Remember CarbonPro? GMC Hopes You Do - and Still Want to Pay Extra for It

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

In launching its next-generation Sierra half-ton last summer, GMC focused a lot of its attention on the brand-exclusive MultiPro tailgate, a bit of door-within-door wizardry that makes bed access a breeze. It also provides the necessary hookups for tailgate party tunes.

In short, to butcher a quote from Toronto mayor John Tory, the MultiPro has more positions that Masters and Johnson. But the bed behind the gate was also singled out for some attention. GMC told the public that a carbon fiber bed — CarbonPro, in GMC parlance — would join the 2019 model as a late availability option.

That’s still the plan. With production now two months off, GMC wants to rekindle some of that early interest in its seemingly indestructible bed.

Yes, buyers of the top-flight Sierra Denali and luxo off-roader AT4 will be able to tick the “CarbonPro Edition” box at dealers starting this summer, the brand announced this week.

Far from being a bedliner, CarbonPro is a full-on molded tub that’s open on one end, sheathed in exterior sheetmetal, and bolted to the frame. You can peer through the rear wheel wells and spot the material. It’s a great way to bump up the price — and exclusivity — of its Denali full-sizer.

GMC wants everyone to know just how much it toiled to get the bed right. The unpainted material was subjected to extreme heat, cold, a sustained generator exhaust blast, and airdrops of various objects, including cinder blocks, 1,800-pound loads of gravel, and 450-pound water-filled steel drums. The drops took place from “varying heights.” One imagines the engineers didn’t raise a crane to its full extension, though few non-military pickup owners demand that level of survivability.

We took a peek at a CarbonPro-equipped mode l in Newfoundland last August, where a GMC representative said the delay in getting the product to customers had something to do with finalizing a repair process for the nylon-based material. GMC would prefer it if you didn’t break the thing. We’d like to see someone try, as the corrugated bed can apparently withstand six times the payload that would deform a steel bed. The CarbonPro option shaves “about 60 pounds” from the Sierra’s curb weight and, because of its shape, allows an extra cubic foot of cargo volume in the bed. Payload increases by “at least” 59 pounds, depending on configuration and equipment, the automaker claims.

Small gains, for sure, but any and all progress is celebrated by OEMs (and at least somewhat respected by their customers).

Can CarbonPro change your life? Doubtful, though it might change your image, and that’s what GMC’s counting on as a motivator when these things come on the market. GMC, and especially GMC’s Denali sub-brand, is a license to print money. With CarbonPro, it hopes to print even more.

For the tail end of the 2019 model year, GMC plans to offer a limited number of Sierra Denali and AT4s outfitted with the trick bed, promising greater availability (on the same trims) in the coming model year. As for price, well, that’s still a mystery, but carbon fiber isn’t known for its budget appeal.

[Images: Steph Willems/TTAC, General Motors]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Flipper35 Flipper35 on Apr 12, 2019

    They should make the exterior out of composite as well, maybe that will keep them from rotting around the fender wells.

    • JD-Shifty JD-Shifty on Apr 14, 2019

      It is a disgrace how trucks rust out in the wheel arches, cab corners and rocker panels. They should be able to fix this.

  • DenverMike DenverMike on Apr 14, 2019

    An aluminum bed would've been just fine. The rest of the automotive world agrees there's nothing better for weight savings, rustproof, mass production, etc. Maybe include a bedliner or rubber mat. Not just for the top luxo models that don't need them, but across the entire line, and a no cost option. This is a big fail. Beds aren't the problem anyway. If totaled from rust or damage, "take offs" are everywhere. Cabs turning to rust/crust are absolutely the biggest reason pickups are scrapped in the middle of the life cycles.

  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
  • B-BodyBuick84 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport of course, a 7 seater, 2.4 turbo-diesel I4 BOF SUV with Super-Select 4WD, centre and rear locking diffs standard of course.
  • Corey Lewis Think how dated this 80s design was by 1995!
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