Fancy driving an off-roader guided by its own remote drone flying ahead to recce the terrain and relay images back to your dashboard screen?
What about a customizable body and interior you can adapt for different adventures with switchable wings, fenders and even different dashboard screens?
Okay, GM’s new concept Hummer X is unlikely to be rolling into a showroom near you any time soon – but as a showcase of ideas percolating behind the scenes, it’s one of the most interesting vehicles of the year.
This electric off-roader concept is designed as either a pickup or SUV and when GM says it “reimagines what a vehicle can mean to the people who drive it” for once it’s not just over-the-top marketingspeak. It really seems to be a testbed for some radical new technologies.
GMC HUMMER X Mid-Size SUV Concept | Official GM B-Roll
GMC HUMMER X Mid-Size Pickup Concept | Official GM B-Roll
Right from the fundamental level, the Hummer concept is different. GM’s design team envisages building it using a new fast, small-batch, on-demand production system. This would be similar to 3D printing, but for metal. That means each Hummer X could be completely configurable because it uses no specialized stamping tools. Multiple designs would be possible from the same platform. GM calls this small production system ‘Flex Fab’ and there’s more than a hint of Southern California about the thinking involved.
And that is no surprise, when you spot that the concept was revealed as part of the official opening of GM’s new advanced design studio in Pasadena.
This brainstorming unit spans 148,000 square feet (1,300 sq m) across three buildings, and is equipped for full-size clay modeling, fabrication and immersive digital collaboration. It houses a 100 -strong team spanning design, sculpting and fabrication. The studio’s focus is on conceptual design studies intended to drive new ideas across the company. GM says its designers look beyond current production programs to envision “what could be.”
General Motors
For example, the Hummer X replaces adhesives with snap fits and mechanical fasteners so parts can be fully recycled and swapped in and out. There’s a list of parts made from recycled bits which is fairly meaningless when the exercise is all at the concept level but nevertheless shows where GM’s thinking is heading. It is taking recycling so seriously it describes the Hummer X as part of a circular economy and community of switchable, reusable parts.
However it is put together and whatever it’s made from, the X Concept seems to have unlocked a new Hummer vibe: a clean, flat-topped silhouette with smooth radiused edges, laser-welded seams and visible precision bolts. To our eyes it looks embarrassingly better than the standard Hummer EV that’s actually on sale.
Regular readers will recall we spent a week testing the latest production Hummer recently, where our own Aaron Turpen called it ‘a mobile playhouse for adults who love extremes.’ Interestingly the new X Concept has been designed significantly smaller yet fully crammed with ideas and rock-crawling capabilities.
The SUV Concept X is slightly more monstrous than its pickup sibling, with massive 37-inch off-road tires that AutoExpress magazine has likened to something you’d drive on the Moon. There’s a towering ground clearance of 13.2 in (334 mm) and its approach and departure angles of 44 and 46 degrees completely out crawl a Land Rover Defender’s 40-degree maximum.
The hardcore beadlock wheels mechanically clamp the edge of the tire to the rim. Unlike standard wheels, which rely solely on air pressure to push the tire against the rim, beadlocks use a bolted outer ring to physically sandwich the tire in place.
General Motors
But let’s get back to that extraordinary customizable dashboard, one of the most noticeable features. There are up to seven screen systems available. You can stack them all in there, side-by-side, or just pick the ones you want for your particular adventure. One of them, for example, links to a scout drone camera surveying the terrain ahead and feeding back route data to the driver.
This is from a Southern Californian think tank remember, so all the boring technical details like range and performance weren’t included in the press materials. It clearly isn’t about creating a production concept but an ideas showcase.
Nevertheless, if the X aims to out-perform the standard Hummer EV, it will need the largest battery fitted to any production car. The standard EV is currently powered by the biggest in any car in the world, a huge 212-kWh unit three times the size of a Chevy Bolt’s battery which is humongous enough to power several homes at once or more than 400 ebikes simultaneously.
Source: GMC
