Chery Tiggo 8 Takes On the 2026 China Silk Road Rally with TTSPORT PB6 Water-Cooled Calipers

Known as the "Dakar of the East," the 2026 China Silk Road Rally rolled out of Urumqi on May 16 for 17 days and 7,500 kilometers of desert and Gobi terrain, including 3,400 kilometers of special stages — the longest and toughest edition the event has ever run. Chery's factory Tiggo 8 came out swinging, sweeping the top four spots in T1.1 pro-modified class qualifying, and the car's braking is handled by TTSPORT's PB6 water-cooled calipers: six pistons front and rear, with a built-in liquid cooling circuit built specifically for long, punishing off-road stages.

A Factory Squad Chasing the East's Toughest Rally

The rally is still underway as of this writing. After locking up the top four qualifying spots in the T1.1 pro-modified class, Chery's factory Tiggo 8 has moved into the main event, grinding through desert and Gobi "devil stages" on its stock Kunpeng 2.0T turbo engine — no power upgrades, just a car built to survive heat, sand, and mile after mile of hard braking.

The car's braking backbone is TTSPORT's PB6 water-cooled caliper package, purpose-built for off-road rally use: six pistons up front and six in back, plus an internal liquid circulation channel that keeps caliper temperatures in check when everything else is baking under the desert sun.

Front TTSPORT PB6 water-cooled six-piston caliper, mounted on the rally-spec Tiggo 8.

Rear TTSPORT PB6 water-cooled six-piston caliper, matching the front unit for balanced braking front to rear.

Chery's Zongheng brand entered the same rally with two production-based entries: the G700 luxury off-road SUV and the F700 off-road pickup, running in the T2.E production new-energy class as a real-world stress test ahead of a future run of production-spec TTSPORT brake kits.

Data from these stages is meant to feed straight back into road cars — validating a TTSPORT racing-grade brake package before it ever reaches a customer's driveway.

17 Days, 7,500 Kilometers: Every Mile Is a Braking Test

This year's route pushed the rally's difficulty to a new level:

• 7,500 total kilometers over 17 straight days, with 3,400 kilometers of special stages — the longest in the event's history
• Terrain split roughly 60% desert, 28% Gobi, and 12% gravel, with surface temperatures regularly topping 140°F (60°C)
• Long desert sprints followed by repeated hard braking on Gobi stages pile on heat load fast, the kind that causes fade, pad glazing, and caliper overheating in ordinary hardware
• Soft sand, washboard ruts, and dune fields mean constant stop-and-go and sustained heavy braking

A standard braking system pushed through cycles like this can go soft at the pedal or lose stopping power outright — and out on the Silk Road Rally, there's no shoulder to pull over on. Consistent brakes are what keep a driver, and a finish, intact.

Sand and heat are the two things every braking system on this rally has to survive, stage after stage.

Inside the TTSPORT PB6: Built for the Punishment of Off-Road Rally

The PB6 front-and-rear six-piston water-cooled caliper on the Tiggo 8 was developed specifically for long, hot, high-impact off-road stages like this one.

Symmetric Six-Piston Layout

Matching six-piston calipers front and rear spread clamping force evenly across a larger pad contact area, giving the driver a more linear pedal feel and steadier stopping power on repeated hard braking.

Built-In Liquid Cooling Circuit

A dedicated water-cooling channel and circulation path actively pulls heat out of the caliper body. That's the difference between fade creeping in on the tenth hard stop and a pedal that still feels the same as the first one.

Forged Aluminum Body, Sealed Against Sand

The caliper housing is forged from high-strength aluminum for rigidity without excess unsprung weight, and dust/sand seals keep contaminants out of the system — a must-have when the route is 60% desert.

Stock Power, Hardcore Braking — Tiggo 8 Grinds It Out

Chery's factory squad made a deliberate call this year: keep the Kunpeng 2.0T engine at stock output in the T1.1 pro-modified class and put the development budget into chassis tuning and braking safety instead.

With the top four qualifying spots already in hand, the Tiggo 8 has been working through the main event on three fronts: reliable stock power delivery, sustained braking output from the TTSPORT PB6 six-piston water-cooled calipers, and a full braking system that's shown no fade, no failures, and no red flags through the heat and sand so far.

From Rally Stage to Showroom Floor

Alongside the Tiggo 8, Zongheng's G700 and F700 production entries are running the same brutal stages, banking real-world test data that's meant to support a future rollout of TTSPORT brake kits across the production lineup — pushing rally-proven safety and control down to everyday customers.

The rally is still in progress. Here's hoping the Chery Tiggo 8 factory team and the Zongheng G700/F700 crews close out all 7,500 kilometers and 17 days safely, and add another chapter to the story of Chinese brands at the top of the Silk Road Rally.