Hummer has unveiled a 986bhp zero emissions electric pickup truck that will go on sale in 2022, production starting next year. The times really are a-changing.
Hummer, you’ll know, is a brand synonymous with the ‘gas guzzler’, making massive US-market SUVs based on the military Humvee vehicle. With the motoring epoch moving quickly towards into eco-conscious electric vehicles, it makes sense for any brand to jump on the bandwagon, though Hummer doing so is still a surprising move.
Or not, really, given the similarities between the Hummer EV here, a four-door, five-seat double cab pickup truck, and the new Tesla Cybertruck. In fact, it appears to be a direct riposte to Elon Musk’s electric testost-o-van.
The drivetrain is staggering. It features three electric motors which combine to supply 986bhp and, get this, 15,600Nm of torque. That’s not a typo. That’s fifteen thousand six hundred newton metres. Bloody hellfire. That said, the number is more theoretical than a reality at the wheels, based on the torque potential given the gear ratios.
Whatever the true figure at the wheels, the 0-62mph time will be less than three seconds despite the Hummer EV’s vast proportions and weight. It’s still a Hummer, after all.
And because of that it’ll still be a proper off-road thing, with electronic four-wheel drive, adjustable ride height, underbody protection and, amazingly, a four-wheel steer system that allows the car to ‘crab’ sideways. It’ll come with all manner of driving modes and assistants to help it negotiate the toughest terrain, and has self-driving capability too.
The battery pack is, as you can imagine, substantial, and although GM hasn’t told us its capacity we do know that the Hummer EV will do a claimed 350 miles and is capable of 350kW rapid charging. For context, a home wall box ‘fast’ charger provides 7kW speed.
The Hummer EV here signals a complete rebrand for the GM-owned marque, which will see Hummers ditch fossil fuels altogether and instead make a range of electric vehicles. As such the interior of the EV here is, relatively speaking, quite futuristic, including a digital instrument panel and dominated by a large central touchscreen that not only control multimedia but also displays terrain information for off-roading purposes.
That said it still has the hardwearing, utilitarian sort of edge that a ‘proper’ Hummer should have, and the car also comes with removable roof panels as standard.
Keyword: Hummer rebrands with a near-1000bhp electric truck