Lucas Bell 
The GMC Hummer EV has arrived with a clear focus on being a performance vehicle. However, much of the hardware and software that GMC has been touting relates to how the super truck drives off the pavement. We love off-roading as much as anyone, but we wanted to learn a little more about just how fast the GMC Hummer has the potential to be.
We already know that all of the GMC Hummer EV models will bring a serious amount of power to the table. The range-topping Edition 1 model will arrive with 1,000 horsepower and will be able to lay down an equally impressive 1,000 ft-lbs of torque. That’s only sort of true actually, as that requires you to activate Watts to Freedom Mode (WTF Mode). Initiating this sequence will cause the seats to rumble, which is accompanied by a pumped in bass-tone to let passengers know what is about to take place, as the truck lowers its ride height to get into a sprinter’s stance.
More than just a fancy launch control, Watts to Freedom unlocks more current through the motor inverters and increases cooling capacity giving the truck more juice. As a result, WTF mode allows the Hummer EV to do 0-60 mph in 3.0 seconds with 35-inch tires. Goodyear Wrangler tires, in this case. Considering that these tires are meant for superior off-road traction, and not the more adhesive street performance tires like a Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2.
Considering the 2022 Hummer EV Edition 1 will have 1,000 horsepower, and roughly 1,000 lb-ft of wheel torque, there’s a big chance that this super truck could be even quicker from 0-60, and could have a wild quarter-mile time for something so big. And with the off-road performance truck segment seeing new entries like the GMC Hummer and Ram 1500 TRX, the street performance truck crown remains officially unclaimed. But will the team behind the Hummer EV make an effort to set new quarter-mile and top speed records for a production truck? We asked. And we got an answer.
“I might have asked (Hummer EV lead development engineer) Aaron Pfau to order some Mickey Thompsons concerning that,” said Hummer EV chief engineer Al Oppenheiser to MC&T. “As far as speed limits, we don’t know what our limits are going to be yet, we don’t intend on limiting it. It’s all going to be in the customer’s hands on range, energy usage.”
It appears then the GMC Hummer EV may even have more speed in it than we’ve been told thus far. Not yet placing a speed limiter on the pickup is also another sign of the truck’s performance bent. That said, this is not the only place that they’ve decided to forgo a limiter. Despite the fact that it probably isn’t best for the battery to drive around like this all the time, apparently the drive modes are not restricted either.
“There’s no limit on (how many) Watts to Freedoms you can do,” said Oppenheiser. “ Or if you’re in My Mode, Sport Mode or Adrenaline Mode, there’s no limits on those either.”
Formally the chief engineer of the Chevrolet Camaro, Oppenheiser, and other members of the Chevrolet Performance group, have been tasked with developing the Hummer EV on a radically expedited timeline.
Adrenaline Mode is what one might consider a “Sport +” setting, which Oppenheiser was quick to describe as thrilling. According to the engineer, this mode will allow the Hummer EV Edition 1 to do 0-60 mph in four seconds, which is still blistering quick for a massive pickup. However, Adrenaline mode doesn’t come with the same level of theatrics as Watts to Freedom mode. WTF, indeed.
There is still a decent amount of time before we get all of the Hummer EV’s performance metrics, such as the acceleration figures for the rest of the lineup. Furthermore, GMC has yet to make a comment about how much the Hummer EV can tow or haul as payload, which are vital figures for a pickup. However, Oppenheiser noted that this should come sooner rather than later.
“We’re building the first test vehicles ‘as we speak’ – until we get in the vehicles and understand its towing capability – we’re going to push it as much as we can,” said Oppenheiser. “We know where we want it to be but we want to verify that when we get test vehicles.”
The new Hummer marks the beginning of the electric pickup era for the American auto industry, bringing with it unrivaled levels of performance. We may not know everything about this truck yet, but we like what we see so far.
