By every scale and measure, Jay Leno is a car aficionado. Perhaps the most famous one in America (sorry Adam, and Jerry). And while he’s renown for owning some radical engine-powered performance vehicles (like the Pratt & Miller Corvette C6RS), he doesn’t shy from electrification, either. Recalling a fondness for the Chevrolet Volt, Leno recently got a look at GM’s next big entry into electrification: the GMC Hummer EV.
Jay And The GMC Hummer EV
What used to be known as the king of gas guzzlers is now becoming all-electric in the form of a massive pickup truck, equally or perhaps more imposing than before. Made in America as well, the Hummer EV is currently in the state of pre-production at its newly updated Detroit-Hamtramck Factory Zero assembly plant. The most powerful version, the Hummer EV Edition 1, will push out 1,000 horsepower scoring a 0-60 time in 3-seconds and be fueled by GM’s Ultium Drive electric motors, with more affordable and less powerful versions arriving after next year.
The GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 will have a range of 350-miles on a single charge (not bad considering it weighs 9,000 pounds) and incorporates a plethora of tech goodies to help you on and off the road. Those tech enhancements include artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as 18 on-board cameras that enable you to see virtually anywhere around the vehicle, should you need it going over rocks or an aggressive speed bump.
Jay Leno’s Comments
“It’s amazing how effortless it feels, it just makes me laugh,” said Leno in the video, joined by none other than Hummer EV chief engineer Al Oppenheiser. The 71-year old TV personality goes on to experience the rear-steer capability of the electric pickup truck, allowing sharp turns around corners in the trails, along with the strafing Crabwalk mode. Crabwalk is an industry first, the front and rear tires are allowed to move 10 degrees simultaneously left or right while the body stays positioned forward to allow yourself around an otherwise impassable object. Crabwalk was one of Jay’s favorite features of the Hummer EV; he only hopes it comes in denim blue.
Image via GMC
