Jeep Gladiator Extreme Military-Grade Truck Concept

via Motor 1.

The company behind the Humvee is looking to take the Gladiator into battle.

The Jeep Gladiator Extreme Military-Grade Truck Concept comes from the cooperation between AM General, maker of the Humvee, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as the idea for a new light tactical vehicle. The current version imagines the pickup as functioning for military communications work, but AM General could develop variants to meet a customer's specific needs, including as a transporter or for command and control duties. The rig makes its debut at the Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Association of the U.S. Army.

"This new venture gives us an opportunity to showcase our expertise in light tactical vehicles and help FCA maximize the Gladiator's global reach and potentially enter new military markets," AM General President and CEO Andy Hove said about the concept in the truck's announcement.

AM General doesn't provide much detail about what it does to make the Gladiator XMT ready to fight. The firm only says that it adds "custom-built and commercially available military-grade parts" to improve the Jeep's capability. The company would offer it with gasoline and diesel engine options.

AM General is clear that this concept only exists to gauge customer interest and gather feedback for now. Until a client arrives to commission a production version, don't expect to see these Jeeps on the battlefield. The company could be ready to put this military-grade Gladiator as soon as the second half of 2020 if the orders come.

While not a military-grade truck, there are spy shots suggesting that Jeep is developing a high-performance Gladiator called the Hercules. It features a heavily revised hood for covering the higher-output engine. Rumors suggest the powerplant's output is around 500 horsepower (373 kilowatts).