Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that GM had purchased some ultra-expensive Super Bowl commercial airtime to promote its electrified Hummer in an advert featuring celebrity athlete LeBron James. The newspaper reported that the new Hummer line would be included within its GMC brand, rather than resurrect the Hummer brand, which was discontinued in 2010.

GM has released a handful of short videos promoting the return of the military-style vehicle ahead of the Super Bowl advert, named “Quiet revolution”.

The videos feature an electric pickup truck under the Hummer name (GMC Hummer EV) boasting 1,000 horsepower, 11,500 pound-feet (15,600NM) of torque, and capable of reaching 60mph (97km/h) in three seconds while producing minimal noise and zero emissions. The videos appear to emphasise that none of the Hummer’s power, heft and imposing appearance (such as its iconic seven-slot front grill) have been sacrificed in the switchover from fuel-guzzling giant to EV.

Phil Brook, GMC vice president of marketing, told CNBC that it is “a combination of an incredibly capable truck and a supercar”. He added that GM has no plans to resurrect the classic combustion engine-powered Hummer.

More details about its capabilities, including price and range, will be revealed fully at an unveiling on May 20. The GMC Hummer EV will begin sales at the end of 2021.

The all-electric Hummer will be built at GM’s Detroit/Hamtramck assembly plant beginning in autumn 2021. This week, it was announced that the troubled plant would become GM’s first dedicated EV plant, with $2.2bn in investment to prepare it for its all-electric future. In addition to the GMC Hummer EV, the plant will manufacture GM subsidiary Cruise’s Origin EV, which is intended as a driverless ridesharing vehicle.

The electric Hummer will compete with other beefy electric trucks positioned for launch next year: the uniquely-shaped Tesla CyberTruck; the Amazon-backed Rivian R1T (750 horsepower and 829 pound-feet of torque), and Ford’s F-150 Electric Pickup, which was depicted in a promotional video towing a million-pound (450-tonne) train.

The earliest Hummers were civilian versions of the military Humvee (‘High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle’). They are known to be the favoured vehicle of action film star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has modified Hummers to run on hydrogen, biofuel and electricity for personal use.