After a 44-year slumber, the legend wakes up. Backed by Volkswagen but born in America, Scout Motors revives the spirit of the International Harvester. With the Traveler SUV and Terra truck, Scout rejects the "screen-only" future, bringing back tactile buttons, solid axles, and a range-extender option called "Harvester." Rugged is back.
Explore the current production vehicles.
The legend, reborn for the electric age. The upcoming Scout SUV is a ground-up, all-electric 4x4 designed to be the ultimate expression of rugged American capability. It promises to blend iconic, heritage-inspired design with next-generation off-road technology.
An all-electric pickup with the soul of an icon. The upcoming Scout Pickup will share its rugged, body-on-frame platform with the SUV, delivering a unique blend of heritage styling and zero-emissions utility for the modern adventurer. A new American workhorse.
The original. The icon. One of the very first modern SUVs. The classic IH Scout was a simple, tough-as-nails, and incredibly capable off-roader that competed directly with the Ford Bronco and Jeep CJ. It is the legendary soul of the new brand.
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It is rare that a ghost comes back to life, but in the automotive world, miracles happen. From 1960 to 1980, the International Harvester Scout defined the American off-road scene. It was the anti-Jeep: boxy, agricultural, and unbreakable. Then, it vanished. Fast forward to the 2020s, and Volkswagen Group did something unexpected: they bought the rights, created an independent American company, and brought the nameplate back. But Scout Motors isn't just a nostalgia play; it is a direct challenge to the complexity of modern vehicles.
In an era where car interiors look like Apple Stores and require a touchscreen menu just to open the glovebox, Scout Motors slammed its fist on the table. Their design ethos is "Tactile."
Scout engineers famously fought against the "screenification" of the car. When you sit in a Scout Traveler or Terra, you find real buttons. Volume knobs. Toggle switches for climate control. Mechanical door handles. They understand that when you are bouncing down a trail in Moab, you can't look at a screen to adjust the A/C. You need muscle memory. This rejection of excessive digitization has made Scout an instant hero among enthusiasts who feel alienated by modern tech.
Scout made a critical observation: Americans love the idea of EVs (torque, silence), but they hate the reality of towing with them (range drops by 50%). Enter the Harvester system.
While Scout offers pure electric vehicles (BEV), the game-changer is the EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle) option. It uses a small gasoline engine solely as a generator. It never drives the wheels directly; it just recharges the battery while you drive.
The result? 500+ miles of range.
This means you can tow your Airstream across Montana without hunting for a fast charger every 90 minutes. It bridges the gap between the electric future and the gasoline reality.
Scout kept it simple. Two models, one platform.
The spiritual successor to the Scout II. It features a distinct "up-kick" in the rear window line, a direct nod to its ancestor. It has a split tailgate (perfect for sitting on at a tailgate party) and a massive glass roof. But unlike a crossover, this is a body-on-frame beast. It is designed to fit 35-inch tires from the factory. It targets the Ford Bronco and Rivian R1S but offers a more utilitarian, "hose-it-out" vibe.
The pickup variant. It competes directly with the Rivian R1T and the mid-size gas trucks. It features a 5.5-foot bed with power outlets to run your tools or campsite. The front "bench seat" option allows for three-across seating, a romantic callback to the trucks of the 70s.
Off-road nerds, rejoice. Scout didn't go fully independent suspension like Rivian. They kept a solid rear axle. Why? Because solid axles are durable, articulate better over rocks, and are easier to modify. It signals that Scout is serious about rock crawling, not just mall crawling.
On the tech side, the purely electric versions use an 800-volt architecture (likely shared with Porsche/Audi tech), allowing for blazing fast charging speeds (up to 350 kW). Itâs the perfect marriage of old-school mechanical grit and new-school electrical speed.
Volkswagen wrote a massive check to build a dedicated factory in Blythewood, South Carolina. This is crucial. Scout is an independent American entity. The design team is in Michigan. The engineering is in America. They are determined to avoid the "German car dressed as a cowboy" stigma. By building them here, they also qualify for federal tax incentives, making the price point (targeting under $60k entry) highly competitive.
