Scout Motors SUV, pickup design won't be trapped in the '70s, CEO Scott Keogh says

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — As Scout Motors barrels toward revealing its initial electric SUV and pickup this summer, an overtly retro design does not seem likely, according to the startup brand's chief.

While the company is embracing fully the heritage of International Harvester's Scout vehicles, CEO Scott Keogh said he doesn't want to be trapped in the 1970s when it comes to styling.

"Beautiful era, great things, great car design, great everything," Keogh told a small group of journalists after the company's groundbreaking ceremony here last week. "So it's not as if we want to create, let's say, the Scout III."

Keogh said the brand has examined International Harvester's archives and even saw what the company had planned for what would have been the Scout III. Keogh said the design reflected what he described as a period in which vehicles, such as the Ford Mustang, "got a little wacky."

International Harvester's first Scout, one of the industry's initial SUVs, rolled off the line at the company's Fort Wayne, Ind., plant in November 1960. International built its last SUV, wearing the Scout II nameplate, in October 1980.

The name then went dormant outside of enthusiast communities, collectors and off-roaders.

Keogh said Scout intends to show the two vehicles at the same time. Both will ride on a new body-on-frame platform that executives insist is unique to the brand.

The vehicles will also feature something seen as critical to off-roaders: a locking differential, also known as lockers, Keogh confirmed.

Keogh said the designs for the two vehicles are "hyper, hyper, hyper close" and quipped that Jan Spies, Scout's chief production officer, doesn't want any more adjustments. What will be shown later this year will be pretty close to what Scout will start building in late 2026, Keogh said.

"It's gonna be a car with character," Keogh said. "It's gonna be a car with a personality. It's gonna be a car that's not an optimized jelly bean."

Christian Vollmer, a member of Volkswagen Group's extended executive committee for production and logistics, said during the Feb. 16 ceremony that Scout has been freed to create and produce a truck and an SUV designed precisely for U.S. customers.

"Soon, we will see the first Scouts for real," Vollmer said. "Let me assure you, they look fantastic."

Scout named veteran Stellantis designer Chris Benjamin its chief design officer in May.

While Scout is focused on the first two models, which it has not named publicly, Keogh said there will be packages and derivatives within the SUV and the pickup, without going into more detail.

Keogh said Scout remains committed to being an EV-only brand and said there is no Plan B for the company to utilize an internal combustion engine.