GMC video teases Hummer EV pickup—and the Hummer SUV’s return

GMC intended to unveil its all-electric Hummer pickup on May 20, but the coronavirus pandemic put a damper on those plans. Today GMC announced that the official debut is being rolled back to this fall, with production starting in the fall of 2021. In the meantime, GMC gave us a little teaser by way of a video featuring NBA All-Star LeBron James.

The video doesn’t mention many specs that we didn’t already know, but it does show off the car’s shape. Unsurprisingly, it’s pure Hummer.

There’s a promised 1000 horsepower, a 0-60 time of 3 seconds, and 11,500 pound-feet of torque. We assume the torque figure has to be measured at the wheels … which still doesn’t make much sense. (GM seems to be taking a page from Tesla here and feeding the hype machine.)

The video does show some interesting development shots of the Hummer pickup, first in clay, and then in actual steel. Then comes a string of intriguing clues: adrenaline mode, crab mode, Ultium battery, super fast charging, next-gen Super Cruise, infinity roof, modular sky panels, and ultra-vision cameras. Most of those are self-explanatory, with the roof mentions seeming to hint at a huge moonroof with removable transparent panels. “Adrenaline mode” is surely an all-out all-wheel-drive launch similar to Tesla’s “Ludicrous mode.” “Crab mode” seems to suggest that GMC will take advantage of an electric powertrain’s ability to allow wheels on opposite sides of the axle to rotate independently of each other, resulting in incredible maneuverability.

Finally, the video ends with a silhouette of the upcoming truck followed by a silhouette of what is clearly a Hummer SUV. Popular as SUVs are, and with all of the development done on the pickup, GMC surely calculated that it made business sense to get Hummer back in that segment once again. Sensible conclusion for a perhaps nonsensical vehicle.

The GMC Hummer pickup will be built at GM’s Detroit Hamtramck assembly plant alongside the Cadillac Lyriq. It could be facing a seriously competitive market in the near future; 2022 is shaping to be a big year for electric pickups with Rivian, Ford, and Tesla also working on entrants to the segment. Does the Hummer brand have enough cachet to appeal to buyers of a premium off-road lifestyle product? We admit the specs and design are interesting. We’ll be eager to see the real thing in action.