Chevrolet’s Multi-Flex Tailgate is one of the Silverado’s standout features and is also offered as the MultiPro Tailgate on GMC Sierra and Hummer models. The complex system allows a tailgate to be configured six different ways to provide a step, work surface and various load management features.
But sometimes you just need to sit down and take a load off, so now General Motors has developed a solution to its truck owners to do that.
The automaker has applied for a patent on a “Tailgate Seat System” that transforms a tailgate into a bench seat for use when the truck is parked.
It features a backrest panel that rotates into an upright position when the tailgate is open and a lower section that folds down into the step position and can be used as a footrest. It even has armrests that pop up and are equipped with integrated cupholders.
Aftermarket companies have offered seating systems that can be attached to a tailgate before, but nothing like it is currently available on a factory truck.
GM hasn’t announced any plans to put the patent into production, but it also hasn’t released all of the details about the all-new 2027 Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 that are launching later this year with new 5.7-liter and 6.6-liter V8 engines.
However a GMC representative told GM Authority that the MultiPro tailgate is “gonna be a little bit lighter, have some tie downs on it, some additional usability on that tailgate,” leaving the door open to the seat feature’s inclusion.
Intriguingly, the patent notes that the design could be “configured to be mounted to a sport utility vehicle,” although GM does not currently offer any SUVs with drop-down tailgates. Most have top-hinged liftgates, while the Hummer EV SUV has a swing-out door.
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