We took a Humvee platform that entered production more than 40 years ago and reworked it into a modern diesel hybrid built around a P2 parallel architecture. The motor generator unit sits between the diesel engine and transmission with an electronically controlled coupler, so we can fully decouple the engine for silent electric drive or synchronize both power sources for torque blending and added performance. That layout gives the vehicle real mission flexibility: mechanical power, electric power, or both. With an 800-volt battery system and external electrical connection, it can also export enough power to support field operations. The result is a quicker, faster, longer-range Humvee that stays relevant by doing far more than the original platform ever could.
Gale Banks explains that the project began in 2021, when the U.S. Army asked industry whether a diesel-hybrid Humvee could be built. Banks submitted a white paper in response, was selected, and proceeded to develop a working vehicle. The result is presented as a modernization of a platform that originally entered production more than 40 years ago.
The team's stated objective was not simply to update an old Humvee, but to transform it into a modern hybrid vehicle with long-term relevance. In that sense, the project is framed as both a technical demonstration and a future-oriented reengineering of the legacy military platform.
Banks describes the finished vehicle as a fully capable hybrid Humvee built around operational flexibility. Rather than treating electrification as an add-on, the system architecture appears to have been designed so the vehicle can adapt its power delivery to different mission needs.
A central theme of the recap is that this Humvee is intended to operate primarily as an electric-drive or hybrid-drive vehicle. Internal-combustion-only operation is not presented as the normal mode, but as a fallback capability if the electric-drive system fails. That design philosophy reverses the usual hybrid hierarchy and makes the electric system dominant in the vehicle's intended use.
The Humvee was designed as a P2 parallel hybrid. Banks says this configuration was chosen to maximize drivetrain flexibility and operational efficiency. In a P2 arrangement, the motor generator unit, or MGU, is installed between the internal combustion engine and the transmission.
The engine and MGU are separated by an electronically controlled coupler. That coupler is a key part of the architecture because it allows the engine to be completely decoupled from the rest of the drivetrain when needed. With the engine disconnected, the vehicle can operate in full electric mode for silent movement. When the engine is coupled back in, the MGU and engine can work together, allowing synchronized torque blending for greater overall performance.
Banks emphasizes that power in this hybrid system can flow mechanically, electrically, or through a combination of both paths depending on the mission profile. That flexibility is one of the main advantages of the chosen layout. The vehicle can therefore support silent electric operation, blended hybrid propulsion, and engine-assisted performance when required.
He also notes that the system can connect electrically to the outside world through an access point located behind a door on the vehicle. Although the transcript only briefly references this interface, it is presented as part of how the Humvee interacts with external electrical infrastructure, reinforcing that the vehicle is designed with more than conventional fuel-only operation in mind.
During the demonstration, Banks points out that the vehicle's available power comes from the MGU and the internal combustion engine together. This combined-output approach is central to the hybrid concept: the electric machine is not merely an accessory, but a propulsion component that materially contributes to vehicle performance.
The recap does not provide specific horsepower or torque figures, but it makes clear that the team used the hybrid system to deliver meaningful tractive effort. The emphasis is on the practical result-strong acceleration and flexible propulsion modes-rather than on quoting isolated specification numbers.
Banks says the engineering team spent hundreds of hours testing the hybrid Humvee on the dyno, at the track, and on the drag strip. The purpose of that work was to gather data and turn the concept into a validated vehicle rather than leaving it as a theoretical proposal.
That testing sequence suggests the team evaluated the system under controlled load conditions as well as in real acceleration and performance environments. The dyno work would support calibration and repeatable measurement, while track and drag-strip testing would expose the vehicle to practical operating demands. The transcript does not list the measured results, but it clearly presents the development process as data-driven and extensive.
A key part of the demonstration is the Humvee operating as a true EV. Banks points to the MGU and notes that the engine is not illuminated, indicating that the vehicle is about to run in electric mode. The vehicle is then placed in drive and moves away under pure electric power.
This sequence is important because it shows that the engine can be fully disengaged and that the vehicle is capable of propulsion without combustion power. Banks specifically ties this mode to silent operation, which is one of the major tactical advantages of the architecture. The demonstration therefore confirms that the P2 layout and electronically controlled coupler are functioning as intended in real vehicle operation.
The vehicle is shown on the Irwindale half-mile, where Banks highlights the audible tire noise while the Humvee is moving. The implication is that, in electric operation, the usual engine sound is absent enough that tire noise becomes a prominent part of what can be heard.
After the run, the vehicle comes to a complete stop, and Banks summarizes that it has run both as an EV and in full hybrid form. Even in this short recap, the demonstration is structured to prove the major operating states of the vehicle rather than merely describe them. The audience is shown that the Humvee can launch, drive, and stop in electric mode, and that hybrid operation is also available when desired.
Banks closes by clarifying the intended operating hierarchy. According to his explanation, pure internal-combustion-engine operation would only be used if the EV system suffered a failure. In other words, engine-only propulsion is treated as a backup mode rather than the primary design target.
That conclusion defines the project's engineering philosophy. This Humvee is described as dominantly an EV or a hybrid, not as a conventional diesel vehicle with a small amount of electrification added. The modernization effort therefore centers on making the legacy platform electrically capable first, while retaining the combustion engine as part of a flexible and resilient propulsion system.
