HUMMER to Refocus Brand on Capabilities, Resume Racing Contracts

HUMMER’s appearance at the 2009 SEMA show will be a defining moment for the off-road brand which becomes independent of parent company General Motors in the next few months. HUMMER will be showcasing four vehicles at the SEMA show this week, all focused on recreation and off-road performance. In addition to the concepts and racing vehicles, HUMMER will also be announce its renewing the brand’s sponsorship for Dakar racer Robby Gordon, and desert-racing legend Rod Hall and his team of stock-class HUMMER race trucks.

Along with the four vehicles, Gordon and Hall will visit HUMMER’s display at the SEMA show on Tuesday between 11AM to Noon.

HUMMER’s CEO Jim Taylor says that the brand will be, “refocusing on what made the brand successful, which is building rugged, all-terrain vehicles with capabilities that meet the needs of our customers.”

Concepts

HUMMER will be introducing two concepts, the H3 Moab – outfitted with performance and off-road accessories, and the H3T Sportsman – billed as the “ultimate outdoorsman truck.”

H3 Moab

The natural landscape of Moab, Utah has been an off-roaders playground for years – it’s also been integral to the engineering of new HUMMER vehicles. The H3 Moab concept incorporates accessories and options that pay homage to the off-road utopia.

The H3 Moab starts with the 300-horsepower V8-powered H3 Alpha and factory-installed front and rear locking differentials (included in the off-road package). HUMMER engineers then added a 4-inch Rancho suspension lift, and custom rear spring-over conversion – something we’ve seen on HUMMER’s engineering test vehicles before. The concept also get Rancho shocks and 35-inch BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain KM2 tires mounted on custom 17-inch 2-piece Monster Black Competition Beadlock Raceline Wheels by Allied.

Some of the genuine HUMMER accessories on the Moab concept include underbody protection, rocker protection, lower grill lights, and brush guard.

On top is a Gobi Ranger roof basket with lighting from Delta, and out front is and H3 winch mount system from Predator Motors Sports that incorporates a Warn XD9000 winch and Viking Off-Road synthetic winchline.

For trail visibility, a pair of bumper cameras are integrated with the navigation providing front and rear terrain views.

H3T Sportsman

The H3T Sportsman concept also started with an Alpha engine package, but HUMMER engineers added around 70-horsepower by adding LS2 cylinder heads, a higher-lift camshaft (and supporting components), and a custom 3.5-inch performance exhaust system.

Next, the H3T Sportsman got 35-inch-tall BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires mounted on HUMMER Accessory 20-inch wheels, Light Racing JounceShocks and 2-inch-diameter Rod Hall Racing piggyback reservoir-type performance shocks, improving the H3T’s inherent off-road capability.

The Sportsman concept also has genuine HUMMER accessories such as the lockable storage boxes that affix to the H3T’s standard bed-rail system, all-weather floormats, and seat covers.

Just like the Moab concept, an integrated Winch system from Predator Motors Sports has been installed.

The exterior finish is a Wildrye Matte custom paint, accented by a color matched grille at matte fuel door.




HUMMER Racing

HUMMER will use the 2009 SEMA show to renew the sponsorships of Robby Gordon’s 2010 Dakar run in a HUMMER-themed race truck, as well as desert-racing legend Rod Hall and his race team, which can now again be called “Team HUMMER.” During GM’s restructuring, HUMMER had to end put its racing sponsorships on hold.

Here is what HUMMER’s release had to say about the two racing programs.

Robby Gordon Off-Road Dakar HUMMER

HUMMER and Robby Gordon Off-road have joined together again to take on the 2010 Dakar Rally, widely considered to be the most grueling off-road race in the world due to its brutal terrain and extreme environmental conditions. Gordon will lead Team HUMMER from behind the wheel of his HUMMER H3 race truck.

Gordon was the first American to win a stage at Dakar, and he has been passionate about the program ever since. Since forming the relationship and building his Dakar HUMMER for the 2006 Rally, Gordon and Team HUMMER have proven a formidable Dakar challenger. In 2007, he finished first in the OP class and 8th overall. In 2008, Gordon’s elite off-road team entered two Robby Gordon Off-Road HUMMERS in the Central Europe Rally. Gordon won two stages and finished tenth overall while the second HUMMER piloted by BJ Baldwin went on to finish seventh overall. Gordon finished the 2009 Dakar Rally in third place overall, an impressive feat in the highly competitive rally race.

Gordon’s H3 consists of a custom HUMMER body paired with a specially developed chassis featuring a suspension designed by him and his Off-Road team. The H3 is a tube-chassis vehicle similar to Trophy Trucks raced in the famed Baja 1000, except that it has a fully enclosed air-conditioned cockpit, including windshield and side windows. It is powered by a production-based General Motors V8 engine.

Rod Hall Racing H3 Alpha

The Rod Hall Racing HUMMER H3 Alpha represents the ultimate HUMMER stock-class desert racing machine. Piloted by Chad Hall, the H3 Alpha prepares to enter the 2009 SCORE International Baja 1000 in the hyper-competitive full-size stock class. The H3 Alpha was the first stock class vehicle to finish in the 2007 and 2008 Baja 1000 and 2008 Baja 500.

In addition to entering the H3 Alpha in the 2009 Baja 1000, team founder and namesake, Rod Hall will enter his mid-size stock H3. Rod will partner with his eldest son and 2007 Baja 1000 mini-stock class winner Josh Hall.

Rod Hall Racing Team HUMMER competes in the stock class, which features production-based vehicles with stock frames, stock suspension designs and production-based engines. The Team HUMMER H3 Alpha and H3 were built by HUMMER engineers at the Desert Proving Grounds in Arizona. Engineering participation in racing has resulted in various improvements to production components, including suspension bushings, exhaust systems, and wiring harness routing and configuration

Team HUMMER won every stock class season championship in the Best in the Desert and SCORE International racing series in 2008.

We head out to the SEMA show early Tuesday, so stay tuned for updates throughout the week on HUMMER and the 2009 SEMA show from Las Vegas.