Off-Road ZR2 Trim Coming to Chevy Silverado Lineup
Chevrolet plans to step up its off-road game by offering the Silverado 1500 pickup in a new rough-and-ready ZR2 trim.
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Chevy teased the Silverado ZR2 in a short online video last week, showing some quick glimpses of a raised, camouflaged truck splashing through the mud.
The Silverado ZR2 looks to be Chevy’s bid to match its competitors’ off-road models, including trucks like the Ram 1500 Rebel and the F-150 Tremor — or perhaps even behemoths like the F-150 Raptor and Ram 1500 TRX.
Although Chevy hasn’t revealed any details about how the Silverado ZR2 will be equipped, clues abound when you look at the brand’s existing off-road models.
For example, the Chevrolet Colorado truck is already available in a dedicated ZR2 trim. The Colorado ZR2 comes equipped with Multimatic spool-valve shocks, a special off-road suspension, front and rear electronic locking differentials, a two-speed transfer case, and 2 extra inches of ground clearance.
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The Colorado ZR2 also sports recovery hooks and a rear bumper, fender flares, and front fascia designed for off-roading. The ZR2 Bison upgrade adds hot-stamped boron steel skid plates, front winch provisions, rear recovery points, and 31-inch Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tires.
Some of these features, like skid plates and the two-speed transfer case, are already offered on the Silverado’s off-road Trail Boss trims — so they’re sure to be equaled or exceeded on the ZR2. The Trail Boss also comes with the 2-inch lift, so a ZR2 trim might hoist the truck even higher.
Like the Trail Boss, the Silverado ZR2 will probably offer Chevy’s 355-horsepower 5.3-liter V8 or its 420-horsepower 6.2-liter V8. The Colorado ZR2 is available with a diesel engine, so this could be an option for the Silverado version as well. There’s also the possibility that Chevy has an even mightier new engine up its sleeve.
All will be revealed when the Silverado ZR2 is officially introduced. According to Chevy, that should happen sometime this fall.
A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.