Chevrolet Brings Out Beast in Colorado ZR2 Bison with New Parts
Developed with Chad Hall Racing, Colorado ZR2 Bison can climb rocks and tear up the desert.
As the saying goes, “Race on Sunday, sell on Monday.” It’s not just sales, of course, as motorsport touches every aspect of a given vehicle, from image to performance. While the focus has been on Corvettes and Camaros, our favorite trucks are now enjoying the perks of motorsport through desert rallies, stadium truck events, and NASCAR.
H. Kent Sundling (a.k.a. Mr. Truck) found this recently on a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he met up with Chevrolet engineer Mark Dickens to learn more about the new Colorado ZR2 Bison and the host of race-engineered goodies that can be put on it.
“Essentially, the ZR2 is already a capable vehicle.” said Dickens. “We knew some of our customers are gonna wanna go out and run hard in the desert. So, we entered into this project with Chad Hall Racing, where we developed a set of hardware. Unlike our normal accessories, where the design [is] engineer-tested and backed by Chevrolet… this time, the validation was purely racing.”
With the help of namesake Chad Hall at the wheel of his Colorado ZR2, every piece now offered to Colorado owners via Chevrolet Performance went through 10,000 miles of testing and validation at several desert races. The parts are exactly the same as those used by Hall and his team, from the shocks and exhaust, to the engine tuning.
“I think one of the key things we really wanted to do is make this stuff bolt-on,” said Dickens. “Like the Challenge shock absorbers… we actually bolted and gloved it around the frame so [the owner] doesn’t have to get a welder out and start welding on their truck.”
Dickens adds that the development team went in with a mindset of upgradability and growing with the customer. He says a given customer may start with the front suspension for extended travel, then eventually have the full package as more money goes into their Colorado.
“Overlanders [are] a growing segment,” says Dickens when mentioning those same parts can also be used on the Colorado ZR2 Bison. “We think that they’re really going to be interested in this hardware because it’s race-proven… Having 10,000 miles of a guy like Chad Hall pounding on it, that’s what we would call a thumbprint of performance that we’re really proud of.”
The rest of video shows off what the Bison can do on a rocky section of a trail around Scottsdale, one sure-footed tire at a time. We can only imagine what it can do with all of those Chevrolet Performance parts, though.
