- Recent EV brand Scout launches with Terra pickup and Traveler SUV
- Third model within the works but timing uncertain
- Scout spokesman said company open to two-door SUV with removable roof
Volkswagen Group’s latest U.S.-based rugged EV brand Scout Motors showed its first products last week in the shape of the Terra pickup truck and Traveler SUV, each inspired by the International Harvester Scout models of the identical name sold through the Seventies.
In the course of the presentation, which was held in Nashville, Scout teased a 3rd model by displaying the image of a shrouded vehicle whose silhouette resembled an SUV. A part of the vehicle’s front side section was visible, showing what seemed to be a more rugged wheel design and a more pronounced fender flare, suggesting that the vehicle could also be an extra-rugged off-roader.
Scout Traveler SUV concept
While Scout is not prepared to debate what the vehicle is perhaps, or when it would be launched, Shaheen Karimian, Scout’s head of product marketing, hinted at one possible avenue in a press release to enthusiast website The Autopian.
When asked about Scout’s decision to go for a hard and fast roof on the Traveler SUV, albeit with the selection of a glass panel or a sliding center section that opens for an airy feel, Karimian conceded that there is a subset of consumers that need a true removable roof experience, like what you get within the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco, in addition to some original Scouts.
Scout Traveler concept
He said Scout would not have been in a position to deliver a satisfactory design with a vehicle the dimensions of the brand new Traveler, but added that Scout hasn’t ruled out offering a real removable roof option in the long run on a vehicle with fewer doors and a shorter wheelbase.
“On a two row vehicle of this size, to deliver on all the opposite customer needs, the removable panels can be large, heavy, and difficult to offer a top quality experience without creating the next customer price or an impacted vehicle experience,” he told The Autopian. “Doesn’t mean we are able to’t do one in the long run, on say a vehicle with fewer doors and a shorter wheelbase.”
Scout Traveler SUV concept
Nevertheless, given the low take rates of the two-door Wranglers and Broncos, it’s greater than likely whatever Scout is planning for its third model will still be an SUV with 4 doors and a hard and fast roof. It’s still nice to dream, though.
Reservations for the brand new Scouts are already being accepted and pricing has been confirmed by the corporate to start out below $60,000 for each models. Range on electric power alone shall be over 350 miles but a variety extender, on this case a gas engine, shall be available and can take total range as much as greater than 500 miles. Production will start in 2027 at a plant in South Carolina.
This Article First Appeared At www.motorauthority.com
