GM Gets $36.4M Government Contract for Heavy-Duty Suburbans
No, you can’t have one
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded General Motors Defense a $36.4 million contract that will involve producing 10 heavy-duty Suburban SUVs. The contract gives GM Defense exclusive rights to manufacture heavy-duty, possibly armored vehicles for use by government agencies such as the U.S. Secret Service.
General Motors will manufacture these purpose-built vehicles over the next two years using a variety of components not available to the general public, such as modified powertrains, brakes, and exterior panels. According to GM, the HD Suburban will have a new, “unique body-on-frame chassis and suspension” designed to meet the government’s many requirements.
Chevy Suburban: Capability you can count on
These requirements include higher vehicle performance, higher vehicle weight, and higher payload capacity, among other things. Though President Joe Biden plans to replace the government’s fleet of about 600,000 vehicles to zero-emission rides, this will clearly not be the case for the next generation of HD Suburban models — nor will the SUV be part of GM’s own initiative to go all-electric by 2035.
GM Defense expects to get a production contract for 200 vehicles over nine years once it has completed the initial batch of 10 HD Suburban models and is currently adopting “advanced manufacturing techniques” to “help reduce overall program costs and offer greater flexibility and responsiveness to address future customer need.”
“The Chevrolet Suburban has been an iconic name in commercial transportation since 1935,” said Steve duMont, president of GM Defense. “Our development contract win speaks to our long-standing legacy of exceeding transportation capabilities.”
The Chevy Suburban is one of the most iconic cars on the roads today, having been used as the vehicle of choice for presidents and bad guys alike in countless films. However, don’t expect to be get your hands on the GM Defense-built version for your own purposes. The HD Suburban hasn’t been available for civilian use since 2000, and it doesn’t seem as though the next-gen model will be an exception.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.