The term vaporware gets thrown around a lot. Just ask anyone that questioned whether the Tesla Cybertruck would actually ever get built. Ironically, it’s dying after a few years, but I digress, it did become real. Skepticism flowed when Volkswagen Group trotted out the Scout name and revived the Terra and Traveler badges for an electric truck and SUV. Timelines have slipped, but now, we have proof these things are getting built and are becoming real.
On Thursday in South Carolina, Scout announced it’s actually building validation vehicles with real stampings, initial welding, paint, and general operations underway at its shiny new factory. Looks like the iconic brand, and nameplates, will indeed return to the road.
Validation vehicles come long before pre-production models. These are test beds to work out production issues early in the game.
As you can see in the photo, the “concepts†that debuted the general design, look, and feel of these two vehicles are pretty darn close to what the finished product looks like. Scout didn’t provide close-up photos, but you can see the validation unit metal panels in the top left of the photos. They look familiar and like what we’ve seen to date.
This is all taking place two and a half years after a ground breaking that took a pile of dirt and open land and turned it into a full-scale brand-new shiny factory. Scout said the construction is now entering its final phase with most the manufacturing equipment already in the factory.
“What we are building in Blythewood is no longer a promise on paper,†said Scout Motors President and CEO Scott Keogh.
Keogh also said, “For everyone waiting for a new Scout SUV or truck, this is real progress you can see.â€
Scout said that the validation builds will continue and “mature†into 2027 as the automaker prepares for the next phase of pre-production.
Scout maintains that customer deliveries of its electrified vehicles is still on track for 2028.
Electrified is the key word. The Terra truck and Traveler SUV are electric body-on-frame vehicles, but they will be offered with a Harvester range-extended option that adds a rear-mounted gas engine that will act as a generator to provide juice when the battery runs out. Unexpectedly, over 80% of the pre-orders for the duo have been for the Harvester model, which made Scout change course and to bring the model with a backup gas engine to market quicker, and first.Â
We’ll be watching, and waiting, anxiously as Scout works towards the finished production line and the iconic nameplates hit the road again.
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