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The 2022 Chevy Silverado ZR2 is the ultimate in fulfillment of many GM truck fans’ desires here at Jim Butler Chevy of St Louis, as the very capable version of the pickup that could go anywhere appealed to lovers of the trail both here and nationwide. The experts on duty providing the digital scoop at GM Authority provided the story over the past week about spy shots they got their hands on that could indicate GM’s potential work on an even more extreme and off-road focused Silverado that could draw valuable inspiration from the Off-Road concept presented last year during SEMA.

The spy shots in question portray a Chevy Silverado prototype in Crew Cab Short Bed configuration, ideally knobby tires, side rock rails, and off-road wheels with concealed wheel covers. What is of particular interest in the concealed wheels, as GM may have a set of beadlock wheels beneath the covers. There’s also a fairly low-hanging front underbody skid plate, which has a similar design and shape that was witnessed on the Chevy Beast concept at SEMA. There’s quite a bit of camouflage covering up the sight-lines for the grille and front fascia, but interested readers can still make out the similar design to the Beast’s bumper.

There will most likely be an expansion or re-use of the Multimatic DSSV dampers, which offer replacements of the conventional damper with spool valves, resulting in better consistency damper to damper, and less possibility of repeated use over time making for positional changes in the orifice. This also enables the seasoned off-roader to really lay down on the truck while being fully confident that the suspension will behave the same lap after lap. 

Many eager truck fans are wondering exactly what powertrain may be sitting under the hood, and it could actually be quite possible that the supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V8 engine may be the designated and hefty provision! It was recently brought along for the fun into the truck and SUV category courtesy of the Cadillac Escalade-V, so it’s likely that a souped-up Silverado could be another one of its beneficiaries. Also, it would make it a prime and poised contender for rivals such as the 702-horsepower Ram TRX and the incoming and ready-for-battle Ford F-150 Raptor R. 

The Edmunds.com team were huge fans of the current-model Silverado when they took it for a lengthy spin, loving the variety of powertrain options, the long cabin with class-leading rear legroom, and the multiple tie-down points along with massive bed capacity. The very rugged and capable ZR2 is just as supreme and steep-hill prone rig as anyone could wish for, and the addition of this hyper off-road focused future model will only stoke the fire for anyone wanting to climb, forge, or otherwise force their way through uncharted territory in full-blown style!