GM Defense Builds One-Off Electric ISV To Impress The Army

GM Defense has a one-off, electric version of its Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) that it refers to as the All Electric Concept Vehicle, according to GM Authority. While the name isn’t very creative, the idea behind the vehicle is fascinating because it points to a possible future for military vehicles.

The All Electric Concept Vehicle uses the General Motors eCrate electric powertrain. This consists of an electric motor making 200 horsepower (149 kilowatts) and 266 lb-ft (361 Newton-meters) of torque. There’s also a 60-kilowatt-hour, 400-volt battery, and the range is estimated at 70 to 150 miles.

For comparison, the existing version of the ISV uses a 2.8-liter Duramax four-cylinder turbodiesel engine that makes over 186 horsepower (139 kilowatts) and 369 pound-feet (500 Newton-meters). 

Oddly for an EV, the drivetrain puts the electric motor in front under the hood, but it drives the rear wheels, according to GM Authority. The system can also allegedly operate in four-wheel drive, suggesting the motor must be routing the power through a transfer case.

GM Defense also tweaks the look of the ISV by putting a pickup bed on the back, rather than the seats in the rear of the standard version. This limits the occupancy to five people, though, instead of nine. The floor of the cargo area uses the same carbon fiber as what’s available on the GMC Sierra.

“There were no requirements to build anything of the sort. However, we wanted to show our Army customer what was possible in a short amount of time. We took it off-road at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Rock City Campground on Monday, and it performed exceptionally well and did the same course as the ISV which included a steep muddy and rocky hill climb,”  GM Defense spokesperson Sonia Taylor told Motor1.com

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The US Army released a survey in November 2020 to check the availability of an electric light reconnaissance vehicle that would weigh 12,000 pounds fully loaded. “The technology is here and is coming. We’re at an inflection point with electrification,” Jeff Ryder, GM Defense’s vice president for growth and strategy told Inside Defense in a December 2020 interview. Electric vehicles are a very, very real conversation right now,” he also stated.

The version of the ISV that GM Defense supplies to the US Army uses around 90 percent off-the-shelf parts from existing vehicles, especially from the Colorado ZR2 pickup.

GM Defense has a $214.3 million military contract to build the combustion-powered ISV for the Army. The initial order is for 639 of them, but there’s an option in the contract to increase the number to 2,065 vehicles.

Source: https://www.motor1.com/news/505486/gm-defense-electric-isv-concept/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=RSS-category-concept-car