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Build a Jeep Gladiator 392 next? The Hummer H3T Alpha blazed the trail

The 2021 Wrangler Rubicon 392 will combine the go-anywhere capability of a Jeep's iconic off-roader with the grunt of a V8 for the first time in decades. As cool as that is, we can't help but think Jeep is missing out on a huge opportunity to pair that 470-horsepower, 6.4-liter Hemi V8 with the Wrangler's pickup cousin, the Jeep Gladiator, in the form of a Mojave 392.  Autoblog took part in a media Q&A session with Jeep ahead of the Rubicon 392's announcement in which the company's product higher-ups said that there are currently no official plans to build a 392 variant of the Gladiator pickup. But whether or not Jeep has plans, it certainly has precedent, and from our perspective, a market.  Rewind to 2008, better known as one of the worst possible years to introduce a gas-guzzling, V8-powered pickup truck. Enter the 2009 Hummer H3T Alpha, the first variant of Hummer's midsize truck/SUV hybrid to be offered with a 5.3-liter V8. The 300-horsepower small-block was an upgrade to the sturdy but relatively uninspiring 3.7-liter inline-5 that the H3 lineup had inherited from its midsize pickup platform mates.  As our Jeremy Korzeniewski noted in the Rubicon 392's introductory piece, an open-top Jeep has not been offered with an optional V8 for as long as the "Wrangler" nameplate has existed. The last Jeep 4x4 to do so was still a CJ, or civilian Jeep, and the 304 cubic-inch engine came from American Motors Corporation. Incidentally, this generation of the Wrangler is also the first to be offered in a pickup variant. Cue the beard-stroking.  Now, frankly, it's not even remotely fair to compare the H3T's powertrain offerings to the decade-newer Gladiator's, but the Hummer actually boasts a few advantages over Jeep's modern pickup. While most of the Jeep's off-road specs give it an edge, the Gladiator doesn't come close to the H3T's 30.1-degree departure angle, for instance. And in more practical terms, the stubbier H3T has other maneuverability advantages. The Gladiator has 3" of wheelbase and 5" of overall length on the H3T, and a 22.4-foot turning radius to show for it. The Hummer's? Just 18.5'.

General Motors has tried to cast Hummer in a greener light before

Rumors claim General Motors will resurrect the Hummer name on an electric pickup truck by 2022, and GM allegedly will preview the model with an ad starring basketball star LeBron James during the 2020 Super Bowl. If accurate, the move would represent a stunning 180-degree turn for a nameplate long associated with war-like gas-guzzlers. It wouldn't be the first time the automaker has tried to cast Hummer in a greener light, however. In 2004, when mass electrification looked as realistic as George Jetson's flying car, Hummer collaborated with Quantum Technologies to build a one-off H2 SUT named H2H powered by hydrogen. Engineers modified the stock H2's 6.0-liter V8 to run on compressed hydrogen stored in three carbon fiber tanks, and added a supercharger to offset the loss of power. The eight-cylinder made 180 horsepower, compared to 325 horsepower in the gasoline-powered model, and the truck's 12-pound hydrogen storage capacity gave it a 60-mile range. "The H2H was created for two purposes. It brings focus and attention to the journey to a hydrogen economy, and it will provide GM with key learnings on hydrogen storage, hydrogen delivery systems, and hydrogen refueling infrastructure development," explained Elizabeth Lowery, the company's then-vice president of environment and energy. She emphasized the H2H's experimental vocation and said there were no plans to bring it to production. Actor, then-California governor, and devout Hummer fan Arnold Schwarzenegger celebrated the H2H as a vision of the future after taking it for a spin. It didn't have much of a future, as it turns out, and it remained a prototype. Fast-forward to 2009, less than a year before Hummer shut down after the Chinese government vetoed a proposed sale to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company. General Motors teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, it had much bigger worries than Hummer's fuel economy, so the task of making a greener truck fell into the lap of suppliers. FEV and Raser joined forces to build a plug-in hybrid prototype based on the H3. Its powertrain was built around a turbocharged, 2.0-liter EcoTec engine related to the unit found in the Chevrolet HHR SS and the Pontiac Solstice GXP, among other cars. In this application, it powered a 100-kilowatt generator that zapped a 268-horsepower electric motor into motion. Output traveled through the H3's stock four-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel-drive system, including the transfer case.

SEMA 2010: Zero South Biodiesel Electric Hummer shows its guts

Zero South Biodiesel Electric Hummer - Click above for high-res image gallery
Zero South, a company that popped up at SEMA in 2008, is back again with its Biodiesel Electric Hummer. The heavily modified H1 rides on tracks at all four corners - a necessary modification, since this Hummer is designed for an expedition to the South Pole.
The trip is going to be documented by Chris Paine, who's best known for the film Who Killed the Electric Car? It was reported back in 2008 that the vehicle was going to be driven by Buzz Aldrin and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The film is called Drive Around the World and was shot in 3D. Drive Around the World is also the name of an organization that works to inspire an urge to explore while raising money for various charities. The H1 shown above is Zero South's vehicle for participating in these expeditions.