After over a decade of being discontinued, GMC has revived the Hummer as an all-electric SUV. It met with an overwhelming response, with the automaker stating that it had sold out the entire first year’s production within 10 minutes of opening bookings. The Hummer EV Edition 1 will go on sale by the end of this year, while more models will be launched over the next couple of years. Today, we came across these pictures which shows the Hummer EV almost popping a wheelie during a standing start.
Going by the pictures, it looks like the driver engaged the Watts to Freedom mode to test acceleration times. In the aforementioned mode, the Hummer EV pickup can do a 0-100 kmph in just three seconds. This prompted the pick-up’s tail to drop by several inches, while the front-end rose up even higher. The pictures show the extent that GMC has designed the suspension to keep all four tires on the ground whenever possible. The pictures also suggest that the Hummer EV can cope with extreme on-road acceleration easily. Though it may seem paradoxical, a greater body movement means there is less weight transfer. Even with the nose fully up the Hummer EV’s front tyres are still touching the ground, thus balancing the weight and not over-stressing the rear tyres.
The Hummer EV will be using General Motor’s new ‘Ultium’ batteries and three e-motors that pump out over a 1000 PS and a time reversing 15600 Nm of torque while having a range of around 565 kms before needing a recharge. 0-100 kmph is “approximately three-second”, while 350kW DC charging can give you 160 kms of range in just ten minutes.
GMC is billing the Hummer EV as the “ultimate off-road EV supertruck”, it comes with 35-inch tyres and is compatible with 37s, adaptive air suspension with “Extract Mode” which can lift the body by six inches and thick steel plating underneath to keep the battery from getting damaged. Cameras all around the body give up to 18 different views of the ground around and under the pickup, which GM claims can scale an “18-inch vertical wall”, wade through 2ft of water, and quite literally side-step tricky obstacles with a “CrabWalk” feature that points the front and rear wheels in the same direction. Over to the inside, you get a 13.4-inch centre screen and another 12.3-inch display just for the driver. Removable roof panels can be stowed in the Tesla-style “frunk”.
Words By - Chandrutpal Kashyap
