11,500lb ft Hummer EV lands
GMC turns back the clock with electric 'super truck' able to get from Basra to Baghdad on a single charge
After the now customary delays, the GMC Hummer EV has been revealed in all its 1,000hp and 11,500lb ft of torque glory (although that latter number remains misleading, as we’ll get to). The electric SUV is adequately sized for a successor to the H3, promises three-second 0-60mph performance and more than 350 miles of range between charges. It can go properly off-road, has loads of space inside and features no shortage of tech, including a ‘hands off’ driver assistance mode for highways.
That’s quite a leap forward in capabilities for Hummer’s latest civilian vehicle. Its electric powertrain comes in two available configurations, with the first available version – a $112,595 Edition 1 due one year from now – using three motors to achieve those peak range and performance stats. It’s limited run and already sold out. Lesser variants will follow, though, with an 800hp version due in autumn 2022 and then two more variants, right down to a $79,995 entry point that’s due in spring 2024 using two motors.
The base model stats aren’t exactly underpowered, either; it’ll produce 625hp and 7,400lb ft of torque, with an estimated 250-mile range. We should add that those torque figures aren’t directly comparable with conventional combustion numbers because Hummer – like Tesla did with its Roadster – has quoted at the wheel figures, which means the number has been multiplied by the final drive ratio. Cheeky. But there’s still a lot of twist; the top model’s motor torque is still said to deliver 1,100lb ft, and that’s instantly available.
Elsewhere, it gets 302mm ground clearance, an approach angle of 44.3 degrees and a departure angle of 33.7 degrees. There’s 330mm worth of suspension travel front and rear, and forget what you’ve learned about keeping electrical items clear of water – the Hummer EV can ford up to 711mm. And by the way, most of those numbers go up by a few per cent if you option in the more rugged Extract mode, which only requires a software update.
There’s a lot of tech to assist on tough terrain, too, including underbody cameras and digitally illustrated pitch and roll data. GMC has also developed a ‘Crabwalk’ mode, which rotates each wheel independently to enable the Hummer EV to drive diagonally, something the manufacturer claims is useful on tricky terrain, but may also just be a right old laugh. Back on roads, a Super Cruise system is said to enable hands free driving on certain highways. There’s an illustration on Hummer's site to back up the claims that this is proper hands-off stuff; albeit with the obvious requirement for drivers to remain very much ready to retake control at any moment.
There’s clearly also been as much focus on entertainment here as tech; there’s a jump shot in the computer-generated video footage, and the glass panels of the roof can be removed, so it all still feels authentically gunship. The launch video was only a Bruce Springsteen soundtrack away from going full America. But instead of a thumping V8 there was a silent EV in the foreground. The times they are a-changin'.
And if I remember correctly, the Hummer H2 did around 10mpg...
As you say, let's compare like for like.
You're right about comparing like-with-like, I can't be bothered to run the figures on how much CO2 is produced at 10 mpg, but you'd probably still have to drive that 20-30,0000 miles to offset the CO2 in manufacturing the 200 kWh battery in this new hummer. Compared with a more efficient vehicle, the distance would be even greater and the payback period several more years.
The other interesting thing with EVs is multiple vehicle ownership becomes extremely damaging. The CO2 benefits of EVs come from reducing the lifetime CO2 emissions of the vehicle. With an ICE, the embodied CO2 is lower and the less you drive it the less CO2 is produced. With an EV, the less you drive it (relative to an ICE car) the less you're offsetting the embodied CO2. If say you purchase this hummer and a Model S, you've generated about 50 tonnes of CO2 before you've even driven anywhere - it may take 8 or 10 years before you've offset the CO2 generated...
If the new cars were to be manufactured using renewable or nuclear power, then the impact to the environment is significantly reduced. It's not removed, because mining is very damaging to the environment, for example.
If a CyberTruck was made using nuclear power for the metal refining, battery manufacture and car build, with care taken to produce the components in a environmentally friendly way, then powered using renewable electricity for it's life, then the lifetime impact is a lot less.
It's a big "IF" above, but that is probably the conversation we should be having.
Theoretically it should be possible to produce these things using renewable energy, which should considerably reduce their carbon footprint, but that doesn't yet seem to be the case.
I personally hope that synthetic fuels gain traction - much lower embodied CO2 and less raw material in the vehicles, and the production and distribution of the fuel can also be theoretically carbon neutral.
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