Mazda Philippines is raising awareness to the plight of a critically endangered species by launching a special edition BT-50 pickup truck: the BT-50 Pangolin. Endemic to the islands of Palawan, the pangolin is the world’s most trafficked mammal. Like the modest but capable animal that it derives its name from, the BT-50 Pangolin features design enhancements that ensure long, versatile, and steady service matching the gentle tenacity of its namesake.
Based on the top-of-the-line 4×4, the BT-50 Pangolin rides on 17-inch Rota Reece Reloaded wheels. Featuring a customized offset, these wheels were chosen to reinforce the pickup truck’s generous 237mm ground clearance and class-leading 800mm water wading capability. Together with the fender wheel arch extensions, it creates a wider, more powerful stance for the special edition pickup truck.
Other exterior changes to the BT-50 Pangolin include the functional, lightweight aluminum black matte finished roof rack and basket, tubular sports bar, and tubular stepboards. Further differentiating it from regular BT-50s, all the exterior chrome bits—grille, door handles, side mirrors, and rear bumper are now color-coordinated to match the rest of the body.
The BT-50 Pangolin continues to be a strong and capable work vehicle. Aside from its class-leading water-wading capability, its best-in-class engine displacement—a 3.2-liter inline-5 brings out 200hp and 470Nm of torque. Mated to a six-speed automatic and a part-time 4×4 system with low-range gear and Hill Descent Control, it can carry up to 1,086 kilograms of payload and tow up to 3,500 kilograms.
Like the BT-50 4×4, the BT-50 Pangolin comes equipped with a seven-inch touchscreen JVC infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also features a black leather steering wheel, matched with black leather seats for a functional, yet elegant cabin.
Best of all, ensuring a worry-free ownership experience, the BT-50 Pangolin, like all other Mazdas, come with a Five-Year Free Service Plan that covers PMS (parts and labor) over a period of five years or 100,000 kilometers, whichever comes first.
“The BT-50 Pangolin is Mazda Philippines’ way to acknowledge our important role in preserving the delicate balance of our environment as we go about our daily lives,” shares Mazda Philippines president and CEO, Steven Tan.
“The Philippine Pangolin is an endemic and critically endangered species that deserves our attention and concern. Like the BT-50, it is a reserved, yet highly proficient, hard worker. That is why together with Katala Foundation, a non-stock, non-profit Philippine NGO that is active in protecting and conserving threatened endemic wildlife, we at Mazda Philippines will make use of the enduring nature of the BT-50 to promote awareness and inspire conservation of one the Philippines’, and the world’s, most critically endangered mammals.”
Adding credence to its advocacy, Mazda Philippines is lending a BT-50 Pangolin to the Katala Foundation for one year. With Mazda’s support, the NGO will make use of the BT-50 Pangolin to promote its wildlife protection advocacies and perform its preservation and monitoring duties.
The 2020 Mazda BT-50 Pangolin is available in six colors: Cool White, Titanium Flash, True Red, Jet Black, Aluminum Metallic, and Deep Crystal Blue and comes with a special introductory price of P 1.4 million—a reduction of P 150,000 from the regular BT-50’s P 1.550-million suggested retail price.
