Arnold Schwarzenegger with electric Hummer
Film star-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals the battery-powered Hummer. Martin Hesz Kreisel Electric

The world's first electric Hummer has been unveiled by uber-fan Arnold Schwarzenegger, boasting a Tesla-matching 100kWh battery pack and nearly 300km (186 miles) of range. This is an impressive feat, given that it weighs 3.3 tonnes.

In being converted from internal combustion to electric power, the Hummer H1 has lost none of its iconic military design, and can travel at up to 75mph.

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Although unlikely to be sold to the general public, the electric Hummer acts as a proof of concept for Kreisel Electric, an Austrian company specialising in electric motors.

Having already electrified Schwarzenegger's Mercedes G-Class SUV, the Hummer, a US army vehicle made famous by Schwarzenegger and also known as the Humvee, was an obvious next step to show what the company is capable of.

In turning the Hummer, electric, Kreisel has cut the car's tailpipe emissions from 470g of CO2 per kilometer to zero. For context, that figure is between three and four times higher than most regular cars produced and sold today. Before its conversion, the Hummer chewed through 24 litres of fuel every 100km (62 miles).

Converting iconic cars of the past for use in an electric future is becoming a popular trend, as earlier this month Jaguar Land Rover's Classic Works division revealed an electric E-Type Jaguar, replacing the classic 60s engine with a motor, battery pack and modern automatic gearbox.

Schwarzenegger, the 70-year-old film star who turned from bodybuilding to acting and then politics, was present to open Kreisel's new 7,000-square metre facility. The building will be used to design and manufacture batteries for passenger vehicles, buses, boats, airplanes and home energy storage systems.

Kreisel co-founder Markus Kreisel said: "With our electrified prototypes, we want to show what is possible using Kreisel technology. We will certainly not mass-producer these models. But our Hummer is a powerhouse in wolf's clothing, one that drives so quietly even the sheep are not disturbed."