Chevy introduced the Silverado ZR2 recently as its flagship off-road truck. Now, the company is putting money where its mouth is by having it compete in the upcoming ‘Best In The Desert King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic’ race. It might be the truck’s official racing debut, but the prototypes have been taking part in such competitions since 2019. Nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to see how the Silverado ZR2 performs at the event.
The Silverado ZR2’s Racing Debut Comes At The Back Of Some Experience
Chevy noted that Off-road racing champion Chad Hall has been competing in the full-size stock production class with a prototype Silverado ZR2 since 2019. The truck has already competed in 10 professionally sanctioned off-road races, including the legendary Vegas to Reno Best In The Desert race held last month.
The production-spec ZR2’s entry doesn’t come as a surprise as Chevy will try to enroll it into as many competitions as possible to build some credibility. An off-road truck’s prowess can only be proven when people see how it does at events like the ‘Best In The Desert King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic’. The automaker noted that for the race debut, it has only updated the ZR2’s sheet metal. All the other stuff like chassis, suspension, and the powertrain components are retained as it is.
What They Had To Say
GM’s Chief Engineer for Performance Variants, Parts, and Motorsports Engineering, Dom Lester, said,
What’s So Special About The Chevy Silverado ZR2?
Chevy’s flagship off-roader comes with quite a few interesting features, like:
- A 6.2-liter, V-8 engine
- 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque
- 10-speed automatic gearbox
- Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers
- Increase maximum front and rear suspension travel when compared to the Silverado Trail Boss
- Front and rear e-lockers, transfer case
- Maximum towing capacity – 8,900 pounds
- Maximum payload capacity – 1,440 pounds
- Terrain Mode with one-pedal rock crawling
- Unique skid plate package with front skid plate and transfer case skid plate
- 18-inch wheels wrapped in 33-inch off-road MT tires
- Approach angle – 31.8 degrees; Breakover angle – 23.4 degrees; Departure angle – 23.3 degrees
- Ground Clearance – 11.2 inches; Wheelbase – 147.5 inches
- Chevy “flow-tie” emblem for increased air flow
- Black hood insert, a unique grille with integrated lighting, wheel moldings, and ZR2 badges
- Jet Black/Graystone leather-trimmed interior with complementing dark trim
- Expected to start around $55,000
- Goes on sale in spring 2022