While most off-road vehicles have removable roofs and doors for the open-air experience, GMC Hummer EV doesn’t have removable doors. GMC’s lead exterior designer for the Hummer EV, John Mack explains that it was a choice between having an open-air experience and a luxurious cabin. Both are not possible.
Being a premium car, having a luxurious drive is most preferable. The upcoming Hummer EV top-spec Edition 1 is priced at $112,595. Other EV electric pickups like Ford and Jeep have taken pride in having both removable roofs and doors. As the trucks are meant to be suitable for tough rides, having a non-luxurious cabin is still an option. However, GMC Hummer is known for its premium products and the beast needs to be efficient and premium in every aspect.
In an interview with MC&T, Mack explained, “We looked into that and this truck being premium, we felt like if you do removable doors or anything like that, it kind of would take away from the (premium) execution. But as far as off-road cues – flag mounts and things like that – that’s something that accessories can get into.”
However, the removable roof option would still bring the open-air experience for GMC Hummer EV drivers. Named as Sky Pannels, the roof can be stored in the frunk or the rear storage area.
Sky Panels
Removable doors are not possible, but the off-road vehicle will have 200 accessories options for customers. Unlike the first edition, the later models yet to come by 2022 and 2023 will be much affordable. The Edition 1 electric pickup is expected to start its deliveries by the end of 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t09QMKFWGwo
The GMC Hummer EV architecture is such that a convertible option didn’t change the whole structure of the vehicle. A double-stacked battery pack has a strong rigid floor, resistant to twisting. So the pillars attached to the floor are strong enough and can stay fit even after the rood panels are removed.
Four Sky Panels can be removed and placed at the rear storage or at the back. As you can see in the video, the panels are transparent, which allows the riders to have the top view without removing the roof.
In addition to why their EV doesn’t have removable doors, Mack added, “We’ve added a lot of things like the lightbar and the GoPro camera mount on the front hood that really enables the off-road experience in a really new way. A techy way as well, the underside cameras that can also look at the rocks you’re clearing. They take the off-road experience into a new era.”
