Hummer teases crab mode, reveal set for Oct. 20

Crawling toward a new era for electric off-roaders

DETROIT — GMC confirmed it will reveal the Hummer electric off-roader Oct. 20 and released a video teasing the vehicle’s so-called crab mode.

Crab mode allows the Hummer to move diagonally and is enabled by the vehicle’s four-wheel steering. The video shows tires, and well, a crab.

“When you're in the really difficult terrain, this just gives you unparalleled maneuverability,” said Duncan Aldred, global vice president of Buick GMC.

The Hummer will be offered as truck and SUV models, and customers will be able to make reservations beginning on the reveal date. Deliveries are expected to begin in fall 2021. The Hummer was supposed to be revealed May 20, but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Hummer was teased in a Super Bowl ad this year with NBA superstar LeBron James, who is the vehicle's frontman. It will have several EV powertrains which General Motors calls Ultium, and the most capable variant will have an estimated 1,000 hp and hit 60 mph in three seconds. The Hummer will also offer removable roof panels.

“This is very much going to be a luxury vehicle which competes against a broad spectrum,” Aldred said Monday on a conference call with reporters.

The Hummer will take aim against a variety of vehicles, including the four-door Bronco, Rivian’s truck and SUV and the Jeep Wrangler 4xe. Aldred is optimistic the return of the Hummer name will help GMC carve its niche in this growing segment of trucks and SUVs with varying degrees of electric propulsion and off-road capability. GM sold vehicles under the Hummer brand from 1992-2010, before scrapping it in the wake of GM’s historic 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring.

Hummer is relaunching under the GMC umbrella. “It’s real desirability, it’s almost cult-like status,” Aldred said. “I think a huge amount of people are going to have interest in this.”

GM, which is re-emphasizing its defense division, could also repurpose the Hummer for military use, perhaps as transport vehicles. Hummers are descended from the Humvee, which is still used by U.S. forces.