Hummer has confirmed that its 830hp and 11,500lb ft of torque producing triple-motor electric setup will go into an SUV for the 2024 model year. The full-bodied Hummer will arrive two years after the recently revealed pick-up version with a 229mm (or nine-inch in ‘murican) shorter wheelbase, enabling even greater off-road ability thanks to improved departure and breakover angles. With those enormous peak outputs from its all-wheel drive layout, the Hummer SUV can also sprint from 0-60mph in a claimed 3.5 seconds. Which sounds no less insane a few months after the pick-up landed with the same stat.
While it’s true that both pick-up and SUV come with a somewhat tongue-in-cheek torque figure (11,500lb ft is the at-the-wheel number) it does suggest that the EV will be by far the maddest creation to come from the firm yet. With maximum approach and departure angles of 40.6 and 40 degrees respectively, it’ll be capable of crawling (or sprinting) up some serious inclines. With 330mm of suspension travel, too, most obstacles will be inconsequential.
The main improvement offered by the SUV is obviously cabin space, because without an open rear deck there’s room for a fully insulated boot. Hummer’s designers (who clearly had plenty of rulers at their disposal) designed both pick-up and SUV simultaneously, something the General Motors-owned brand reckons enabled the maximisation of “utility” across the board. Design director, Phil Zak, commented: “the SUV’s tight proportions create a distinct profile and spacious cargo area, while maintaining a roomy and architecturally-inspired cabin”. With the lid opening “like a vault” to expose a 1.2-metre-wide boot and 2,316 litres of room when the seats are down (373 more than a LWB Range Rover), there’s now room for an externally mounted spare tyre.
The body-on-battery structure, essentially the EV equivalent of a body-on-frame layout, is said to not only up the Hummer’s off-road abilities, but also ensure space for a stacks of long pouch cells that can sit both vertically and horizontally. At first, the SUV is confirmed with a 20-module, double-stacked battery pack, made up of two layers of 10 modules. Like the pick-up, we’re expecting other SUV variants to come. Although whether the SUV range will include the maddest of the pick-up pile, a 1,000hp model, as well as a lesser twin-motor model, is yet to be revealed. Whatever the configuration, Hummer claims a four-wheel-steer 10.8-metre turning circle and 609mm fording depth - both impressive.
Also to be shared throughout the line-up is a package of high-voltage charging hardware. The 800v setup doesn’t have a charge time yet, although the battery is said to enable over 300 miles of range, which, interestingly, is 50 fewer than was claimed with the pick-up. Before we get a headache trying to deduce why an SUV bodyshape might reduce range, let’s assume either Hummer has lowered expectations before production, or that this is evidence that the SUV won’t get quite so many battery cells in top spec as the pick-up. Either way, given its un-aerodynamic shape, that’s a fair amount of distance between plug visits for a car the size of a planet.
You also get a plethora of on-board tech, shared with the pick-up, that fancy illuminated front grille and, well, a whole lot of Hummer-style presence without any of the gas-guzzling negativity. Which, even months after we first knew of its arrival, still feels very odd indeed. But the Hummer always was a little odd - especially when encountering one in the UK on a modestly-sized road. Don't expect the new one to be anymore common in this country, although its zero-emission status and bewildering performance claims surely means it's ripe for private import in three years time.
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