2026 GMC Hummer EV Looks to Be Quicker and More Agile Off-Road

Car and Driver

16-05-2025

The 2026 GMC Hummer EV pickup and Hummer EV SUV add bidirectional charging to transfer energy from the vehicle to another EV or your home.
There's a new off-road drive mode called King Crab that spins the rear wheels faster than the fronts and uses rear-wheel steering to improve agility.
A new Carbon Fiber Edition adds, well, carbon-fiber trim but also drops the claimed zero-to-60-mph time to just 2.8 seconds for this 9000-pound beast.
While the GMC Hummer EV is powered by electrons instead of a big V-8 like the Hummer H2 of the 2000s, it is undeniably a Hummer: colossal, braggadocious, and inefficient. For 2026, GMC is doubling down on the over-the-top Hummer vibe with a series of new features. The 2026 GMC Hummer EV—still available as a pickup truck and SUV—gains a new King Crab off-road mode, a blingy Carbon Fiber Edition, and bidirectional charging capability.
GMC
The new Carbon Fiber Edition comes exclusively in Magnus Gray Matte paint.
You have likely seen the GMC "Push the Button" television advertisements showing off Crab Walk mode in the Hummer EV and Sierra EV, where the electric trucks utilize the rear-wheel steering system to drive diagonally at low speeds. Now, GMC is finding further use for rear-wheel steering with the new King Crab mode, which purports to improve off-road agility.
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The King Crab mode makes the rear wheels turn notably faster than the front wheels, which GMC says leads to "more maneuverability when navigating tight spaces off-road." It's unclear if there are any other changes that GMC made to create this drive mode, but it is described as "software-enabled" and will also be available later this year to owners of 2022–'25 Hummer EVs via an over-the-air update.
GMC
The Carbon Fiber Edition wears Velocity Ember accents on the interior.
For 2026, GMC also adds a new Carbon Fiber Edition to both Hummer body styles, though it's reserved for the EV3X model. All examples of this special model will feature exclusive Magnus Gray Matte paint and a Velocity Ember interior, along with all-terrain tires and black emblems; the pickup has a black power tonneau cover. Despite the name, GMC was fairly reserved with the application of carbon-fiber trim, with the lightweight material appearing on the special 22-inch wheels, side mirrors, and skid plate.
The Carbon Fiber Edition should also be the quickest Hummer EV yet, with GMC claiming a zero-to-60-mph sprint of 2.8 seconds. That's 0.5 second quicker than the Hummer EV pickup we tested; the SUV was a tenth slower. The improvement is said to come from optimized software and newly calibrated hardware. GMC says production of the Carbon Fiber Edition will be limited, but it didn't provide a specific number of units.
GMC
The Granite Drift exterior color, seen here, is new for 2026.
Along with those flashy add-ons, the 2026 Hummer EV gains a practical feature in bidirectional charging, allowing the Hummer EV to send energy to another compatible vehicle or a compatible home in the event of a blackout. GMC also enhanced the Super Cruise hands-free driver-assistance system, with the automatic lane-change feature now able to sync up with your route when using the Hummer EV's built-in navigation system.
GMC also says it retuned the Hummer EV's dampers to improve ride quality, and there are two new exterior paint hues (Coastal Dune and Auburn Matte) along with two new interior colors (Granite Drift and Stealth Eclipse). Production of the 2026 Hummer EV will start later this year, but pricing is yet to be announced. We expect costs to rise slightly from the 2025 model's $99,045 base price.
Caleb Miller
Associate News Editor
Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.