Electric comeback: Hummer returning after nine-year hiatus as an EV - LeBron James stars in Super Bowl ad for the new GMC
After a nine-year hiatus, the Hummer nameplate is making a comeback and this time it will be in the form of a GMC-badged electric vehicle – and that could even mean it’s a pickup truck!
GMC has promised a “truck” however it isn’t known for sure if that means a brawny SUV-type vehicle, or a traditional pickup. We only have one teaser image to go by for now, released ahead of the Super Bowl, and in it, we can see a six-slat grille (just like ones on the H2 and H3) with the word "HUMMER" emblazoned within it. In fact, the grille is illuminated (confirming this will be an electric vehicle) and it blends with the squared LED headlights. It also has a large vent opening, a "GMC" badge and a rugged pair of front fenders flares.
General Motors is keeping quiet for now too but full details are expected in May – although we do have some vital info to tide you over for now. It will have more than 1,000 horsepower and a reported 15,590Nm of axle torque. It will hit 0-100kph in about 3.0 seconds and it promises to be on- and off-road-ready like most GMC products and with the brand ensuring a rugged AT4 option for every vehicle in its lineup, an even tougher Hummer is possible too.
To be built at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, the Hummer EV should make its debut on May 20. What is for certain is that with it being a zero-emission EV GMC will reboot the reputation of the Hummer, which was hardly known for being environmentally friendly.
It sure won’t be a fuel-hungry monster like it once was as it will be running on battery power now. Unfortunately, GMC has not revealed specific info such as battery capacity, motors, or charging time but they will in due course however considering they say it will be on-and “off-road-ready” we reckon it will boast an all-wheel-drive system and at least two electric motors for the front and rear axles.
Electric cars are much quieter than the V8 engines associated with the Hummers of old and that is why GMC is calling the advert “Quiet Revolution.” The Hummer EV’s Super Bowl commercial features basketball star LeBron James who has some history with the brand. He drove a heavily customized 2003 H2 in high school, finished in white with huge chromed wheels. In the ad, he is seen quietly shattering a basketball backboard as the video says “Pure dominance will sound like this.”
“The spot highlights the anticipated performance of GMC’s all-electric super truck,” the automaker says, “which will generate remarkable metrics in terms of horsepower, torque and acceleration while providing incredible on- and off-road capability. All of this is combined with the vastly reduced noise and zero emissions inherent in the operation of an electric vehicle.”
