Revealed: Hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Silverado military truck
A look at the stealthy hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Silverado military truck that is breaking cover.
Hummer may return … and really live up to its name this time.
There’s been some buzz lately that General Motors is mulling a reboot of the military-inspired brand, and Bloomberg last week asked the automaker’s president, Mark Reuss, if it was possible.
Hummer unveiled the HX concept in 2008, shortly before the brand went out of business. (GM)
“I love Hummer,” Reuss said at an event announcing a $150 million investment to increase the production of the company’s heavy duty pickups in Flint, Mich.
“I’m not sure. We’re looking at everything.”
Reuss had previously confirmed that GM is working on an all-electric pickup to compete with Ford’s upcoming battery-powered F-Series, and elaborated that there’s a market for a variety of electrified trucks.
“It’s massive. There might be places where we go first that are not just heavy-duty work trucks but more style and capability for off-road,” he said.
The Hummer H2 was so burly it was classified as a heavy duty truck and didn't get an EPA fuel economy rating, but reports put the real world figure at 12 mpg or less. (GM)
Hummer was idled in 2010 after a dozen years of ownership by GM, but the automaker still holds the rights to the brand. Its lineup consisted of three trucks powered by rumbling gasoline and diesel engines that became symbols of excessive consumption, so a switch to the quiet hum of electric motors would be a dramatic departure.
Austrian engineering firm Kreisel built an electric Hummer H1 for Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2017. (Kreisel)
GM has already built an electric off-road prototype truck called the Colorado ZH2 for testing by the U.S. Military that uses a hydrogen fuel cell rather than a battery pack, and has proposed a hulking heavy duty Silverado-based vehicle using the tech that a set of Hummer logos would look right at home on.
Earlier this year, GM was reportedly in talks to invest in electric truck startup Rivian, but it was Ford that ended up taking a $500 million stake in the company, which plans to start building premium off-road pickups and SUVs in Normal, Ill., next year.