buyers.
- A built-in selfie camera uploads photos straight to social media.
Great Wall Motor, which prefers to go by GWM these days, builds some genuinely interesting vehicles. This is not quite one of them. The Ora Ballet Cat borrows so heavily from the original VW Beetle that you have to wonder what the people behind that car would make of it.
Originally introduced back in 2022, the Ballet Cat was one of the first models introduced under the Ora brand, and is certainly the most intriguing to look at. It looks like a swollen, classic Beetle going through an identity crisis, and as if it has been plucked straight out of the 1960s.
Read: ORA 7 Looks Like A Beetle Got Knocked Up By A Porsche
Ora has just updated the Ballet Cat for 2026, not that you’ll be able to tell from looking at it. As such, it retains the original car’s chrome front and rear bumpers, bulging wheel arches, and curvy windows. The big change is happening under the skin.
Rather than relying on an electric motor with just 169 hp, the Ballet Cat has been updated with a new 201 hp motor. According to figures released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), top speed has risen from 96 mph (155 km/h) to 112 mph (180 km/h). The battery is a lithium-iron phosphate unit, though it’s not yet clear whether it’s been upgraded like the motor.
Female-Centric Quirks
The new Ballet Cat will retain all the same odd, female-centric features as the original. These include a large vanity mirror specifically developed to help women apply make-up, small storage areas for lip gloss and foundation, and even a selfie camera that can automatically upload snaps to social media.
More: The ORA Ballet Cat’s ‘Warm Man Mode’ For That Time Of The Month Isn’t The Most Sexist Thing About It
The most bizarre feature of the Ballet Cat is the Warm Man Mode, and yes, that’s really what it is called. GWM infamously created this setting for women to use during menstruation. No, it doesn’t whisper sweet nothings to them or remind them of how beautiful they are, but rather simply turns up the climate control with a single press to help warm them up. Somehow, that made it past every meeting it needed to.
2022 GWM Ora Ballet Cat
