The Hummer is back! But this time instead of being a behemoth, petrol-guzzling mean machine, it’s a convertible EV ute!

GMC has announced that the 2022 Hummer EV Edition 1 will be the first vehicle in production with the company’s all-new Ultium battery architecture and will offer impressive on- and off-road features and a broad range of vehicle dynamics and performance features.

It’s also touting it as the first all-electric super truck, just nipping ahead of Telsa’s Cybertruck for the title by a couple of months.

This new architecture provides the framework to integrate advanced technologies for optimal driving range and — in the case of the Hummer EV — will enable performance and capabilities that would not be possible with a conventional vehicle architecture and propulsion system.

The 24-module Ultium battery pack and three-motor Ultium Drive system will provide this all-electric supertruck best-in-class power output.

“As the first of GM’s next-gen EVs, the Hummer EV will fundamentally alter conventional off-road and truck paradigms,” said Ken Morris, GM vice president, Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Programs.

“It will also debut new technology, including our all-new Ultium batteries, Ultium Drive units and the industry’s first wireless battery management system.”

Ultium batteries are unique in the industry because of their large-format, pouch-style cells, which can be stacked vertically or horizontally inside the battery pack. In the Edition 1 Hummer EV, two layers of vertical cell modules will be used to produce a combined 24-module pack offering a GM-estimated range of 560km.

In addition to power and range, the Ultium battery pack will contribute to the Hummer EV’s driving dynamics and structure. The pack’s low mounting position in the chassis contributes to a low center of gravity, enhancing the vehicle’s overall feeling of control and stability. 

The compact construction of the Ultium battery pack also contributes to Hummer EV’s ideal off-road proportions, including a short front overhang and short front breakover angle.

“This is the first truck that we have ever designed around an EV propulsion system,” said Adam Kwiatkowski, GM executive chief engineer, Global Electric Propulsion.

“Designing the truck and the propulsion system together enhances Hummer EV’s unique performance capabilities, while also making this the stiffest truck GM has ever built.”

Edition 1’s three electric drive motors within Ultium Drive will yield a combined GM-estimated 750kW.  All that grunt means this big EV is capable of sprinting to 100km/h in 3.0 seconds..

With GM’s state-of-the-art nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum (NCMA) chemistry, Hummer EV’s Ultium batteries will have some of the highest nickel and lowest cobalt — a rare and costly material — content of any large-format pouch cell. The breakthroughs of the Ultium chemistry allow GM to use 70 percent less cobalt than GM’s previous generation of EVs.

Hummer EV will also be the first vehicle in GM’s lineup to feature its wireless battery management system, which maintains balance within the truck’s battery cell groups for optimal performance and battery longevity.

The Hummer’s charging hardware will be complemented by in-vehicle and available smartphone apps that help customers find available charging locations and can even precondition the battery to get the most efficiency out of their upcoming charging session.