Spy Shots: 2008 HUMMER H3 SUT

This prototype is a lot more than an H3 with its rear cargo bay hacked open. It looks as if this prototype has a longer wheelbase (and is therefore longer overall) than a normal H3. Where the rear wheel well cuts into the rear door opening on today's H3 SUV, the rear doors on this H3 SUT prototype have no such intrusion. The rear wheels have been pushed farther toward the rear, allowing the rear door cutline to drop straight down to the frame rail. It appears that the extra length has been added to make the truck bed a more useful size.

 

More significant packaging changes have also taken place. On the H3 pickup, the spare tire has been moved from the tailgate, and will instead reside beneath the truck bed. And a new tail-light design - which is visible through the camouflage - suggests that this is prototype is much more than a rough mulish design study.

This isn't the first time the world has seen an H3-related pickup. In December 2003, GM unveiled the H3T Concept at the Los Angeles Auto Show to give the public an early taste of the H3's design language. That concept was strictly a two-door-pickup design, but it did have an interesting truck bed detail: a small access door in front of the rear wheel with a drop-down assist step doubling as a weather-tight storage compartment. Could such a design element be in store for the real world H3 SUT? We're not sure, but the prototype's camouflage does have an interesting seam that appears to provide zippered access to the truck bed right behind the C-pillar. It doesn't look like there is room for a meaningful access door, but some lockable storage bin is a possibility. We'll be left to speculate until we can peer behind the disguise.