The US Army's Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) has a potentially lifesaving option called "Combat Mode"

 

via GM Authority

Among the many intriguing things about the Chevy Colorado ZR2-based GM Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) is a feature called Combat Mode, which is designed to give soldiers the best chance to get out of a critical situation and to save their lives.

Essentially, Combat Mode keeps the vehicle running when other safety systems are trying to shut it down.

“On the ISV, we kept alive a lot of systems from the production model [Colorado ZR2], like if it overheats and what you would consider limp home mode and things of that nature,” Mark Dickens, architectural chief engineer for GM Defense, explained during a recent interview with GM Authority executive editor, Alex Luft.

“But say you‘re in battle and you take a bullet, and the vehicle is trying to save itself but you need to get out of harm‘s way. You have the ability to switch on Combat Mode, and it overrides all that. In that same timeframe, we also give it a 25 horsepower boost, letting the soldier get out of there quickly, bringing the total output [of the 2.8L LWN I-4 turbo-diesel Duramax engine] to 300 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque.”

It seems counter-intuitive at first that a powertrain that may be very close to failure is suddenly expected to deal with more power than ever before. In a civilian situation, this would be a disaster, almost certainly leading to stranded occupants and very expensive repairs. For soldiers, it could be life-saving, even if the powertrain survives for only a few more minutes.

“The transmission is where a lot of the limp mode home mode stuff happens,” Dickens explained. “Combat Mode overrides all that and says, too bad, we gotta get out of here, the transmission will get changed later.” And perhaps the engine too.

Up to 70 percent of the GM Defense ISV is based on the Chevy Colorado ZR2. In fact, Dickens previously explained that the ISV is essentially a Colorado ZR2 “from the waist down.” The remaining 30 percent includes an open-cockpit design with a chrome-moly steel exoskeleton, seating for up to nine passengers, a Live Gauges C127 digital gauge cluster, Chevrolet Performance off-road racing components and special tuning of the MultiMatic Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) dampers.

Pricing per vehicle has not been revealed, but the U.S. Army awarded GM a $214.3 million contract for an initial Army Procurement Objective of 649 units plus necessary support. Overall, the Army has an acquisition objective of 2,065 vehicles for the Infantry Brigade Combat Teams.

Good luck keeping those racing components from growing legs and walking out the motor pool.  Chevy guys are gonna have a field day!