Like a phoenix: AM General revives the iconic Humvee

AM General is building a next-generation Humvee around a new 250-horsepower diesel engine, giving the four-decade-old military truck more power and better fuel economy.

The Indiana-based company said on LinkedIn that the new vehicle uses a 6.5-liter engine with common rail direct injection, an electronically controlled fuel system that delivers more precise injection than older designs. AM General said the engine improves acceleration, raises top speed and burns less fuel. It did not publish figures for any of those gains, a price, a production date or a name for the new model.

The engine first appeared in March at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Global Force symposium, where AM General used it to power an unmanned ground vehicle demonstrator. The turbocharged V8 produces 250 hp and more than 745 Nm (550 lb-ft) of torque and can run on JP-8 jet fuel, F-24 or ordinary diesel, the company said at the time.

AM General said then that the same engine would power future light tactical vehicles, including the Humvee, The Defence Blog reported.

The standard armored M1151 Humvee in U.S. service uses a 6.5-liter turbocharged V8 rated at about 190 hp. AM General has offered more power before: its export-focused Humvee NXT 360, shown in 2021, came in a version with a 250-hp turbocharged 6.5-liter V8. The new engine pairs that output with the modern fuel system.

The upgrade arrives after the U.S. Army stepped back from buying light tactical trucks. In May 2025, the U.S. Army said it would cancel procurement of what it called excess ground vehicles, naming both the Humvee and its intended replacement, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. AM General, which also builds the JLTV, said it would keep both its Humvee and JLTV assembly lines running.

The Humvee has stayed in demand abroad, nowhere more visibly than in Ukraine. The country now operates an estimated 6,000 Humvees across its armed forces, up from about 100 at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, The Defence Blog reported in April. Ukrainian troops have used them for logistics, casualty evacuation, fire support and command, and logistics officers have praised how easily crews can repair them in the field.

AM General built the first Humvees in 1983 under a U.S. Army contract for 55,000 vehicles. The truck saw combat in Panama, the Gulf War, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan, where roadside bombs pushed the U.S. military into a rush program to bolt armor onto a vehicle never designed to carry it.

If you wish to report a grammatical or factual error in this article, please let us know by using the

online form.

Independent reporting takes resources. Join us on Patreon.