Taking a page from Tesla and Rivian, Scout announced a direct-to-consumer sales model. No haggling with a dealer who adds a $10,000 "Market Adjustment" because the car is popular. You order online, you pick the specs, and you get the price. In the US market, where dealership experiences are often universally hated, this is a massive selling point.
Before they even revealed the car, Scout spent years talking to owners of vintage Internationals. They went to forums, meetups, and barns. They asked, "What made the original special?" The answer was community and customization. As a result, the new Scouts are designed with "accessory points" everywhere. They want you to drill into bumpers, mount winches, and customize the rig. They are encouraging the aftermarket, not fighting it.
You are interested in Scout because you are tired of cars that feel like appliances. You want an EV for the torque and the savings, but you don't want to give up the feeling of driving a machine. You want a vehicle that can get you home when the pavement ends and the cell service dies.
Scout represents the "Third Way." Itâs not a gas guzzler, but itâs not a fragile computer. Itâs a tool. And for many Americans, a tool is exactly what they need.
Scout Motors is the most promising revival we have seen in decades. By identifying the two biggest pain points of modern EVs (lack of buttons and poor towing range) and solving them with the Harvester system and a tactile interior, they have positioned themselves to steal customers from Jeep, Ford, and Rivian. The legend hasn't just returned; it has evolved.
Yes. While Scout Motors is backed by the Volkswagen Group, it operates as an independent American company. Its headquarters are in Tysons, Virginia, and the vehicles will be designed, engineered, and manufactured in the United States.
Specifically, Scout is building a brand-new $2 billion factory in Blythewood, South Carolina. The goal is to revive the spirit of the original International Harvester Scout with American workers building American trucks.
Scout is launching with two distinct models that share the same rugged DNA:
The Harvester is a game-changer for those with range anxiety. While the standard Scout is a pure Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) with ~350 miles of range, you can opt for the Harvester system.
This adds a small gas-powered engine that acts solely as a generator to recharge the high-voltage battery while driving. It is not mechanically connected to the wheels. This extends the total driving range to over 500 miles, making it ideal for long towing trips where charging stops might be scarce.
Absolutely not. The new Scout vehicles are built on a unique, proprietary body-on-frame platform designed specifically for off-road durability. They do not share the unibody "MEB" platform used by VW crossovers.
This platform features a solid rear axle, which is crucial for heavy towing and extreme articulation on trails, proving that this is a serious truck, not a "soft-roader."
Scout Motors has targeted the start of production for 2027. While reservations are currently open to secure a spot in line, early customers should expect deliveries to begin that year.
The timeline allows them to finish constructing their South Carolina facility and thoroughly test the vehicles to ensure they meet the rugged reliability standards the nameplate is famous for.
Scout is targeting class-leading capability right out of the factory. Key projected specs include:
It is designed to follow a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco down the hardest trails.
In a refreshing move, Scout Motors has promised a "tactile" experience. While the vehicles will have modern screens for navigation and infotainment, they will retain physical buttons, switches, and knobs for critical functions.
This means you will have real knobs for climate control and volume, ensuring you can operate the vehicle easily while bouncing down a trail or wearing gloves, staying true to the utilitarian roots of the brand.
Scout Motors has confirmed they will adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) right from the start of production.
This means Scout owners will have native access to the Tesla Supercharger network without needing bulky adapters. The vehicle also utilizes an 800-volt architecture, which allows for incredibly fast charging speeds (up to 350 kW), minimizing downtime at the charger.
The Scout Terra pickup is targeting a towing capacity of over 10,000 lbs, putting it in direct competition with gas-powered half-ton trucks.
The Scout Traveler SUV is targeted to tow over 7,000 lbs. With the instant torque of the electric motors and the available Harvester range extender, these vehicles are designed to pull boats and campers without the typical range limitations of EVs.
No. Scout Motors plans to utilize a Direct-to-Consumer sales and service model, similar to Tesla or Rivian.
This means there will be no traditional dealer markups or haggling. You will likely order your vehicle online and have it delivered, or pick it up from a dedicated Scout retail space (Scout Studio), ensuring a completely separate brand experience from Volkswagen.