Leaked: Hummer HX Concept

Embargoes just aren’t made like they used to be, and things just keep leaking onto the web. So, thanks to those journalistic cowboys, we get to bring you the full details on the newest and coolest Hummer - the HX Concept. A lighter, trimmer - even a greener Hummer, if you can believe it - the HX promises to deliver where other Hummers, even the vaunted H1, have fallen short.

It certainly looks like a Hummer - there’s no mistaking it for anything else, despite the aesthetic similarities it shares with Jeep’s Hurricane Concept from 2005, but beyond the brand recognition there’s not a lot it shares in common with its bigger, beefier brethren. The 81inch (2.057m) wide, 103inch (2.616m) wheelbase HX is an open-air vehicle that can go doorless, much like a Jeep. In fact, in many ways the HX can be seen as Hummer’s attempt at a true Jeep-like offroad vehicle - and further away from the massive military heritage from which the first Hummer was born.

Full-time four-wheel drive gets its power from an E85 FlexFuel 3.6L SIDI V6 routed through a six-speed automatic transmission, which Hummer says will yield exceptional traction and low-speed crawling ability. The suspension features a front stabilizer bar that can be electronically disconnected for greater maneuverability offroad, and the rear is a massive CNC-machined billet trailing arm setup. Fully independent suspension with four-corner heavy duty Fox shocks mean each wheel can go where it needs to. Riding on massive 35inch tall tires on custom bead-locked rims, the Hummer HX should be able to meet it’s goal of providing mountain-goat like climbing and traction.

The fender flares can be removed in addition to the doors, and the roof is also modular, giving flexible configuration for whatever conditions the HX might encounter. The interior of the vehicle is drawn from ‘aeronautical’ roots, with the setting made largely from metal and rubberized or ballistic nylon materials. Purpose and functionality are the core of the HX Concept, which will debut at NAIAS next week.