GM Pulls Wraps Off Ultium Drive EV Motors From the 1,000-HP Hummer
Up to three of these powerful motors can motivate a single EV.
As we get closer to the launch of the 2022 GMC Hummer EV, some of the details that were fuzzy when we first put eyes to the massive battery electric truck are starting to come into focus. In particular, the details about the triple-motor powertrain. We got a sense, through the total torque output of the truck, about the ballpark output of each motor. But GM has just released more info, and now we're able to get a better picture of what is actually going to motivate this 1,000-horsepower behemoth.
You're looking at the heart(s) of the Ultium Drive system. These three motors all have a role to play in the various Ultium-powered vehicles GM plans on producing, not just the big Hummer. GM showed off three variations, including a powerful 255-kW permanent magnet motor that can be used for front- or rear-drive positions. A 180-kW permanent magnet motor can be used in the front position, and a 62-kW induction motor is designed to be an all-wheel-drive assist motor.
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Need a quick explainer on the differences between the motor types? We have you covered in our Electric Cars 101 primer.
Back to the 2022 GMC Hummer Edition 1, it will pack three of the largest motor in its massive chassis. That means one 255-kW unit up at the front axle, and two at the rear. This should be capable of motivating the massive truck to 60 mph in 3.0 seconds, the company estimates. And we do mean massive; the Edition 1 will tip the scales at a reported 9,046 pounds, in the ballpark of the heaviest heavy duty rigs to ever visit our scales. None of those big trucks could even joke about hitting 60 mph in such a time.
As remarkable as the GMC Hummer seems to be, the motors it utilizes (and the other motors GM showed off today) will find a place in a broad range of vehicles, the company promises, ranging from work-ready trucks to enthusiast-pleasing performance vehicles. We can't wait to see what else the company cooks up.
Like a lot of the other staffers here, Alex Kierstein took the hard way to get to car writing. Although he always loved cars, he wasn’t sure a career in automotive media could possibly pan out. So, after an undergraduate degree in English at the University of Washington, he headed to law school. To be clear, it sucked. After a lot of false starts, and with little else to lose, he got a job at Turn 10 Studios supporting the Forza 4 and Forza Horizon 1 launches. The friendships made there led to a job at a major automotive publication in Michigan, and after a few years to MotorTrend. He lives in the Seattle area with a small but scruffy fleet of great vehicles, including a V-8 4Runner and a C5 Corvette, and he also dabbles in scruffy vintage watches and film cameras.
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