Photo: Chevrolet
General Motors has recently delivered the first Infantry Squad Vehicle to the U.S. Army, an all-terrain troop carrier based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2. During the announcement, Global Product Programs vice president Tim Herrick let it slip that the heavy-duty Suburban may be returning to the golden bowtie’s lineup.
“I understand what it takes to make a light-duty truck, a heavy-duty truck, an SUV, make them all together architecturally work, and then expand that architecture, whether it’s putting batteries in or different engines and the like.” According to GM Authority, the official has also hinted where this project may be going in the future.
“Expanding the architecture architecturally would be great. And with that, then you bring, maybe a heavy-duty Suburban.” That would be an interesting addition indeed, more so if you remember that three-quarter and one-ton SUVs are extinct these days.
General Motors stopped producing the Suburban HD at the end of 2018 when the 3500 was available exclusively as a fleet vehicle. Then priced at $80,215 or $30,000 more than the half-ton model, the beefiest Suburban of that era came standard with a 6.0-liter V8 gasoline engine rated at 360 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque.
Based on the K2 platform like all other Suburbans from the previous gen, the heavy-duty specification trades ride quality for a substantially greater payload capacity. 4,405 pounds compared to 1,670 pounds, that is, translating to a gross vehicle weight rating of 11,000 pounds (4,900 kilograms). Why does GVWR matter so much, you may ask? Well, it certainly does if you want to armor the Suburban 3500HD.
In addition to state and local government entities, this version of the full-size SUV was also offered for commercial fleets as a police or fire emergency response vehicle. Except for Herrick’s hint, it’s important to highlight that General Motors hasn’t confirmed if the one-ton SUV will return on the T1 platform introduced in 2018.
If it would come back with modern underpinnings, the Suburban 3500HD may be offered with the 6.6-liter V8 and heavy-duty automatic transmission of the Silverado HD. 401 horsepower and 464 pound-feet of torque on tap are more than adequate for this application. Alternatively, General Motors may offer the Duramax turbo diesel engine.
“Expanding the architecture architecturally would be great. And with that, then you bring, maybe a heavy-duty Suburban.” That would be an interesting addition indeed, more so if you remember that three-quarter and one-ton SUVs are extinct these days.
General Motors stopped producing the Suburban HD at the end of 2018 when the 3500 was available exclusively as a fleet vehicle. Then priced at $80,215 or $30,000 more than the half-ton model, the beefiest Suburban of that era came standard with a 6.0-liter V8 gasoline engine rated at 360 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque.
Based on the K2 platform like all other Suburbans from the previous gen, the heavy-duty specification trades ride quality for a substantially greater payload capacity. 4,405 pounds compared to 1,670 pounds, that is, translating to a gross vehicle weight rating of 11,000 pounds (4,900 kilograms). Why does GVWR matter so much, you may ask? Well, it certainly does if you want to armor the Suburban 3500HD.
In addition to state and local government entities, this version of the full-size SUV was also offered for commercial fleets as a police or fire emergency response vehicle. Except for Herrick’s hint, it’s important to highlight that General Motors hasn’t confirmed if the one-ton SUV will return on the T1 platform introduced in 2018.
If it would come back with modern underpinnings, the Suburban 3500HD may be offered with the 6.6-liter V8 and heavy-duty automatic transmission of the Silverado HD. 401 horsepower and 464 pound-feet of torque on tap are more than adequate for this application. Alternatively, General Motors may offer the Duramax turbo diesel engine.
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