As tends to be the case when a new vehicle arrives, there is a lot of information to unpack about the GMC Hummer EV. As General Motors first entry into the electric truck segment, there may even be more to digest than a typical vehicle. That said, things are starting to become a bit more clear. Thanks to one Jason Fenske of Engineering Explained fame, we now have an in-depth analysis of the prototype vehicle that GM showed off at the debut event.
The folks at GMC let Fenske peek around the truck just before it made its debut, giving us some interesting looks that GMC has yet to outline. The Edition 1 model carries a lunar theme throughout the interior for instance, harking back to the first moon landing. There’s an outline of the moon’s Sea of Tranquility on the speaker grille, and astronaut boot prints can be seen throughout. An interesting choice, perhaps one meant to signify the importance of the new EV.
Fenske also got a bit of insider info when it comes to the truck’s features and capability. Thanks to one engineer sharing the truck’s gear ratios with him, we can finally calculate how much torque the truck actually makes. You see, that 11,500 ft-lb of torque number that has been thrown around by GMC represents wheel torque. This is calculated by multiplying the motor torque that you’re used to seeing by the gear ratio. Each axle of the Hummer EV uses a reduction gearbox, with the front carrying a ratio of 13.3:1 and the rear at 10.5:1. This is the first time the gear ratios were made known.
Assuming that all three of the identical motors produce the same amount of torque, this isn’t a terribly difficult problem to solve. For the math lovers out there, the equation is as follows: 11,500 = 2x*10.5 + x*13.5. Solve for x and you end up with a 335, which multiplied by three for each motor results in about 1,000. That means that the Hummer EV will arrive with around 1,000 ft-lb of torque in the traditional sense.
Be sure to take a bit of your day and watch through the entire Engineering Explained video. Fenske covers a tremendous amount of information related to the Hummer EV, as well as simply showing viewers around the thing.
