When Chevrolet presented the revised new edition of its best-selling model, the Silverado pickup truck, the most eye-catching element was of course the arrival of a ZR2 variant. This off-road-focused approach has been offered for the past few years with the company's smallest pickup, the Colorado.
Don't think of it as a competitor to the Ford F-150 Raptor or Ram 1500 TRX, though. Raw beastly performance is not the main goal here. The first Silverado ZR2 is equipped with a 420-hp, 6.2L V8, 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory off-road tires and advanced Multimatic shocks. Together these elements make this ZR2 variant the brand's most competent off-roader.
Aesthetically, the menacing looks of the Raptor and TRX are not natched here, but the Silverado ZR2 will be easily recognizable. Its styling features a distinct hood, grille and bumper up front, as well as tie-down hooks coated in red to make sure the truck doesn't go unnoticed.
The irregular height of the bumper is designed to permit a 31.8-degree approach angle for the truck. According to Chevrolet, that's more than any other Silverado, including the Z71 model and the Trail Boss version, which benefits from a two-inch higher suspension. The ZR2 variant, meanwhile, is half an inch higher than the Trail Boss. In terms of configurations, it's only available with a crew cab body and short or standard cargo beds.
In terms of capacity, towing is pegged at 9,000 lb with a conventional hitch and payload is up to 1,440 lb. In addition to the Multimatic shocks, the springs benefit from a model-specific adjustment and the Terrain driving mode will allow adventurers to go where others won't dare.
We'll have more details on this version when it's about to debut in our market. Needless to say, we're already looking forward to driving it.
