Chevy is taking baby steps towards competing with the Ram 1500 and the Ford F-150 in the off-roading, performance truck department. Out of the Big Three, Chevy is the only one not to offer a full-fledged off-road model for the Silverado. Ford has the F-150 Raptor (and Raptor R V-8 in the works), whereas Ram has the 1500 TRX. While Chevy hasn’t come up with a standalone off-roading model yet, it has teased a new trim, something similar to what Ford does with the Tremor and Ram does with the 1500 Rebel. Chevy has plans to offer the Silverado in the ZR2 outfit that will give you the freedom to take your bowtie truck off the roads without much hesitation. Well, better late than never!
What Does The Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Entail?
In the end, you can see the ZR2 badge, which confirms what it will be called. Since the automaker offers the Colorado pickup truck in the ZR2 avatar, we can speculate what to expect. In the smaller truck, the ZR2 trim comes with a 3.5-inch wider track, a two-inch lift kit, front and rear locking differentials, etc.
The ZR2 could come with a host of impressive off-road equipment. Since the company doesn’t have an off-roading dedicated model like the F-150 Raptor and the 1500 TRX, we can expect Chevy to come out all guns blazing with the Silverado ZR2. It could give these models a competition while blowing the F-150 Tremor and the Ram Rebel out of the water. Actually, that’s what we wish for, but we’ll have to see if Chevy thinks the same.
Chevrolet Has Given Us A Glimpse Of The Silverado ZR2 In The Past
Back at the 2019 SEMA Show, the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 was showcased as a concept and it was based on the Silverado LT Trail Boss. In the concept, it featured a 6.2-liter, V-8 engine and was mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.
-* New front and rear bumper designs
-* Better approach and departure angles
-* Revised interior
-* Front and rear locking differentials
-* Improved off-road suspension
The Colorado ZR2 comes with Multimatic DSSV dampers, so we could see the same on the ZR2 Silverado as well.
How Does It Weigh Up Against The 2021 F-150 Tremor?
Ford launched the 2021 F-150 Tremor a few months after debuting the standard fourteenth-gen F-150. The F-150 Tremor is powered by the 3.5-liter, V-6 EcoBoost engine that makes 400 ponies and 500 pound-feet of twist. Power is sent to all the wheels as standard via a ten-speed automatic gearbox. It comes with stuff like:
-* An upgraded suspension system
-* Retuned front and rear springs
-* Tremor-specific monotube shocks at the front and twin-tube shocks at the rear
-* The rear travel is increased by 1.5 inches at the front and one inch at the rear
-* Locking front and rear differential
-* Optional Torsen limited-slip front differential
-* Torque-on-demand transfer case
-* 18-inch tires wrapped in 33-inch tires
-* 360-degree camera
-* Six-position auxiliary power switch pack mounted in the overhead console
-* Hill Descent Control
-* Ford Trail Toolbox
-* Trail One-Pedal Drive, Trail Turn Assist, and Trail Control
-* Two-kW Pro Power Onboard generator
-* Towing Capacity: 10,900 pounds
-* Payload Capacity: 1,885 pounds
There’s also a Rock Crawl mode that automatically engages the rear locking differential, turns off stability and traction control, reduces throttle response, adjusts shift points, and displays the available 360-degree camera view on the center screen.
Will There Be A Raptor and TRX-rivaling Model?
There’s no such model on the horizon yet, but depending on the success of the Silverado ZR2, Chevy could offer a standalone model to face the wrath of the dino-named trucks. There were some hugged talks about Chevy rolling out a TRX and Raptor rival called the ‘ZRX’ since Chevy had trademarked the latter nomenclature. But, for now, Chevy seems content with the ZR2.
There were a whole lot of other speculations that the truck would come with a supercharged version of the 6.2-liter, V-8 mill that it uses even in the Camaro and the Corvette, and would make around 700 horses. We hope Chevy comes up with a truck that goes up against these two.
If a ripped-version of the Silverado with this supercharged V-8 arrives anytime in the future, it could set a three-way battle between the TRX, the upcoming Raptor R, and this Chevy product. And, when the dust settles, the standard F-150 Raptor will still be without any competition. No wonder Ford’s been at the top of their game for over four decades when it comes to pickup trucks!
Conclusion
All the speculations and wishful thinking aside, we hope Chevy doesn’t skimp on features with the Silverado ZR2. The F-150 Tremor is loaded to the gills in terms of off-road equipment and Chevrolet should do the same. After all this hype, it’ll be disappointing if the ZR2 ends up being what the FX4 off-road package is to the F-150. As the tweet says, the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 will arrive this fall.
Do you think the Silverado ZR2 could be a game-changer for Chevrolet moving forward? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.