Those headlines above tell you just about everything GMC is ready to share at this point about Hummer’s resurrection as an electric pickup truck. That is, aside from the photo you see here of the truck’s front end and four 15-second videos (watch them below) that will presumably comprise a promised Super Bowl ad and crazy torque output claims for the electric powertrain. One thing’s for sure—the truck could be even more awesome-looking than we imagined.
We’ve been speculating about the new Hummer for months, and earlier reporting indicating the Hummer electric truck would be build at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant alongside other electric GM pickups has now been confirmed by GMC to have been accurate. Beyond the pickup’s Super Bowl commercial appearance, GMC further announced that the Hummer project will be fully unveiled on May 20, 2020, and that its initial availability will be in late 2021. Here is everything else we can glean from the facts, photos, and videos GMC has shared with us so far:
We correctly surmised that GMC branding on the pickup will be de-emphasized. As you can see, the vehicle wears large “HUMMER” lettering in the grille and a much smaller GMC badge down by a tow hook (lower-right side of the picture above). Note also the six grille slots. No need to scratch the scab from that Jeep-aping seven-slot brouhaha. And furthermore, we have deduced from other reporting that the GMC is to be full-size like a Sierra, not mid-sized like the GMC Canyon sized.
Now, let’s unpack the whole 1,000 horsepower and—wait for it—11,500-lb-ft (!) torque ratings. Those are new, and both seem really huge, right? A number as high as that lb-ft figure is bound to represent torque applied at all four tires. Since the industry doesn’t typically quote torque figures that have been multiplied through any transmission and axle gearing (i.e., for engines, we quote torque from the engine, before it is multiplied by, say, a torque converter), we figure that GMC’s Hummer will fit four electric motors, one per wheel, with each rated for 250 horsepower. As for each motor’s torque, that figure depends on how it’s delivered to each wheel. If the motors were direct-drive in-wheel hub units, that’d mean each one would produce a whopping 2,875 lb-ft; if each motor were instead mounted inboard and spun a half-shaft axle through the same 9.73:1 reduction ratio Tesla uses in the dual-motor Model S (as an example), the torque rating would be a much more “normal” sounding 295 lb-ft per motor.
We’ll have to wait and see what GMC has up its sleeve here, because in-wheel hub motors have yet to hit the automotive mainstream, let alone its fringes. Companies like Protean and Elaphe have been hawking in-wheel motors with output ratings in this range for a while, but to date no mainstream production passenger vehicle has adopted them. The Lordstown Endurance pickup we’ve reported on is expected to use in-wheel motors, too. In-wheel motors make terrific sense for packaging, as there’s no bulky motor and transmission taking vehicle space from where the people and cargo want to be. They somewhat complicate the braking package and they tend to add considerable unsprung weight, making the suspension work harder to deliver the ride and handling characteristics modern customers demand. These expectations are admittedly somewhat less difficult to achieve in a large truck, however.
One stat that doesn’t need much more explaining? GMC’s claim that the new Hummer pickup will be capable of hitting 60 mph in three seconds. Yep, the electric Hummer pickup truck is real, it’s coming soon. The first electric pickups built at Detroit-Hamtramck roll off the line by the end of 2021, likely starting with this Hummer. It’s expected to be joined later by an electric Hummer-branded SUV.
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Source: WORLD NEWS
