Chevrolet yet to release an alternative to Ford F-150 Raptor, but it nearly defeats the arch-enemy with its high-performance mid-size vans segmented with bits sourced from Camaro and help from a sister company based in Australia Holden. The project was completed at the last minute.
Australian Publications Drive spoke to some of the people who developed the truck and got the chance to drive one of two prototypes built. It is known that the project is the brainchild of Holden Special Vehicle (HSV), the department in charge of rotation Holden’s car become hot rod. HSV has spent decades working on Commodore (sold here as Chevrolet SS) and its derivatives, but its future started to look bleak after production of the fourth-generation model ended in 2017 and its successor. landed in the form of a Buick built with badges.
That’s when Colorado entered the equation. HSV already offers several upgrade packages for the truck so giving it more power is the next logical step. Instead of tuning the 2.8-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder that comes standard in AustraliaHSV is equipped with a 6.2-liter V8 engine and a 10-speed automatic transmission between the fenders. It retains the all-wheel drive system, according to Drive, and it built a pair of prototypes. One is aimed at the Australian market; the other is based on Colorado ZR2 left steering wheel and built for America.
Making the project manufacturable required two years of fine-tuning and hours of negotiation. The installation of a 455hp V8 at HSV’s Melbourne, Australia, facilities doesn’t make sense from a financial perspective so Synthetic engine agreed to build the truck in Thailand, on the same line that builds the regular Colorado for many global markets. HSV expects to sell about 2,000 units per year.
Production was scheduled to begin in 2020 and sales were supposed to begin shortly after, but the super truck was canceled when General Motors profiting off its Holden division February 2020. If launched, the V8-powered Colorado will cost around AU$80,000, or about US$57,400 at current conversion rates. Pass Drive for photos and motivating impressions.
