SOUTH PORTLAND – Move over, Cadillac and Lincoln: There’s a new limo in town.

In a society where bigger is better, the latest limousine is in a category all its own: the gargantuan and gaudy Hummer H2. The vehicle ratchets up the head-turning quotient while providing seating for 20 or more people in some configurations.

The massive limos – more than 30 feet long – are all the rage from the Viper Room in Los Angeles to the Saltwater Grill in South Portland.

“They are the ‘it’ vehicle for the younger crowds,” said Sara McLean, publisher of Limousine & Chauffeured Transportation magazine. “We like to refer to the ‘under 30s’ because that group responds best to trendy, high profile and pomp.”

The move toward stretch SUV limos began about six years ago with Ford Excursions, Cadillac Escalades and Lincoln Navigators. The Hummer H2 raised the bar for bling-bling – an ostentatious display of wealth – when it rolled onto showroom floors a couple of years ago.

Sales peaked last year and SUV limos remain as popular as ever, McLean said.

In Maine, Lilley’s Limousine was first to buy one of the Hummers, which cost $115,000 – nearly twice the cost of a sedan-based limo.

Lilley’s Hummer is 32 feet long – double a regular Hummer’s length – and it’s wide enough to have a center aisle with seating on either side. The result: It can seat up to 20 people. Other Hummer limo versions operated elsewhere can seat even more.

“It’s a beast. It’s definitely a beast,” said Dan DeCosta, one of Lilley’s owners. Gas mileage also is beastly: 8 miles per gallon.

Last weekend, chauffeur Glenn Davis stood next to the limo while waiting for a prom group to finish dinner inside the waterfront Saltwater Grill. A regular Hummer H2 that rolled by looked like a dinghy next to an ocean liner. Indeed, the Hummer limo was longer than many of the pleasure boats in Portland Harbor.

Davis, who patiently answers questions from gawkers, admits that getting behind the wheel of this Hummer is special.

“I’m No. 1,” he said. “I get the looks as if to say, ‘What is this bad boy doing on the road?”‘

While they’re costly to buy, SUV limos pay dividends to their operators. The average hourly rate for a stretch SUV is $138.86, according to Limousine & Chauffeured Transportation, based in Torrance, Calif. That’s more than for the largest sedan-based limos or even motor coaches, according to the magazine’s surveys.