Around the Industry 4WD198 - Part 1

Chevy Colorado ZR2, ZR2 Utility Truck, Chev ZH2,

4WDrive Magazine

Chevy Colorado ZR2

The Chevy Colorado is making huge inroads into the consciousness of the North American public as new trim lines, models, concept vehicles and builds are introduced, opening our eyes to the possibilities that this mid-sized truck generates.

We were blown away by the ZR2 model, which we test drove on-highway, rock crawling, and on a high-speed off-road track in Colorado (watch our YouTube video www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZEK4DTOVpg). As part of their 100 years of making trucks, Chevy has introduced the Midnight and Dusk editions. The Midnight Edition features an all-black exterior finish, 17-inch five-spoke black accessory wheels, and a black sport bar with off-road LED lighting. The ZR2 Dusk Edition offers the same content as the ZR2 Midnight, but can be purchased in all other ZR2 exterior finishes, with black accents throughout.

“The Colorado ZR2 Midnight and Dusk Edition models offer customers even more personalization choices because the truck market is too diverse for a ‘one size fits most’ strategy,” said Doug Kenzie, brand manager, Chevrolet Trucks in Canada.

Performance features include a lift raising it 50mm (2 in.) higher than Colorado Z71, a 90mm (3.5-in.) wider track, an off-road suspension with cast-iron control arms and segment-exclusive Canadian designed Multimatic DSSVTM dampers. They are the first off-road shocks to feature position-sensitive spool valve technology, making the truck equally adept on and off the road.

Other standard ZR2 features include segment-exclusive front electronic locking differential, electronic locking rear differential, hill descent control, an aluminum skidplate that protects the radiator and oil pan, off-road rocker protection, Autotrac transfer case, transfer case shield, four-wheel disc brakes, modified rear axle with a 3.42 ratio and special off-rode mode setting.

ZR2 Utility Truck

Spy shots also reveal a ZR2 utility truck cruising the streets of Milford, Michigan. Sporting utility toolboxes in lieu of a pick-up truck bed, a beefier suspension and a snorkel. At the media event, a similar truck was used as the support vehicle and included an extra 2.5 cm (1”) lift and 33” tires to support the utility bed. It suggests that this GM prototype is being targeted towards our oil and gas, forestry, logging and utility companies. While the snorkel seems redundant, consider the flooding in many regions every year.

ZR2 Completes “Vegas to Reno”

Adding to its off-road cred the ZR2 completed ‘ the longest off-road race in America – the “Vegas to Reno”. The essentially stock ZR2 finished 136th, which doesn’t sound terrific but it did finish. Only 204 of the 336 competitors finished the 867 km (539 mi) course. Driver Chad Hall said, “This truck is a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. I clobbered some things on the course that would’ve broken many of the vehicles we competed with in the past.” Mods were limited to racing mandated items like a roll cage, a 166 l (44 gal) racing fuel tank, and racing seats with safety harnesses. The crew also attached KC HiLiTES racing lights, two-way radios, and a GPS system, as those were also required.

Chev ZH2

Since we are throwing out letters to follow ‘Z’, let’s look at the ZH 2, which is an off-road-capable, hydrogen fuel-cell electric pickup truck developed for the armed forces. At almost 2 metres tall and 2.1 metres wide, it is rumoured to be built on a stretched midsize pickup chassis, the same used in the second-generation Chevy Colorado. Reinforced inside and out, the ZH 2 rides on 37-inch tires and a specially-modified suspension that allows it to traverse inhospitable terrain.

Paul Rogers, director of the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) says, “Fuel cells have the potential to expand the capabilities of Army vehicles significantly through quiet operation, exportable power and solid torque performance, all advances that drove us to investigate this technology further.”

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