During a livestream Tuesday coinciding with the start of the first game of the World Series, GMC executives took to a virtual stage and unveiled the first new Hummer model in more than a decade and the first ever to sport an electric power plant. Plus, it’s… now a truck?
Behold the 2021 Hummer EV Edition 1, what GMC is billing as “the world’s first all-electric supertruck.” The four-door crew cab boasts AWD, 1,000 HP, and 11,500 ft/lb of torque generated by three motors run from the vehicle’s Ultium battery pack. That’s enough oomph to reportedly propel it from standing to 60 miles per hour in just 3 seconds, the same timing as the Rivian R1, and an announced range of 350 miles.
Ultium batteries, which GMC unveiled back in March, are unique in that the internal cells can be stacked either vertically or horizontally within the larger battery pack which gives automotive engineers more flexibility in their design layouts. Ultium batteries come in sizes as large as 200 kWh — double what you’d find in a Model S and 80 kWh bigger than what the massive Bollinger B1 uses — however, GMC has not confirmed what the Hummer EV is sporting.
With a battery as large as what the Hummer may have tucked into its chassis, a puny Level 1 charging scheme is not going to cut it. As such the Hummer EV is reportedly designed to use Level 2 home charge boxes and DC fast charging stations. Using the higher throughput recharge options and the fact that the Hummer EV utilizes an 800V power architecture, GMC estimates that the Hummer EV will fill 100 miles worth of power in just ten minutes using DC at 350kWh.
The Hummer will also offer something called Crab Mode, where the where the front and rear wheels rotate at the same tilt angle so that the vehicle moves diagonally — you know, like a crab. Parallel parking is never going to be the same.
OH MY GOODNESS @GMC!!! ? I cannot wait to get my hands on one these. Sheesh!! ? Crabwalk?!?! Brings back so many great memories from my first Hummer and I&aposm excited to make more in the #GMCHummerEV ? pic.twitter.com/VjO2qXHqMY
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 20, 2020
The new Hummer also offers a host of off-roading features including an adaptive air suspension which can jack up the SUT’s ground clearance by as much as 4 inches to help clear any obstacles that the truck’s 35-inch wheels couldn’t. According to GMC, the Hummer EV will be able to scale “18-inch verticals and [drive] through water that is more than 2 feet deep.” The undercarriage is also clad in armored plating to keep ground hazards from puncturing the battery packs. Drivers will also be able to manually adjust the torque split between front and rear axels.
GMC is also incorporating its UltraVision system, which consists of a series of cameras — including front and rear underbody — that will help drivers navigate obstacles using as many as 18 separate views from all around the vehicle. They even clean themselves of mud and debris using an integrated Wash function.
The driver amenities present are as myriad as they are resplendent. The vehicle boasts an open air “infinity roof” — which we in the Before Times called a Targa top — consisting of removable, transparent “sky panels.” The interior offers a 13.4-inch-diagonal infotainment screen paired with a 12.3-inch-diagonal driver display.
Author: Andrew Tarantola, @terrortola
2h ago
Source: Engadget
