Military SUV

What do you get when you throw together a racing professional, the top Corvette engineer, a leading Chrysler engineer, and a former officer of the Army's tank and armaments command?

Something like this, a concept military pickup jeep/pickup/SUV designed to withstand all kinds of nasty stuff that is perhaps not coincidentally exactly what our troops are facing in Iraq right now. It also looks like it is powered by crushed Humvees.

The ULTRA AP will feature novel design concepts and research advances in lightweight and cost-effective armor to maximize capability and protection. The new armor was designed at GTRI in partnership with the Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering.

The vehicle also incorporates a "blast bucket" designed to provide ballistic, blast and enhanced roll-over protection. New vehicle designs must incorporate dramatically increased resistance to explosions caused by mines and improvised explosive devices, Caille noted.

Safety with Performance: The ULTRA design explored the use of on-board computers to integrate steering, suspension and brakes to provide an unparalleled level of mobility and safety, Caille added. The new vehicle's integrated chassis represents an advancement over the most advanced current production vehicles.

No word on whether the thing gets Chrysler's 5.7-liter Hemi or GM's LS2 Corvette plant.