By Bob Sorokanich, editorial producer and writer, GM News

A quarter-century ago, a project inside the General Motors design studios shifted the course of the company’s sports utility vehicle and truck categories.

The first GMC Denali launched on the 1999 Yukon. The Denali name has since come to signify the ultimate in premium craftsmanship and capability on GMC pickup trucks and SUVs.

To mark this milestone, GM News sat down with two GM designers who helped shape the Denali sub-brand, GMC’s most well-appointed trim level, known for its premium finishes and features. Carl Zipfel sketched the exterior design for the original GMC Yukon; he now serves as design manager for Chevrolet full-size trucks. Holt Ware is director of exterior design at GMC, responsible for crafting the next generation of Denali. In a room overlooking the design floor where future GM vehicles take shape, we discussed the past, present and future of Denali.

“GMC was one of the early leaders in the premium SUV and truck segments,” Zipfel told GM News. “Denali played an important role in the development and growth of these segments.”

In the late 1990s, SUVs still put their utilitarian roots on full display. “The Yukon was a pure derivative of the GMC pickup truck,” Zipfel said. “It had the same front end – a big, steel chrome bumper that kind of floated out in space. Things were not very integrated. This was the first opportunity for us to explore what a more luxury SUV design could entail.”

When GMC approached Zipfel about creating a higher end version of the Yukon, he began by incorporating visual cues from luxury sedans. In his concept drawings, he swapped truck-style chrome bumpers for sculpted bodywork at the front and rear, creating a sleek, monochromatic look. Jewel-like projector headlights, body-color running boards and integrated exhaust tips gave the Yukon Denali a precise, cohesive look. Inside, refined materials and equipment completed the high-end aesthetic. The resulting vehicle had all the capability customers expected from a GMC pickup truck or SUV, with rich details never before available in a utility vehicle.

“It was such a disruptor,” said Ware. At the time the Denali launched, Ware was a designer for Cadillac. He remembers GMC’s first Yukon Denali catching eyes among GM’s luxury-car stylists. This was a bold departure for GMC, a brand that started out building heavy-duty commercial trucks.

“That’s our pedigree,” Ware told GM News. “We’re a truck brand. Denali took those trucks into this new premium space. With Denali, you have a vehicle that does the job, but you do it with a more refined design and a premium feel.”

That combination of hard-working capability and high-end design details has propelled Denali for 25 years. Today, across GMC’s lineup of pickup trucks and SUVs, the Denali trim level brings high-end features as standard equipment. “It’s amazing, over the past 25 years, how it’s evolved,” said Zipfel. “But the one thing that rings true about Denali, is when you check the Denali box, you get it all.”

“When we design a GMC, we really focus on what it does,” Ware added. “Our customers may be hauling a huge load, but they want to do it in style. For example, you can tow hands-free with available Super Cruise¹ driver assistance technology in a 2024 Sierra 1500 Denali – or tow a fifth-wheel trailer weighing as much as 30,000 pounds in a 3500 HD Denali.”

When Zipfel first sat down to sketch the original Yukon Denali, GMC’s top trim-level hadn’t actually been dubbed Denali. Named for the highest mountain peak in North America, Denali has become shorthand among truck and SUV owners. “You go around a room and ask people what they drive, and they’ll say, ‘I have a Denali,’” he said. “They don’t even call it a GMC.”

As GMC’s director of exterior design, Ware is responsible for carrying the Denali tradition into the future. For Ware, it all comes down to one crucial item – the grille.

“On GMCs, everything is grille-centric,” he told GM News. That presented a challenge with the Sierra EV Denali, the first all-electric GMC Denali. No internal-combustion engine means no need for a conventional radiator grille – in its place is the illuminated GMC shield.

“It’s very powerful, very much an element of the front end of the truck,” Ware said. “Now it has a lit surround and a lit badge, and the design signatures hang off those central visual features. That’s the technology that helps us identify what’s special about the Sierra EV Denali.”

As the first all-electric Denali, the Sierra EV points the way toward the future of GMC design. “Sierra EV is where we’re springboarding into the next generation of surface language in volume and form,” Ware said. “We’re always bold, precise and capable. It catches your eye, but it’s done in a way that has taste. It’s not gaudy or over the top. Handling the GMC Denali aesthetic is a very specific mission.”

¹Always pay attention while driving and when using Super Cruise. Do not use a handheld device. Requires active Super Cruise Plan or trial. Terms apply. Visit the Super Cruise page for compatible roads and full details.