The $300 Million Heavy Duty Armor Surprise Inside This Chevy Suburban
While primarily known for its affordable cars, trucks, and popular vehicles like the Corvette, Silverado, and Camaro, many people seem to be oblivious that Chevrolet has also been making military-focused vehicles for a long time. In fact, the company even has a dedicated subsidiary — GM Defense LLC — that has specialized in these vehicles since the late '50s.
This very subsidiary is in the news now after the U.S. Department of State has awarded the contract to manufacture the next generation of Heavy-Duty armored Sport Utility Vehicles to the company. The contract — worth $300 million — would primarily involve the delivery of an armored version of Chevrolet's popular SUV, the Chevrolet Suburban, to the U.S. Department of State. The development comes several months after GM Defense LLC delivered a handful of prototype vehicles to the U.S. government, which were tested and evaluated for an extended period.
It is pertinent to note that General Motors doesn't officially call this vehicle the Chevy Suburban — and for good reason. Unlike previous generations of armored vehicles that were heavily modified versions of normal, everyday cars, the new Heavy-Duty armored Sport Utility Vehicle (HD SUV) is built from the ground up as an armored vehicle.
What's inside GM's armored Chevrolet Suburban?
While there is no denying that the new Heavy-Duty armored Sport Utility Vehicle from General Motors looks like any other Chevy Suburban, GM claims it was manufactured using a completely new process. It stands out from the competition because the HD SUV's protective armor is incorporated into the vehicle right from the design and manufacturing stages. GM asserts that this process is superior and more efficient than the current norm of tearing down roadgoing vehicles and turning them into armored beasts.
In the case of General Motors' HD SUV, GM also had to strengthen its chassis and suspension to compensate for the additional weight the protective armor brings. While GM Defense is mum about performance figures, it is already given that it would be way more powerful than the stock Chevy Suburban. It's rumored that this vehicle could get GM's tried and tested 6.2-liter V8 engine that belts 460 lb-ft of torque and 420 hp of sheer power.
Despite the change in internals, the GM HD SUV will still share many of its parts with the normal, roadgoing versions of the Chevrolet Suburban — including crucial parts like the external body, interiors, and brakes. In theory, this could bring down the vehicle's maintenance cost significantly.
Regular production of GM's HD SUV is likely to commence in 2024, just in time for the arrival of the regular, roadgoing 2025 Chevrolet Suburban.