Chevrolet has teamed up with Hall Racing to enter a modified Chevy Silverado in the “Best in the Desert” racing series in Nevada. This full-size race truck could offer a preview of the Silverado’s upcoming “ZRX” Ford Raptor fighter — or perhaps a ZR2 version of the full-size pickup to go along with the Colorado’s off-road trim level.
The race truck is based off the Silverado’s top-level off-roading trim, the LT Trail Boss, with the most powerful engine — the 420-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 — under the hood. Modifications include a long-travel suspension, front and rear jounce shocks, Multimatic DSSV dampers, skid plates and 35-inch off-road tires.
Chevy says that, like the Colorado, “the Silverado race truck will be used for engineering development and validation.” That should suggest that, as when Chevy brought the Colorado to Best in the Desert, this is an advanced prototype — and a production off-roading version of the Silverado should be close behind it. (At least, we hope we won’t have to wait too long.)
The current Silverado generation has struggled with sales and experienced some notable hiccups. Chevy delivering a V8-powered off-road performance beast akin to the Colorado ZR2 would fill a large hole at the top of the current lineup. Judging from ZR2 Bison sales, there should be a ton of buyer interest.
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