GMC Adds ‘King Crab’ Mode to Hummer EV

While this headline may sound delicious, the 2026 GMC Hummer EV sadly does not come equipped with tasty Alaskan-sourced entrées.

Rather, the new King Crab mode builds on capabilities extracted from the trucks’ rear-wheel steering system. In addition to providing more agility by turning the rear wheels a few degrees opposite the fronts at low speeds, King Crab permits the wheels astern to turn significantly faster than those ahead of the driver. This allows for more maneuverability when navigating tight spaces off-road, moving around obstacles, or rock crawling. Put simply, it acts like a rear-wheel-drive vehicle would if you gave it a bootful.

Of course, that knackered old Crown Vic you used to drive could not turn its rear wheels, at least not intentionally. Sliding sideways into an obstacle might result in angling those tires at a jaunty angle – but the result was far more destructive. GMC permits the Hummer EV to steer its rear tires back in line, of course, a trick one could not do with the Crown Vic after hammering a curb. Perhaps all this is a strangely specific example unique to your author.

King Crab mode won’t be limited to 2026 models, either. In an advertisement for all that’s good with over-the-air updates, GMC says it will push the update to all 2022 – 2025 Hummer EV owners later this year. Score one for advanced tech. This is like Playground Games periodically updating Forza Horizon 5 with new cars for free, a development not enjoyed by old-school gearheads who had to go out and buy a new copy of the game to get the latest cars.

It puts an exclamation point on the fact that software can be continually developed in machines like the Hummer EV; all it takes is one bright engineer to say ‘what if’ and the blessing of a manager for them to spend time developing a solution using tools and hardware already in place on the vehicle.

Production of the 2026 Hummer EV will begin later this year.

[Images: GM]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.