The Hummer EV has 1,000PS and 35‑inch tyres

The numbers are as mad as you’d imagine: 1,000PS, 0-62mph in just over three seconds, 350 miles of estimated range and an £85,000 entry price (in America) for early adopters. In place of a thumping General Motors small-block V8 are now three electric motors delivering that four-figure lump of power. The most ridiculous figure is for torque, standing at 15,591Nm (11,500lb ft). Sorry, what? Oh, and it has 35-inch tyres. Nothing being done by halves, then.

What hasn’t changed much is what’s on the surface. It’s unmistakably a Hummer, with its stubby nose, chunky proportions and general Tonka Toy feel, just updated for 2020. So that means tighter build quality, and crisp LED lighting, including a stylish bar all the way across the front.

New for this Hummer is the ability to pop out the front and rear roof panels, albeit with a centre bar in the rear and a hoop between the front seats and the back seats. The MultiPro Tailgate also has six functional positions. It’ll be a pick-up initially, with a full-bodied SUV due in time. With the new Ford Bronco bringing back a classic name, and perfectly retro-futuristic looks for 2021, this new Hummer with EV power and nostalgic aesthetics has arrived bang on-time.

“The GMC Hummer EV reimagines an instantly-recognizable silhouette for a modern, all-electric future,” said Phil Zak, design executive director. “Its design visually communicates extreme capability, which is reinforced with rugged architectural details offered with a premium, well-executed and appointed interior.”

There’s lots of tech, too, including big 13.4-inch and 12.3-inch screens for the infotainment and driver display respectively. Among many things, those screens can show ‘off-road widgets’ which help you keep tabs on torque output and vectoring, the locking diffs, tyre pressures, pitch and roll angles, a drift gauge (probably not what you think) and much more.

‘Super Cruise’ autonomous highway driving joins what GMC calls ‘Ultravision’. To you and I, that’s a battery (ha ha) of up to 18 camera views available for perfectly placing the vastness of your Hummer on and off road. They let you see the front, rear, sides and even the underbody.

An 800-volt DC fast charging compatibility up to 350kW. That means 10 minutes of charging at max capacity will get you 100 miles of range. Though how large the battery pack is isn’t explicitly stated, only that it is a ‘24-module’ and ‘double-stacked’ battery. GMC makes a big deal of the new Ultium nameplate for it and that charging capability is impressive. As well as being able to keep an eye on the underbody where the batteries are with the cameras, you can also be safe in the knowledge of the car’s steel skid plates to protect the delicate innards.

CrabWalk four-wheel-steering allows both the rears and the fronts to face the same angle at low speeds allowing diagonal driving, or ‘crabbing’ to you and I, to help both urban and off-road driving. A sign that a car isn’t tracking straight to you and I is just a clever manoeuvrability solution in the new Hummer. A welcome addition given how vast it will no doubt be.

Adaptive air suspension also allows for a massive six inch jump in ride height in what Hummer calls ‘extract mode’, for literally pulling the body of the car out of the sloppy stuff or over rocks for an easier escape. That, or showing off at Cars & Coffee.

GM has made a $2.2 billion investment in the facility that will build the new Hummer EV. Production for the Edition 1 (with all the fancy toys mentioned above) will begin in late 2021, for that full-bodied price. Cheaper, slower, lesser-equipped variants will follow.

There’s no word on a European foray for this model but we’d be surprised if it made it over officially. If you want to import one of those first Edition 1s, expect to spend circa £110,000 for the privilege once duties, taxes and shipping are paid. Now the only question is, when will Elon Musk give an update on the Tesla Cybertruck?