General Motors is reportedly planning to take on the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler with a rugged body-on off-road SUV – and, unlike the Ford, could offer a V8 engine.
GM Authority Reported that development started again on April 1st GMC Jimmy Revival after the project was canceled back in November 2018.
The discontinued Jimmy was reportedly developed alongside the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models with which it would share its platform, and was intended for V8 power.
However, GM has reportedly halted development to focus on investing in electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous vehicles (AVs), and in the face of increasingly stringent emissions regulations.
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But the U.S. auto market has changed rapidly since President Donald Trump took office again in 2025, as relaxed emissions rules and the end of federal incentives for electric vehicles led to the discontinuation of a number of battery-powered models.
In the last 12 months alone, the list includes vehicles such as the Acura ZDX, BMW iX and Nissan Ariya, while the Ford F-150 Lightning is being replaced by a range-extended electric vehicle (EREV) and various models such as the Volkswagen ID. Buzz and Jeep Wagoneer S are taking a break for a model year.
Now that emissions regulations are less stringent, many automakers have placed an emphasis on electric vehicles and given priority to other vehicles.
At GM alone – which has suffered turbulence in its AV development and has some slow-moving electric vehicles – the Chevrolet Camaro is now set to be replaced and will reportedly share its platform with a new Buick sedan and the next-generation Cadillac CT5.
Sources told GM Authority This not only puts the Jimmy project back on the right track, but also offers a gasoline V8 from the new Gen 6 small block V8 engine family. Also likely is a version of the turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder TurboMax gasoline engine used in the Colorado, Canyon and GM full-size pickups.
The Jimmy will take on the Bronco, Wrangler and best-selling Toyota 4Runner, while Nissan is relaunching its rugged Xterra and the Pathfinder will move to its body-on-frame platform. Of these, only the Wrangler is available with a V8 drive.
It gives the GMC brand something it hasn’t had since 2009: a “midsize” (full-size) ladder-frame SUV that fits underneath the full-size (full-size) Yukon.
The latest large crossover SUV, the Acadia, has also gotten larger, giving the Jimmy more breathing room. Its introduction would give GMC a pair of crossover SUVs (Terrain, Acadia) and a trio of body-on-frame SUVs (Jimmy, Yukon, Yukon XL).
The Jimmy nameplate appeared in 1969 as a redesigned version of the Chevrolet K5 Blazer, a rugged two-door off-roader that rivaled the Bronco and was available with a soft top or a removable hard top.
Use of the nameplate continued on the second-generation K5 Blazer, while the smaller Chevrolet S-10 Blazer, launched in 1983, was also renamed the GMC S-15 Jimmy. The S-15 prefix was phased out in the 1990s with the second generation of that model, and the full-size Jimmy was renamed Yukon in 1992.
The full-size three-door Yukon and its Chevrolet Tahoe twin were discontinued before the end of the decade, not long after the Bronco’s demise, and the smaller Ford Explorer-rivaling Jimmy was replaced by the larger Envoy in 2001.
After 2010, both Ford and GM abandoned a ladder-frame SUV in this segment in the United States, although Ford would eventually revive the Bronco nameplate with a Ranger-based SUV in 2021.
While the Blazer nameplate was revived in 2019, GM drew the ire of off-road enthusiasts by applying it to a crossover SUV. The electric crossover SUV Blazer followed in 2023. These models are expected to continue to exist, and it’s unclear whether Chevrolet will offer a version of the revived Jimmy.
MORE: Explore the GMC showroom
