US auto giant General Motors (GM) is revealing another play in its all-electric game plan, this time shouting the quiet, yet high-tech virtues of its Hummer EV pickup truck (known as a ute in Australia).
The Hummer EV, which was first teased at the 2020 Super Bowl and officially debuted in October, is a pure electric “supertruck” that GM is betting will help to win over lovers of the big, grunty utes that are a permanent fixture in the American automotive psyche.
It appeared in GM’s 2021 Super Bowl ad featuring comedian and actor Will Ferrell alongside the upcoming electric Cadillac Lyriq, in which Ferrell’s character picks a fight with Norway for being the leading market globally for EVs by market share.
Now, GM is taking another punt at the American electric vehicle market, which is dominated by EV pioneer Tesla.
This time around, GM is not just plugging the Hummer EVs “off-road chops”, which include a massive 15,591Nm torque and “best-in-class” 1,000 horsepower (….the Tesla Model S Plaid is 1,020hp minimum but OK not the same class).
Nor is it just hyping the hefty Hummer EV’s acceleration from 0-60mph (0-96.5km/hr) in under three seconds thanks to a “Watts to Freedom” feature that unleashes maximum power from the Hummer EV’s 746 kW motor and (which incidentally sports the wicked acronym of WtF).
“Watts to Freedom unlocks the full potential of the propulsion system and puts all of its available power to the pavement,” said Hummer EV chief engineer Al Oppenheiser in a statement.
“It’s an all-encompassing experience unlike anything else — purpose-built for straight-line fun.”
No, it’s not just about the power this time around: GM also wants us to appreciate that aside from the enormous extent of the Hummer EV’s power and acceleration, the sound experience inside its cabin will capitalise on the near-silent motor and a state-of-the-art sound system to present a completely immersive experience.
“The all-new GMC Hummer EV will be the first of its breed — an open-air, all-electric supertruck with zero emissions and zero limits,” said Oppenheiser.
“It will have the capability to go almost anywhere, on- or off-road, combining screaming performance with a nearly silent ride.”
By utilising Bose Active Sound Management capabilities, GM plans to combine sound enhancement with noise masking along with 14 high-performance speakers and surround signal processing to offer a completely encompassing reproduction of music for the occupants.
Meaning, despite all that “grunt” (if the near-silence of an electric motor can indeed be called a grunt), the driver and passengers will be able to hear themselves, or their preferred music, without the need to compete with a dirty, smelly, and noisily vibrating combustion engine.
Complimenting the sound specs, GM says two large touchscreen displays powered by the “Unreal Engine” human-machine interface created by Epic Games for leading automotive companies promise will add interactivity to the cabin experience.
Using swipes and voice-commands, the driver will be able to access functionality from “energy assist” to track energy usage, charging schedules and battery condition, to off-road widgets that display ride height, pitch and roll, compass headings and more.
Aside from the immersive cabin experience, and the exhilarating Watts to Freedom feature, the Hummer EV will offer four pre-configured drive modes – normal, tow/haul, off-road and terrain.
But that’s not all: GM says there will also be a new “adrenaline” mode, which honestly we would have thought was what the Watts to Freedom mode was all about.
Thoughtful exterior styling also includes open-air driving thanks to modular “sky panels” in the roof (which can be stored in the “frunk”, or front trunk aka boot) and a powered rear window that can open up to complete the open-air experience.
GM has also developed an app for the Hummer EV based on its Trailering App in which owners can create a trailer profile, perform tests and pre-departure checks. Did we just hear someone mention the weekend?
The 2022 Hummer EV’s US launch will first offer the Edition 1 trim, with the “extreme off-road package” which includes adaptive air suspension with available “extract mode”, four-wheel “crabwall” mode, 35 inch-OD Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT tires, underbody armor, rock sliders, and underbody cameras.
There is no word of an Australian launch as yet, but in the US will start at $US112,595 ($A145,876 converted) including delivery when it goes on sale in 2022.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.