With the unveiling of the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 AEV concept at this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas, the bow-tie brand is officially working to take its mid-size pickup to the next level of off-road performance. This rig was displayed alongside Chevy’s ZR2 race development truck; the pair foreshadow what essentially could be a future production-spec upgrade for the ZR2 that would closely align it with the setup used by Hall Racing for off-road competition.
The Colorado ZR2 AEV concept was created in collaboration with American Expedition Vehicles—the longtime manufacturer and tuner of off-road vehicles, notably for Jeep and Ram models—and includes many of the core chassis systems that Chevy has previously employed to convert a regular ZR2 into a capable stock-class desert racer: revised Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers with longer-travel front coil and rear leaf springs; front and rear jounce shocks (basically heavy-duty pneumatic bump stops) for greater impact absorption; an anti-wrap rear-axle linkage that connects the truck’s frame to a new rear differential cover; and upgraded front half-shafts, tie rods, and upper ball joints for increased stiffness and wheel articulation. While Chevrolet wouldn’t quote suspension-travel figures for the upgraded setup because it is still in the process of development, it did confirm it is notably more than the standard ZR2’s 8.6 and 10.0 inches front and rear.
Power for the AEV concept comes from the ZR2’s optional 2.8-liter turbocharged inline-four diesel engine, backed by a six-speed automatic transmission. Along with AEV’s DualSport beadlock wheels wrapped with 35-inch-tall BFGoodrich KM2 Mud-Terrain tires, the company also fitted unique front and rear off-road bumpers, larger fender flares, full underbody skid plates, a snorkel intake system, an expedition bed rack, and lots of auxiliary LED lights. This being SEMA, the range of kit from additional suppliers includes a Hi-Lift jack, a heavy-duty Warn winch, an onboard ARB refrigerator/freezer, Equipt aluminum storage cases, and a James Baroud USA bed awning.
Chevrolet Performance Engineering has been fiddling with the ZR2 race development truck since the model’s debut to see how serious of an off-roader could be made of the production pickup. In addition to the suspension upgrades seen on the AEV concept, the development mule also includes a 1.5-inch body lift, a stronger steel rear driveshaft in place of the stock aluminum piece, 33-inch-tall Goodyear Wrangler MT/R tires mounted on the ZR2’s stock 17-inch wheels, aluminum wheel spacers with longer studs, and Chevrolet Performance’s cold-air intake and stainless-steel exhaust systems for the ZR2’s standard 3.6-liter gasoline V-6.
The legendary family of desert racers at Hall Racing adopted virtually all of the ZR2 development truck’s modifications for its racing program—including successfully completing the 2017 Best in the Desert series’ grueling Vegas-to-Reno and Tonopah 250 races—while assisting Chevrolet with the validation and refinement of the upgrades. Although the competition rig is mandated to have additional safety hardware such as a roll cage, fire extinguishers, and racing seats and harnesses, it remains a mostly production-trim Colorado with power windows, air conditioning, and satellite radio.
Chevy allowed us brief thrill rides in both the stock- and competition-spec ZR2s ahead of the SEMA show, and we can confirm the new hardware is the real deal. The standard truck is no slouch off-road and performs impressively well at speed on rough terrain that most pickups would have to crawl over. But maintaining a moderately quick pace over the rocky desert trails surrounding Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada, bordered on brutal. In contrast, the race truck was far more composed and cushioned in its ride over gnarly obstacles that had us wincing in the production pickup. While we unfortunately weren’t permitted behind the wheel, it was immediately clear that the modified ZR2, with its extra jounce shocks loudly clacking away as they compressed against their metal contact pads, could carry much more speed with considerably less abuse. Thanks to the suspension upgrades and larger tires similar to the AEV’s, the race truck also sported increased approach and departure angles that theoretically would improve the base ZR2’s already impressive rock-crawling ability.
While Chevrolet has yet to confirm if and exactly how it would offer a potential ZR2 upgrade package as seen on its development truck, the collaboration with AEV is evidence that it is seriously considering it. (The automaker notes that Colorado buyers already spend an average of more than $600 on GM accessories for their new pickups.) Regardless of whether such a setup would be marketed through AEV or Chevy’s own Performance line of accessories, the bow-tie folks are adamant that the parts maintain production-quality integration and warranty compliance, which is partly why development is still ongoing. With the increasingly robust mid-size truck segment soon to include a new Ford Ranger that offers an all but certain Raptor-ized off-road variant, an extra-strength Colorado ZR2 is a logical and almost-inevitable next step for Chevrolet. We say it can’t come soon enough.
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