Hummer meets Schwarzenegger

It's always had the rugged, eat-my-dust looks, but Hummer's H3 has never had the muscle to make Porsche Cayenne pilots break into a cold sweat.

That could all change if General Motors gave the green light to this, the ultimate of Hummers in terms of raw pace.

Pictured alongside is the Hummer H3R, a rip-snorting one-off that's destined to appear at this week's SEMA show in Las Vegas. SEMA, in case you're wondering, is an acronym for Specialty Equipment Market Association, and the show hosted by this organisation is a Mecca for custom-car fans and aftermarket tweakers.

So, what's so special about the H3R? For starters, its stubby bonnet conceals 7.0 litres worth of Chevy V8 -- specifically, this is the engine that propels the absurdly quick Corvette Z06.

The big V8 is good for 373kW and 637Nm, which is more than double the output of the 3.7-litre five-cylinder that drives the H3 model range that debuted here earlier this year.

In fact, these outputs land the H3R in the same ballpark as the Porsche Cayenne Turbo (368kW/700Nm) and Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG (375kW/630Nm), which are the current benchmarks for bullets disguised as SUVs.

No performance figures have been released, but the word around the traps is that the bluff-nosed Hummer can hammer to 100km/h in just over five seconds and go on to a v-max of 250km/h.

It should still be reasonably off-road capable as it rides 10mm higher than a standard H3, while its blacked-out 20-inch wheels are ensconced by a chunky set of 35-inch Mickey Thompson Bear Claw tyres. Other mods include an assortment of protective bars, driving lights and under-floor bash plates.

In case you're already reaching for a box of tissues, we should point out here that there are no plans for the H3R to be mass-produced -- it's purely a concept.

"The H3R pays homage to the racing SUV while pushing the envelope on what could be considered 'stock' -- supposing the factory did decide to drop in the 505-horsepower 7.0-litre V8 from the Corvette Z06; what kind of car would we end up with?" said Hummer tweaker and racer Rod Hall on the vehicle's raison d'etre.

Hummer is now a familiar entity locally, having been launched here in May, priced from $51,990. Three models are currently available, the H3, H3 Adventure and H3 Luxury, all powered by a 3.7-litre, five-cylinder petrol engine and with a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

At the vehicle's Australian launch (more here), GM said it could sell 700 Hummer H3s here per year.

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