Remember when General Motors’ Hummer used to be the poster child for gas-guzzling macho machines? It was a kind of moving billboard that emphasized the excesses of the 1980s. That perceived lack of environmental sensitivity is credited by many industry observers as one of the main reasons the Hummer brand went sour, then extinct.
But now, GM has chosen to resurrect the Hummer with a brand new persona that’s more sensitive to the times we now live in. For the 2022 model year, the Hummer comes back as — get this — an all-electric environmentally sensitive pickup. But the new Hummer EV (electric vehicle) will still hang on to one aspect of its previous reputation: the macho part. It’s arguably a tougher, more capable machine now than it ever was.
“The irony of introducing the Hummer as an EV is not lost on us,” said Aaron Pfau, lead development engineer on the Hummer EV at GM, in a presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev., last January. “This vehicle is the clearest articulation of exactly what we mean when we say any vehicle can be an EV.”
The new Hummer EV lacks nothing in the power and torque end of things. GM claims the reincarnated version will deliver 1,000 horsepower — yes, 1,000. And 11,500 pound-feet of torque. You read that right, 11,500 pound-feet of torque, according to GM.
That’s an incredible amount of power in a pickup. Three electric motors take power from GM’s all-new Ultium battery system called Ultium Drive, GM’s proprietary EV drive units. Two Ultium drive units give the Hummer EV some impressive capabilities both on and off-road.
“We had one goal for the Hummer EV: build the most capable factory truck ever,” said Al Oppenheiser, chief engineer, in the press release announcing the Hummer EV’s arrival. “It’s an absolute off-road beast with a unique e4WD drive system that provides maneuverability unlike anything GM has ever offered before.”
Read Also
Case IH, New Holland dealers to see more integration
CNH plans for “more than 15 new tractor launches, 10 combine launches, 19 crop production launches and over 30 precision technology releases between now and the end of 2027.”
That doesn’t seem to be the least bit of an exaggeration.
To make it more capable in the dirt, the new Hummer EV comes with a four-wheel crab steer feature that allows it to move diagonally at low speeds so it can move around obstacles more easily. Adaptive air ride suspension allows for six inches (15 centimetres) of lift to allow the chassis to clear obstacles. The factory installed 35-inch tires (the Hummer EV can handle 37-inch tires too) help the truck to simply drive up and over an 18-inch vertical obstacle.
To keep those Ultium batteries safe from damage, the truck gets steel skid plating to protect the underside of the chassis. And front and rear cameras help a driver identify obstacles close to the truck.
All of this makes the Hummer EV one incredibly capable off-road vehicle. But all that horsepower makes it pretty capable on the road as well, with a zero to 60 miles per hour acceleration time of about three seconds.
Charging needs
A full charge gives the Hummer EV a range of about 560 kilometres. Its 800-volt fast charging system will allow for a 160-kilometre boost to that in just 10 minutes at a 350-kilowatt public charging station on longer trips.
The Hummer EV will also get some of the semi-autonomous features GM has introduced in other vehicles, like hands-free driving and automatic lane change capability on some compatible highways.
Canadian Hummer EV production begins in late 2022, and models will begin arriving on dealers’ lots shortly after that.
The electric Hummer will be supported by what GM is calling an entirely new electric vehicle ownership experience dubbed Ultifi. This digital platform will change everything from the way vehicles are purchased, to helping owners find the nearest charging station during a trip. A new mobile device app, which was introduced this past spring, will be the way owners connect with Ultifi through an established account with GM. It will even allow owners to remotely determine the charge status of the Hummer’s batteries from their smartphones.
To accommodate most of the vehicle’s charging needs, the company’s stated goal is to have a charging station installed in an owner’s home before they even take delivery of a Hummer EV.
But the electrification story at GM doesn’t end there. The company has announced it is moving toward offering only electric-powered vehicles by the year 2035, eliminating internal combustion engines from its entire fleet.
“The mass adoption of electric vehicles will be a transformative moment in our history,” said Travis Hestor, GM’s chief electric vehicle officer, at the Consumer Electronics Show.
That is an understatement.
