The Hummer brand has always been about excess. In the past, that meant big everything: big frame, big engine, and a correspondingly big bill at the gas pump. With the new forthcoming 2023 GMC Hummer EV SUV, the brand is keeping the power and size drivers have come to associate with the Hummer name while downsizing in one key area by opting for an all-electric powertrain.
Details on this forthcoming model are still a little sparse, but we can infer some general specs based on the 2023 Hummer EV pickup. One thing is for certain: with the Hummer badge stamped on this hulking specimen, the power and performance are sure to impress.
Powered by either two or three electric motors depending on the trim, the Hummer EV SUV will be able to produce a staggering 625 horsepower and 7,400 pound-feet of torque in the two motor configuration and 830 horsepower with 11,500 torque in three motor setups. Numbers that large can start to seem a little nebulous, but here’s a good statistic for some context: despite weighing in at around 9,000 pounds, the Hummer EV can pull zero-to-60 in just 3.5 seconds.
While it’ll be a couple of years before you can climb behind the wheel of this massive new offering from GMC, let’s take a look at some of the cutting-edge technology and luxury features that make the Hummer EV SUV such a standout in the newly-hot luxury EV segment.
Red Carpet-Ready
The Hummer has come a long way from its bare-bones military roots. While massive touchscreens and displays are now the norm in the luxury segment, the 2023 Hummer EV goes a step beyond, tapping industry partners to deliver several never-before-seen features that could well set an entirely new standard.
With a pair of massive screens accessible to both the driver and front-seat passenger, the Hummer EV is already well-equipped on the display front, but in teaming with one of the world’s leading software developers, GMC has taken it one Hummer-sized step further. The auto manufacturer has partnered with video game software developer Epic Games to elevate its display game, tapping their Unreal Engine to power the graphics on the Hummer EV’s Human Machine Interface (HMI).
Used to develop some of the world’s most popular video games, including Fortnite and Minecraft, the Unreal Engine software toolset will power the HMI’s graphics, delivering unprecedented animation quality for an in-vehicle system. Built on the Unreal Engine, the HMI’s digital interfaces have been designed by Perception studios. The visual effects company brings a level of cinematic flourish to the Hummer’s displays, having previously worked on several big-budget films, including several movies from the Marvel cinematic universe.
The Unreal-powered HMI will power both the 12.3″ Driver Information Center and centrally-located 13.4″ color touchscreen, delivering a customizable feed of relevant driving, infotainment, and navigation data to the driver through an attractively styled user interface. Drivers can monitor energy use – a particularly vital metric in an EV – and even arrange charging schedules and battery temperature conditioning. The sci-fi inspired graphics allow Perception to show off their cinematic background and give the Hummer’s display a futuristic, tactical look that wouldn’t be out of place in a spaceship from a Hollywood blockbuster.
The Future of Infotainment?
The interface also serves as your one-stop off-roading control panel, allowing drivers to track and adjust ride height, pitch/roll levels, and differentials on the fly. The ProGrade Trailering App gives drivers the ability to create custom profiles for every size and shape of trailer, making once-fussy connections easier than ever. The widget can also be used to complete a pre-departure checklist and run a trailer light test, taking the guesswork out of the task.
The ongoing collaboration with Epic Games also has one eye set firmly on the future. As self-driving autonomous vehicles become increasingly common, Epic hopes the platform will be used to build out a full complement of in-vehicle technology and entertainment features that will come to define the future of both driving and gaming.
“With game development in its DNA, Unreal Engine is the perfect platform to develop gamification and entertainment in vehicles. What if an automotive brand had their own games that only their vehicle users can access? Or drivers could customize their HMI visuals and voice assistant with the personality of their favorite video game character? With Unreal Engine as the HMI platform, opportunities such as this become possible,” reads a press release from Epic Games.
Bigger is Better in Tech, Styling
Audiophiles will appreciate the Hummer EV’s Bose Premium sound system, which utilizes Centerpoint with the Electric Vehicle Sound Enhancement (EVSE) to create an auditory experience designed specifically for the unique contours of the SUV’s cabin. Using a proprietary algorithm created by Bose, Centerpoint analyzes incoming audio signals and converts them into multiple channels, allowing for improved clarity and balance in playback. For its part, the EVSE system uses active noise masking and sound enhancement to ensure the highest possible fidelity, delivering a concert hall-quality listening experience through the 14 Bose speakers.
The Hummer EV SUV will also feature GM’s Super Cruise hands-free driving technology, allowing drivers to automate their driving experience on more than 200,000 miles of road across North America. The Super Cruise system has already allowed GM customers to experience over 7 million miles of hands-free driving since its introduction in 2018, with the technology setting a new standard for reliability and ease of use. While a driver’s hands don’t need to be on the wheel while Super Cruise is active, in-cabin cameras ensure that their eyes remain on the road. The hands-free system offers a generous trial period of three years, after which a subscription is required.
The Super Cruise system works in part thanks to the Hummer’s UltraVision suite of 17 cameras, which give the system every possible angle on the road ahead, behind, and below. There’s even a waterproof underbody camera that is particularly useful when navigating off-road terrain. The Hummer also features GM’s HD Surround Vision feature, which stitches together a composite of four live video feeds to give drivers a birds-eye view of their vehicle; an especially useful feature when it comes time to try parallel parking the massive SUV.
Performance and Luxury Abound
Speaking of maneuvering, the SUV will come with two innovative tech features that make the hulking Hummer decidedly more manageable. The first feature, known as Crab Walk, uses the Hummer’s all-wheel drive to move the vehicle diagonally, essentially allowing the SUV to scuttle sideways at low speeds in and out of tight spots. If that’s not enough to get you out of a jam, next up is Extract Mode. Thanks to the Hummer’s adjustable air suspension, the vehicle is capable of raising itself by as much as six inches, improving ground clearance for off-road scenarios and allowing the SUV to ford 32 inches of water.
Perhaps the most obvious and striking feature of the Hummer EV SUV, aside from its sheer size and unique shape, would have to be the removable glass-panel roof. These four Sky Panels are light enough to be removed by one person and can easily be stored in the Hummer EV’s frunk, giving drivers the ability to get a little wind in their hair at a moment’s notice. This unique feature is a rarity in the segment as a whole and is made possible here owing to a unique quirk in the EV’s design; while many convertibles are usually less rigid than hardtop vehicles, the heavy, floor-mounted twin battery packs on the Hummer EV make the SUV very resistant to the sort of twisting that usually makes removable tops a liability.
The first Hummer to hit the market in 1992 was a civilian-grade version of the U.S. military’s iconic HMMWV. In keeping with the model’s military roots, this no-nonsense utility vehicle opted for power and purpose over comfort and luxury, with a sparse cabin that did the job but provided little in the way of amenities. The subsequent Hummer H2, released in 2002, upped the game a bit, introducing a number of higher-end features drivers had come to expect at the price point. But with this new generation of electric Hummers, GMC has taken both luxury and performance to another level entirely.
