Could the GMC Hummer EV spawn a Humvee successor for the U.S. military?
GM Defense has been on a bit of a roll lately. In the wake of securing a hefty Military contract to produce 649 examples of the Colorado ZR2-based Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), a rumor has begun to circulate that General Motors might be exploring an electric Humvee successor based on the upcoming GMC Hummer EV.
During a recent interview with GMAuthority.com, GM Defense President David Albritton seemed to leave the door open for such a possibility. “It’s a full-size truck with 400 miles of range, 1000 foot-pounds of torque, a very highly capable vehicle. That could provide a great base platform for an electric vehicle to be used in the military context,” he said, speaking on the civilian variant of the Hummer EV.
Although it’s mostly speculation currently, a military version of an EV Hummer doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Imagine a near-silent troop transport vehicle, for one thing. The Hummer EV, which is one of the first vehicles to incorporate GM’s impressive-looking flexible EV architecture, certainly has the compelling specs, with prodigious torque numbers and a solid estimated range. Add to that the possibility of stacking the LG Chem co-developed Ultium batteries either vertically or horizontally, and it seems like the power for an EV Humvee could take many different forms other than a large battery spanning the length of the floor, which could prove sub-optimal for vehicles that encounter hard run-ins with obstacles like improvised explosive devices.
The civilian-spec Hummer EV was announced with a bizarre commercial during the Super Bowl, which actually claimed that the EV truck would have 11,500 lb-ft of torque and 1000 horsepower, far more outlandish figures than the ones quoted by Albritton in his interview. Back in late April, GMC delayed the launch of the Hummer EV, a difficulty almost certainly brought about because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of this writing, there is no update as to when exactly the e-truck will break cover.
