GWM's Retro Ora Ballet Cat Gets A Power Bump, Oddball Gadgets Untouched

Great Wall Motor doesn't lack for ambition, but the Ora Ballet Cat has always stood out as its weirdest creation. First launched in 2022 under GWM's Ora sub-brand, the little EV wears a design so close to the classic Volkswagen Beetle that it practically dares anyone to notice. Picture a rounded, bug-eyed shape with chrome bumpers and bulbous fenders, as if someone airlifted a 1960s Beetle straight into a modern Chinese showroom.

For 2026, Ora has quietly refreshed the Ballet Cat, though you'd struggle to spot any exterior differences. The chrome trim, curvy glasshouse, and swollen wheel arches all carry over untouched. Instead, the real update lives beneath the retro shell, where GWM has swapped in a punchier electric motor to give the little EV some actual urgency. The outgoing version made do with a modest 169 horsepower, but the updated Ballet Cat now packs 201 hp. That extra output translates into a notable jump in top speed, climbing from 96 mph to 112 mph according to figures logged with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It's still no performance machine, but the added shove should make everyday driving feel noticeably less sluggish. GWM hasn't confirmed whether the lithium-iron phosphate battery pack received any changes alongside the motor, so range figures for the refreshed model remain a question mark for now. What hasn't changed is the Ballet Cat's collection of features aimed squarely at female buyers, some of which read more like novelty add-ons than genuine improvements. There's still a supersized vanity mirror built for touch-ups, dedicated cubbies sized for lip gloss and foundation compacts, and a built-in selfie camera that can post photos straight to social media without needing a phone. Then there's the feature that put the Ballet Cat on the map for reasons GWM probably didn't intend: Warm Man Mode. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with romance. It's a single-button climate shortcut designed to crank up cabin heat for women dealing with menstrual cramps. It's a strange feature to advertise, let alone name that way, yet it somehow survived every internal review needed to reach production, and it's sticking around for this update too. Whether buyers care more about the extra horsepower or the retro charm remains to be seen, but the 2026 Ballet Cat proves GWM isn't backing away from either its throwback styling or its unconventional feature list. For a market as competitive as China's EV segment, standing out however you can still counts for something.