Instead of an affordable, off-road-ready SUV, GMC gave us the six-figure Hummer EV.
GM fans may have been robbed of potentially one of the coolest SUVs on the market. According to GM Authority, back in 2017 there were plans to make a GMC Jimmy, something that would rival today’s Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler. Not only that, though, it would have come with a V8 option.
Sources close to GM Authority claim that a reborn GMC Jimmy was to be built on a modified version of the Chevy Colorado’s and GMC Canyon’s 31xx chassis, dubbed the 32xx. Since GMC was planning a V8 engine option, it required chassis modifications from the 31xx, which made it slightly unique. More importantly, those chassis changes made it too expensive for GM to build a Chevy version, so it would have been a GMC-exclusive. It also would have been completely different from the Chevy Blazer of today, which is a front-wheel-drive-based crossover.
The Jimmy’s base engine reportedly would have been GM’s 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder “TurboMax” engine, which would have helped it start at around $40,000. However, a V8 version would have separated itself from its competitors. Admittedly, the Jeep Wrangler 392 currently packs a V8 engine but that didn’t exist at the time. The Jimmy would have been first to bring eight cylinders to the segment. And maybe if the Jimmy V8 existed, Ford may have opted to put a V8 of its own in the Bronco Raptor, rather than its twin-turbo V6.
GMC Canyon ATX4 AEV | GMC
Unfortunately, GM decided to scrap the GMC Jimmy, and the 32xx chassis, as automation and electrification became a larger priority. GMC did end up bringing a powerful, albeit drastically different off-roader to market—the Hummer EV. So instead of a reasonably priced off-roader, with a V8 option and mass-market appeal, we now have a 9,000-pound electric SUV with 1,000 horsepower and a six-figure price tag that very few people can afford.
GM does offer the Chevy Colorado Bison and GMC Canyon AT4X, which provide off-road capability and big power at reasonable prices but both are pickups—which aren’t as practical everyday as a Jimmy would have been—and neither have V8s. I think it’s safe to say that a GMC Jimmy reboot—with GM’s current truck design language, off-road capability, and an optional V8 engine—would be a big hit among GM fans. If this report is true, GM faithful are going to be cursing the Hummer EV for taking the Jimmy away from them.
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