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- The Hummer EV is a new electric pickup truck that General Motors is launching under the GMC brand.
- It promises up to 1000 horsepower and will offer one-, two-, and three-motor versions.
- The GMC Hummer EV will debut May 20, 2020 and go on sale starting in fall 2021.
Have you heard? Hummer is back. But it’s not like the Hummer you remember from before. Forget everything you knew about the gas-guzzling Hummer SUVs and trucks of yore, because the new Hummer EV is ditching big, thirsty V-8 gas engines for battery packs and electric motors. A new GMC Hummer EV pickup truck is set to arrive next year, and here’s all the information and specs we have so far.
It’s a Hummer, but Also a GMC
Hummer used to be a standalone brand for General Motors, but it’s now making a comeback under the larger GMC truck and SUV brand. But it’s telling that the front end of the truck displays its HUMMER badge so prominently on the grille while the GMC badge is much smaller and placed lower down.
GMC
As such, we expect the Hummer’s styling to play up its connection with the boxy, rugged, military-inspired Hummer SUVs from the early 2000s, as shown in our illustration above. The teaser of the truck’s front end that was shown during its Super Bowl ad, however, does indicate that it’ll have a more modern look including LED headlights.
Multiple Powertrain Options
The Hummer will be offered with either one, two, or three electric motors, as GM’s product boss Mark Reuss detailed at an event for investors. This likely means that the one-motor version will have a single electric motor on the rear axle, the two-motor version will add a front-mounted motor, and the three-motor version will add a second motor at the rear. We assume that the 1000-horsepower claim will be for the top three-motor version.
Why Hummer’s Massive Torque Number Is Misleading
GM’s has claimed that the Hummer EV will make up to 11,500 lb-ft of torque, and yes that number is about as absurd as it sounds. We suspect that this refers to torque measured at the wheels, rather than the amount of torque actually produced by the motors themselves. Our guess is that the Hummer EV’s real torque figure will sit somewhere between 714 or 834 lb-ft. We arrived at that range by dividing the 11,500 lb-ft number by the Silverado’s gear ratios, which range from 13.8 to 16.1 depending on engine, transmission, and final-drive options.
There will also be multiple battery options available, although GM has yet to share any details about the makeup or size of the battery packs. We’d guess that GM will target at least 300 miles of range for the top version of the Hummer.
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Variety of Trim Levels
In addition to the multiple battery and electric-motor combinations, the Hummer EV will offer a range of trim levels, according to Reuss. He referred to both a “basic package,” suggesting a sort of work-truck configuration, and an off-road version with greater all-terrain capability. The off-road model seems poised to wear GMC’s AT4 badging, which the company is currently rolling out to its entire lineup.
What we don’t know is how much variety the Hummer will offer in terms of cabs and bed lengths. A crew-cab model is a sure bet, but extended-cab and regular-cab versions aren’t guaranteed, and it’s possible that the Hummer EV will have fewer overall combinations than its gas-powered siblings, the Silverado and Sierra light-duty pickups.
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On Sale Next Year
GMC will officially reveal the Hummer EV on May 20, 2020, but the truck won’t be making its way to customers’ hands until fall 2021. There’s likely to be some sort of pre-order process announced before then. We think that the most expensive three-motor versions of the truck will go on sale first, with lower-priced models available sometime in 2022.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
