GM revives Hummer as all-electric vehicle

[NEW YORK] It's official: General Motors on Thursday confirmed its plan to reboot the Hummer - a military-style behemoth once seen as a symbol of American excess - in an all-electric version.

GM will unveil the revamped GMC Hummer EV in an ad during Sunday's Super Bowl game, reviving the a vehichle launched in the 1990s but phased out after the 2008 financial crisis.

Rumours of the Hummer's rebirth had been circulating in the US press for weeks, but GM made the news official only Thursday, ahead of the marketing blitz planned for Sunday's American football championship between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.

The 30-second "Quiet Revolution" spot in the expensive, coveted television real estate that is the Super Bowl broadcast, plays up the gulf between the auto's brutish design and its noise-free operation.

The ad contains a banner touting the revamped Hummer's zero emissions, a big contrast to the original, the quintessential gas guzzler nevertheless beloved by the likes of former California governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The new Hummer will have 1,000 horsepower and be capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 miles per hours in three seconds.

GM will build the new Hummer at a Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant in Michigan, which was spared following last year's lengthy strike at the US auto giant.

Earlier this week, GM announced it was investing US$2.2 billion in the plant, which will build a variety of all-electric trucks and SUVs.

AFP