The ongoing industry-wide effort to imbue bulky full-size SUVs with styling cues and driving dynamics that intrinsically belie their hefty, oversize stature gains momentum with Chevrolet’s announcement of RST packages for the Tahoe and the Suburban.
RST stands for Rally Sport Truck, and the packages start with your choice of four exterior colors (White, Black, Silver Ice, and Tungsten), then hit the delete button on nearly all the exterior chrome. The door handles and the grille surround are replaced with body-color pieces, and the grille, roof rails, window trim, mirror caps, and Chevy bow-tie emblems get the gloss-black treatment. Special 22-inch wheels with a chunky twin-spoke pattern are wrapped with 285/45 Bridgestone Dueler H/L tires.
It looks nice, but here’s where things get interesting: An optional Performance package will be offered, but for the Tahoe only. To get it, one must first purchase the RST, which opens the gate for the Performance package, technically making it the Tahoe RST Performance package. Got it? Good. Because here’s what you get: GM’s 6.2-liter V-8 and new 10-speed automatic transmission, along with the Magnetic Ride Control suspension, specifically calibrated to keep the Tahoe level during spirited cornering. At that point you’ve basically got a Tahoe equipped like a GMC Denali, but with styling that (Chevrolet hopes) appeals to the tastes of a younger, more urban demographic.
The 6.2 V-8, you’ll remember, produces a husky 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque. Chevy also is offering an optional Borla exhaust from the factory, which adds a further 7 to 10 horsepower at the rear wheels. Although GM isn’t done putting the truck through its paces, at this point it’s comfortable quoting a 5.7-second zero-to-60-mph time; the tow rating for the Tahoe RST with the Performance package is 8400 pounds. Fuel economy is not yet available.
To aid in hauling the big beast down to a stop, Chevrolet is making available an optional front brake package featuring Brembo six-piston, fixed aluminum calipers with brake pads clamping 16.1-inch rotors. For those keeping score at home, that’s a 42 percent increase in swept-rotor area and an 84 percent increase in brake-pad area.
Seeing as the exhaust and brake package are available in Chevy’s Performance Parts catalog, it is possible for Suburban buyers—or owners of non-RST Tahoes, for that matter—to order both the upgraded brakes and the Borla exhaust as aftermarket items. But Suburban buyers can’t get the Performance package (6.2-liter V-8, 10-speed automatic, Magnetic Ride Control dampers bundled together) from the factory as a package, no matter how much cash they wave around. Not yet, anyway. (Chevrolet also says the Borla exhaust is available for the 5.3-liter V-8, but it isn’t quoting horsepower gains for that configuration.)
While we couldn’t tease even a hint regarding the pricing structure out of the Chevy folks, they did tell us the RST cosmetic packages would hit the streets in this fall as 2018 models, followed shortly by the Tahoe RST with the Performance package. While special in intent, neither is a limited edition–Chevrolet will sell you as many as you want, as long as you’ve got the means.
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