GM shoehorns the LS7 into the H3 Hummer

The Hummer H3 is currently selling up a storm in Australia, with a waiting list that was recently stretching back six months as buyers lined up for the well priced and very capable SUV. Not one to let a little thing like Global Warming get in the way of a good time, the General has announced that they will be showing their new Hummer H3R Concept at the Detroit Motor Show in mid January 08 and this one will be no whimpy five-cylinder job.

The H3R is fresh from it's debut appearance at the SEMA show in Las Vegas in Oct/Nov this year and was built as a tribute to Team Hummer's success in the stock class offroad racing category. The folks at GM have managed to shoe-horn the LS7 7.0-litre 377kW/505hp V8 from the Z01 Corvette into the engine bay and the result will no-doubt be explosive, in a big tyred, over powered, understeering kind of way. A production run is highly unlikely but it would certainly make an interesting Limited Edition special for the adventurous few.

PRESS RELEASE

DETROIT - Pop/rock/soul sensation and two-time Grammy Award winner Maroon 5 will perform in GM Style, an invitation-only celebration of cars, music and fashion that takes place on Jan. 12, leading up to the North American International Auto Show.

GM announced that two additional vehicles, the Opel Corsa OPC and HUMMER H3R concept, as well as rock-inspired fashions by Royal Underground, created by Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx and former St. John model and CEO Kelly Gray; and hip-hop mogul/entrepreneur Russell Simmons' new Argyle Culture line. All the GM Style showcase vehicles and fashions will be introduced - runway style - in a high-energy show set to music.

Maroon 5 joins Grammy Award winner Mary. J. Blige and DJ Samantha Ronson as GM Style performers.

Best known for hit singles including "Harder to Breathe," "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved," Maroon 5, nominated for two additional Grammys, comes to GM Style in the midst of a European tour supporting its recent multi-platinum "It Won't Be Soon Before Long," released earlier this year and a follow-up to its first platinum effort, 2002's "Songs About Jane." The band includes Adam Levine, James Valentine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Matt Flynn; Levine, Carmichael and Madden have performed together since high school

"I'm thrilled to show our vehicles alongside leading-edge artists like Maroon 5 and the smart, hip designers behind Argyle and Royal Underground," said Ed Welburn, GM vice president, Global Design.

The Opel Corsa OPC and HUMMER H3 concepts join the already-announced Chevrolet Beat concept; Saturn Astra tuner concept; all-new Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac CTS production vehicles; and the E85 Hot Rod and Chevrolet Camaro convertible concepts. Several other vehicles, as well as a surprise introduction, also are scheduled.

Opel has shifted into top gear with the Corsa OPC, the most powerful-ever version of the hatchback. It includes a roof spoiler as well as front and rear aprons with distinctive, grille-like air intakes and outlets, darkly contrasting diffuser with integrated, centrally located triangular tailpipe, and especially designed exterior mirrors.

HUMMER's bright red H3R concept pays homage to the SUV's racing heritage while pushing the envelope with a 505-horsepower, 7.0L V-8 from the Corvette Z06. In addition to the high-powered engine, the H3R also sports a number of racing-inspired exterior modifications and an interior that blends racing functionality with boulevard comfort and convenience.

Royal Underground made its fall debut in 2006 with its menswear line to the acclaim of stylists, fashion editors and store buyers who raved about the collection's profound rock 'n' roll attitude. Gray, whose parents founded the venerable St. John in 1962; and Sixx added a line of clothing for women this year, characterized by a soulful, chic and luxurious vibe influenced by the French Revolution.

Russell Simmons' Argyle Culture is a brand-new menswear collection commemorating the class, stature and respect achieved by urban graduates who have "arrived" in the world. The collection infuses original urban concepts with the buttoned-up styling of men's professional attire. The argyle pattern has always been a signature style in Simmons' wardrobe as well as his original clothing brand, Phat Farm.

The GM Style party will be held in a football field-size, climate-controlled pavilion on the Detroit River, just east of GM's Global Headquarters at the Renaissance Center, and will be simulcast on gm.com. In addition to kicking off the world's largest auto show, which opens to the media the following day, GM Style kicks off a series of activities, called GMnext, leading up to the start of GM's next 100 years. The corporation turns 100 on Sept. 16, 2008.