It took General Motors just 10 minutes to sell out the launch version of the 2022 GMC Hummer EV following Tuesday night’s online debut, with another 3,000 prospective customers now on a waiting list.
While the automaker is planning to launch at least 20 all-electric vehicles by 2023, GMC brand boss Duncan Aldred told TheDetroitBureau the Hummer could be the breakout product. He added that it’ll win over not just EV fans, “but people who haven’t thought about electric will be drawn to this vehicle because of what it can do.”
There is no question that the Hummer Edition 1 will be a remarkably capable vehicle, starting with the raw power and performance numbers. Although the debut model will be geared heavily towards off-road enthusiasts, it also will have plenty of plusses for driving around town, with a turning radius tighter than that of the Chevrolet Spark subcompact.
(GM unwraps the GMC Hummer, boasts “no equals” — especially when it comes to the price tag.)
TDB broke news that the company had the GMC electric pickup in development. The process has so far taken an unusually short, though GM still won’t have the Hummer out until next year.
For starters, Edition 1 will use three motors, one up front and two on the rear axle. Collectively, they will make 1,000 horsepower and 11,500 pound-feet of torque. That compares to the 360 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque made by the 6.0-liter V-8 gas engine, and the 445 hp and 910 lb-ft of the 6.6-liter turbodiesel, available for the 2021 GMC Sierra pickup.
For Edition 1, the front motor will feature an electronically locking differential. The twin rear motors will serve a similar purpose off-roading, while also adding torque vectoring capabilities on-road.
The ability to individually control the motors, along with the Hummer’s four-wheel-steering system offers numerous advantages. For one thing, it will be able to turn a circle in just 45 feet, making it easy to park or maneuver on both crowded roads and backwoods trails. Hummer also will be able to “crabwalk,” or drive diagonally.
For now, GMC has yet to release some key figures, but it does promise that the Edition 1 model will be able to launch from 0 to 60 in approximately 3 seconds – on par with the latest-generation Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
The first edition will start at $113,000; however, there are other options. The 3X model, geared toward off-roading, will come in at $100K. Other versions will be geared toward on-road operation and will start at $79K, officials said during a briefing on Wednesday.
The company has already taken substantial advanced reservations for the other models as well as selling out Edition 1. However, the company hasn’t yet said what the towing and cargo capacities are for the new truck.
As for range, it is expected to run in excess of 350 miles once the EPA releases its test results before next year’s on-sale date. The battery pack will consist of 24 modules on the Hummer Edition 1. According to battery development chief Tim Grewe, that will work out to somewhere around 200 kilowatt-hours, or nearly twice the size of the largest pack currently in use by Tesla.
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The system will nominally operate at 400 volts – but, during charging, it will be capable of jumping up to 800 volts to speed up that process. Charging figures also are being finalized though Hummer will be able to add 100 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes using the latest 350-kilowatt public charging stations, GM confirmed.
All versions of the Hummer, including the upcoming SUV model, will ride on a new, skateboard-like platform. In Edition 1 it will feature an air suspension, but a conventional suspension will be offered on later versions.
Geared heavily towards off-roading, the debut model will come with 35-inch wheels and tires, with 37s available. It will feature extensive underbody cladding, critical to protect the battery pack, as well as other componentry. Ground clearance will run as high as 15.9 inches when operating in “Extraction Mode,” and Hummer will be able to ford up to 32 inches of water.
The truck also will offer as many as 18 separate cameras, including ones beneath the body to help maneuver on rugged trails.
Visually, the Hummer shares some of the rugged exterior and interior design cues of the original Hummer trucks – a brand GM abandoned after it emerged from bankruptcy a decade ago. But the automaker is betting that a name that was once the object of scorn from environmentalists will now be embraced as an eco-friendly alternative.
But there will be some high-tech touches. Where the original Hummers had a grille there’s now a light bar running across the truck’s nose. It will light up when a driver approaches the vehicle, and it uses blue bars to readily indicate what’s happening while charging.
The Hummer also will lift the six-way Multipro tailgate from GMC’s conventional Sierra pickup.
As with the classic Hummer, the interior will be “rugged and technical” in appearance, according to GMC designers. On the high-tech front, analog gauges have been replaced by a 12.3-inch reconfigurable screen, with another 13.4-inch touchscreen handling infotainment duties. Another display operates the climate controls.
The debut model is meant to be “the ultimate expression of performance and capabilities,” said GMC boss Aldred. And while he wouldn’t mention the name of the EV market’s 800-pound gorilla, the Hummer Edition 1 is clearly meant to take on the Tesla Cybertruck set to come to market at roughly the same time.
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With GM CEO Mary Barra promising a wave of BEVs as the automaker moves down “a path to an all-electric future,” the new GMC Hummer could prove to be one of the most important new models it has launched in years.