2003 Hummer H3T Concept. Image source: General Motors Co.
We reported last month that General Motors will revive the Hummer off-road vehicle brand with a family of electric pickups and SUVs and now we’ve seen the trucks for ourselves and gotten some detailed information. While we were able to examine the Hummer clay models, no photos were permitted, so we’ll describe the vehicles and depict them using available photos as examples.
Image source: General Motors Co.
The new Hummer SUV and SUT (sport utility truck) will arrive in fall 2021 as the first production models based on GM’s new modular electric vehicle architecture and using the company’s new Ultium-branded next-generation battery packs that we saw previewed in our tour of GM’s battery lab. Both the SUV and SUT will have four doors and two rows of seating, and the open-bed pickup version will roll on a longer wheelbase to make space for the cargo bay out back.
General Motors Ultium battery pack. Image source: General Motors Co.
The Hummers will employ four of GM’s new 250-horsepower modular electric motors, one for each wheel, providing the vehicle a total of 1,000 horsepower. Both vehicles will feature a double stack of GM’s Ultium in-floor battery packs for a 200 kilowatt-hour capacity in an 800-volt configuration supporting 350 kW DC fast charging. This will provide a driving range of as much as 400 miles, and the vehicles will accelerate to 60 mph in less than 3.0 seconds.
The only image available of the new Hummer. Image source: General Motors Co.
GM has released a photo of the Hummers’ front end, with what lead exterior designer Gary Ruiz describes as “six vertical elements” as its signature for the faux grille ahead of the front trunk storage area. This should skirt around Jeep’s complaints of infringement on its traditional seven-slot grille.
Jeep Wrangler open roof. Image source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
The Hummer will have a removable targa-style roof panel above the front seats to provide open-air driving to the front row occupants, in similar fashion to the Jeep Wrangler’s removable panels. The Hummer’s front trunk will stow the removed roof panel conveniently, according to Ruiz.
The Sea of Tranquility. Image source: NASA
Interior design for the concept vehicles is inspired by lunar themes, according to Ruiz, who pointed out the hole pattern for the door speaker grilles is a relief map of the moon’s Sea of Tranquility, landing site of Apollo 11.
2011 Chevrolet Avalanche. Image source: General Motors Co.
The pickup and SUV look very similar, with the truck’s bed integrated into the body in the manner of the Chevrolet Avalanche of a decade ago. Like the Avalanche, the rearmost “C” roof pillar is vertical at the rear window. But where the Avalanche added an external element to provide a slope to the back side of the C pillar the Hummer’s C pillar is angled back to meet the bed. The rear window at the back of the cab is vertical and looks likely to retract like the one in the Avalanche did.
GMC MultiPro tailgate. Image source: General Motors Co.
At the rear, the Hummer SUT will feature a version of GMC’s MultiPro tailgate, with its six unique functions and positions. The clay model’s bed was covered, but a version of GMC’s CarbonPro bed also seems a likely bet for a vehicle that the company termed a “flagship” model for GMC in the future.
2021 Chevrolet Tahoe rear suspension. Image source: General Motors Co.
Underneath, the models displayed independent rear suspension, like that the company has debuted on its recent Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban and GMC Yukon models. GM will release official detail on the Hummer models May 20, so further information will have to wait until then.
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Dan Carney is a Design News senior editor, covering automotive technology, engineering and design, especially emerging electric vehicle and autonomous technologies.