The New GM 2.8-liter 4-Cylinder Diesel Engine Is at the Heart of This Mad Max ISV

Tell me this doesn't look like something out of Mad Max. (GM Defense)

Sometimes art inspires life. That was my first thought when I saw this October story in Car and Driver about GM's new Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), which looks like it would have been right at home in the storied Mad Max series. (How fun it must have been for the folks who were assigned to create all these bizarre rat rod-like contraptions for that post-apocalypse thrill-ride.)

Three companies had been given a million dollars each to develop a light-weight off-road troop carrier. Every aspect of the design had functionality as its criteria. It had to be light enough for easy dispatch from a C-130 or C-17 transport plane, as well as for sling lift by UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The nine-seat ISV also had to be strong, durable, and off-road nimble. GM Defense got the assignment.

In developing the concept, GM Defense began with a Chevy Colorado ZRT as a foundation. From there it gets exciting as they clamped a new GM 2.8 liter, 4-cylinder diesel power plant in place under the hood. Ezra Dyer reminds readers that the specs are classified, but experienced journalists have no problem sharing their hunches as regards the possibilities. Dyer knows well the Colorado this machine is based on.

Dyer also shares a little GM history as well, noting that the automaker "started building trucks for the military in 1914, sending 90 percent of its trucks to the front in World War I. More recently, in the the 1980s, they built more than 70,000 lightly militarized Blazers and Silverados: the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle (CUCV). Plenty of those are now in private hands, their naturally aspirated 6.2-liter diesels still grumbling away. So the ISV continues a long tradition of modifying GM trucks for military duty."

The contract GM Defense signed was worth $214 million for 649 vehicles. Ultimately the army is looking to acquire 2700 of these light-weight beasts. The occasion for this article in October was that the company had just deliver the first of the lot. To get the full story, plus some cool video showing off what the ISV can do, follow the link below. Looks fun.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a34518940/gm-4x4-colorado-based-military/