The new 2022 Chevy Silverado ZRX will build upon the Trail Boss trim.
With the stock, off-road truck competition heating up, a 2022 Chevy Silverado ZRX looks to be in the mix. Here’s what you can expect.
After the recent reveal of the 2021 Ram TRX and the success of the Ford Raptor, automakers seem to have a pretty standard playbook for how to design a halo off-road truck.
Basically, it goes like this: factory lift, check. Bigger, knobby off-road tires, check. Expanded wheel arches, check. Wider overall, check. Unique front grille, side graphics, check. Interior upgrades with branded styling cues and badges, check.
Expect nothing different from the ZRX.
We also expect to see mechanical changes such as a front locker and suspension to handle a Dukes of Hazzard style of driving. The suspension will likely include the well though of DSSV shocks found in the smaller Colorado ZR2.
This will build upon the Trail Boss package with its 2-inch lift, Z71 Off Road Package with a locking rear differential, skid plates, Rancho mono-tube off-road shocks, 18-inch wheels and Goodyear Duratrac off-road tires.
The big question is going to be what is under the hood of ZRX and we think they will go the route of large displacement engine with a supercharger.
This used to be a no-brainer with automakers putting in their largest engine for the their halo trucks. Ford broke this trend by downsizing a small displacement 3.5-liter high-output EcoBoost engine in its latest Raptor. The promise was better performance while sacrificing a throaty exhaust note. This choice has faced continual criticism.
The Ram TRX meanwhile uses a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 producing an astonishing 702 horsepower with a deep, throaty exhaust note eliciting a cowboy “Yeehaw” when smashing the throttle. We expect Chevy to go this route for the ZRX since who cares how fast you go if you don’t sound badass getting there?
Another way to imagine the ZRX is to picture a full-size version of this 2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison
All of this performance and style is going to come in at a stiff price. Like the Ram TRX with its nearly $100,000 price tag for early launch editions, we expect the Silverado ZRX to be offered with a limited run and a starting price in the mid $60Ks.
This truck will likely also only come in one combination: crew cab, 4WD, 5-1/2-foot bed. Options, and dealer markup, will mean the average ticket will be into the $70Ks.
With the new Ford Raptor expected to debut in the fall of 2020, the Chevy Silverado ZRX should be right behind it. It is likely pretty much done and, we suspect, Chevy is simply waiting for Ford to go first in order to counter any best-in-class claims Ford makes.
What do you think? Will Chevy blow away the market or is it too little, too late?
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I’m thinking it gets the 6.2 from the Zl1 Camaro. Supercharged and it already makes 650hp in the camaro
Good guess and probably right.
-Tim