It’s Monterey {Car} Week, which suggests you’ll get the same old serving to of high-end hypercars and higher-end particular version luxurious automobiles. One factor we didn’t anticipate to see was a wild pickup idea that appears just like the unholy offspring of a Tesla Cybertruck and a GMC Hummer EV pickup (with perhaps a splash of Audi’s AI Path idea). However that’s what U.S. Specialty Autos and IAT Vehicle Design delivered with the “Truck Mad.”
What Is The Truck Mad Pickup?
USSV is displaying the Truck Mad on the Pebble Seaside Concours d’Magnificence. The model describes it as “a declaration of USSV’s imaginative and prescient for the subsequent period of the American pickup.” Its styling is “starship-inspired,” although we suppose they’re speaking about science-fiction starships and never Elon Musk’s crash-prone Starship. Its paint resembles a black and white cookie, with the entrance being piano black and the rear matte white. The inside is lemon-yellow. USSV believes the entire impact offers the truck a “futuristic and commanding presence.”
It’s an electrical truck. However USSV supplies few particulars past that. The model states that it constructed the truck on a “mainstream US electrical pickup platform,” however supplies no additional particulars past that. The model envisions the mattress as a “modular rear utility” that may accommodate tenting pods, cell energy stations, software modules, and different purposes. CarBuzz requested USSV for extra info, however we have but to listen to again.
The truck doesn’t have a standard inside. It includes a McLaren F1-style central driver’s seat, with passenger seating on both facet and a bench on the again for 2 extra passengers. The seats additionally pivot to face each other, making a communal lounge. Occupants entry the inside via an unlimited expanse created by rear-hinged coach doorways. There’s additionally a yoke steering equipment and driver-centered, cockpit-spanning show.
Or moderately, there’s in principle. USSV’s announcement got here with a sequence of renderings you see right here. The corporate did verify they’d a full-size prototype, however its performance is unknown right now. Now we have toes on the bottom at Monterey this week, so hopefully we will nab some footage of the prototype to see simply how far alongside it’s.
The Truck Mad Pickup Is Purportedly Heading For Manufacturing
The Truck Mad: What We Know
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Powertrain |
EV |
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Arrival Date |
2027 |
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Preliminary Manufacturing Run |
1,000 items |
USSV says it has scheduled a “pilot manufacturing” run for the Truck Mad starting in 2027. The preliminary goal is 1,000 autos per 12 months. The corporate believes that the run will “lay the inspiration” for a US market launch and an eventual IPO, which feels like they could nonetheless be determining learn how to pay for this factor. Once more, we have requested some questions. You may have solutions as quickly as we do.
In any case, that timeline appears formidable except there’s a extra sensible prototype additional alongside within the improvement cycle. The Truck Mad nonetheless seems very design-forward and concept-like. A manufacturing inside must be much more typical to fulfill US security requirements. For instance, Kia couldn’t carry related swiveling seats over to the American EV9. Rear-hinged doorways most likely wouldn’t make it to manufacturing. And our expertise with piano black interiors is not excellent in terms of protecting them clear. We’re a bit skeptical that it might work for the total entrance finish of a pickup.
The Truck Mad Is Not The Solely Electrical Pickup Prototype Floating Round
USSV is way from the one EV truck startup trying to enter the American market. Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto revealed its barebones, modular pickup prototype earlier this summer season. The model plans to make its first deliveries earlier than the tip of 2026. Telo has not confirmed a launch timeline for its quirky, cab-over-style electrical pickup. However the model does have a prototype testing on public roads.
However by selecting Pebble Seaside to debut its bonkers pickup, USSV seems to be focusing on the next finish of the market than both of these vehicles.