WTF – The EV Hummer makes 1000hp and walks like a crab

The Hummer platform might be one of the most ridiculous vehicles ever constructed. Kicking off way back in the 1970s as the simply named High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle or HMMWV for short, it’s not surprising people just called it the Humvee instead. The original was designed to be just as capable as the lighter-weight Jeeps the U.S. Army were using. And able to take on some of the more workhorse tasks of the heavier duty M715 Jeep trucks they had in rotation too. Huge run-flat tyres. Beadlock wheels. Portal axles. And a stonking big V8 shoehorned halfway inside the cab. Admittedly there’s not a great deal of that DNA left in the EV Hummer, but it’s still every bit as ridiculous as the original.

“It’s still every bit as ridiculous as the original”

WTF – Wheels To Freedom

So what exactly is it about the EV Hummer that makes it so insane? Well for starters, it makes over 1000hp delivered to the ground through three separate drive motors. Combined, they produce more torque than any of the top-tier heavy-duty trucks like the F250, Ram 3500, or Silverado 3500.

It scores over 500km of range from a single charge. And with DC fast charging becoming more popular you can punch in 160km of charge in less than 10 minutes

General Motors are dubbing it the ‘world’s first super truck’ and that’s something they like to show off in their WTF mode. They reckon it stands for Wheels To Freedom, but we’re not convinced. Either way. Tapping the EV Hummer into WTF mode essentially puts it into drag racing mode. The suspension lowers by 50mm, then rockets you 0-100km/h in 3 seconds flat. For comparison’s sake. That’s Ferrari Superfast speeds out of a dual cab ute that weighs over 4T.

“That’s Ferrari Superfast speeds out of a dual cab ute that weighs over 4T”

Off the beaten path

Look we’ll admit, drag racing power and being limited to recharge points doesn’t exactly make the EV Hummer a useful off-roader. But there are a few tricks up its sleeve for in the dirt.

The first is its independent control of four-wheel steering. On the road, the rears lock out and it steers like any other dual cab. Off-road though and you can dial in ‘crab mode’. Steer right, and both front and rear wheels point right and the entire vehicle will keep pointing forward, but drive diagonally to the right. The same goes if you need to shift to the left. That same system can also points front and rear steer wheels opposite directions allowing you to cut your turning circle down 16%.

Extract mode is the latest trick though. An over-the-air update. When you need bulk ground clearance through rocks, deep river crossings, or because you’ve beached the Hummer on a steep washout, engaging Extract mode dials in a huge 6in increase in ride height to get you out of strife. It combines with the factory 35in tyres to make it usable off-road.

But will it head down under?

There’s been no official word yet on the plus-sized ‘Super Truck’ heading down under, but there is a serious business case for it. With the death of the Camaro, HSV are once again twiddling their thumbs looking for a project to own. They’re currently heavily involved in converting left hook trucks to right hook for the local market. And the roads booming with plus sized American pickups mean the EV Hummer wouldn’t be out of place. Still, with the falling Aussie dollar, and the EV Hummer already north of $100k stateside, it’d easily run north of $200,000 landed and converted.