The New, Lifted GMC Sierra AT4 Is A Truck To Get You Noticed
GMC has just launched its AT4 sub-brand with this, the new Sierra AT4. Fitted with a two-inch suspension lift and a locking rear differential, it’s a meaty, off-road inclined pickup that’s as much at home shifting a few motorbikes into the wilderness as it is doing the weekly shop.
It’s the first pickup to offer a carbonfibre load bay surface, albeit as an option, after we reported the switch a few months ago. The bed, sides and bulkhead will all be carbonfibre, while the inside surface of the tailgate sticks to a glass fibre composite. Whether steel or carbon, the front bulkhead has more tie-down hooks and three indents for motorbike wheels, making it easier to secure and stabilise bikes during loading.
The AT4’s design is a dark affair. Black chrome and with touches of red add a little purpose to the style, while textured aluminium on the steering wheel and Kalahari colour accents on the seats mix things up a little. On the outside, 18-inch wheels with mud tyres are standard-fit, with 20s and less aggressive all-terrain rubber optional.
As far as the greasy bits go, the two-inch lift sits over several bash plates and a two-speed transfer case with a low-range option for crawling. There’s hill descent control, that locking rear diff and a selection of driving modes for different terrain. Rancho monotube shocks, tuned for off-road driving, control the bounce.
A series of cameras gives a 360-degree surround view, while a ProGrade Trailering System with Trailering App makes it easier and safer to tow stuff.
Up front (and up high) is a 5.3-litre V8 used in other GMC trucks, pushing out 355bhp and 383lb ft. The two upgrades are, for efficiency, a 3.0-litre Duramax diesel or a 6.2-litre petrol V8 with 420bhp and 460lb ft. Both petrols have clever cylinder deactivation tech that can allow the AT4 to burble along on as little as one cylinder. A 10-speed automatic is standard with both upgraded motors.
Optional extras on the AT4 span a rear-facing camera display in the rear-view mirror for safer reversing, blind spot warnings, autonomous emergency low-speed braking and lane-change warnings.
The Sierra AT4 goes on sale this autumn, with prices to be confirmed later in the year. Beefed-up AT4 versions of all GMC’s models will follow.
Comments
Leaked images of next year’s model…
I prefer this Sierra personally :-P
I’m okay with this, since the Sierra has always been for the working man that doesn’t get his hands as dirty.
It’s a gmc. A Gay Man’s Chevy
Right? Carbon fiber is strong in one direction but not the other. I picture the whole thing shattering as soon as you drop something in there. And it’s not like the bed of the truck is all that heavy anyway. Why not try to save weight elsewhere? Not a fan of those odd shaped wheel wells either it reminds me of a Pontiac aztek
GMC has always had really tall and skinny wheel arches. Can’t fit big wheels and the small ones that do look even smaller because of the extra clearance above it.
Why does it look like it skipped leg days?
If the wheels are too small
Donk it