Wednesday 6th November 2013

Chevy releases Silverado Cheyenne at SEMA

Not just here for a silly name, there's more to this Chevy pick-up than meets the eye

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There’s already been an interesting array of SEMA show cars trickling through the news wires recently, what with the 400hp Mondeos and such like. But this Chevrolet Silverado Cheyenne concept is perhaps the most shocking of all.

Borla exhaust amplifies the V8 rumble

And why? Because it’s an American pick-up that focuses on reducing mass to achieve better performance. Honestly.

Compared to a regular cab 5.3-litre Silverado, the Cheyenne is 200lbs (90kg) lighter. Alright, it still weighs very nearly two tonnes, but it’s a start. And Bentley proudly boasts about similar losses, doesn’t it?

The Silverado Cheyenne’s slimming down comes from a combination of carbon fibre panels and borrowing Camaro Z/28 parts. So the bumpers, tailgate and inner cargo box are all of carbon construction. The hottest Camaro donates its carbon ceramic brakes too. The ‘Camaro Z/28-inspired extractor vent’ is less welcome.

Other slimming measures include deleting the trailer hitch, spare tyre and some of the sound deadening. There’s also an aluminium driveshaft and one of the most bizarrely juxtaposed pieces of tech ever, ‘composite rear leaf springs’.

But this isn’t a low-mass, small displacement, downsizing kind of pick-up. Hell no. In place of the 5.3-litre V8 sits a 6.2-litre unit, with 420hp and 460lb ft. That’s 65hp and 77lb ft up over the regular Silverado, which probably has a bigger effect on performance than a 90kg weight drop.

The Z/28 influence continues inside with a pair of Recaros and a flat-bottomed wheel. Shame the manual gearbox couldn’t make it across too, the Cheyenne making do with the six-speed auto found in other Silverados.

Like most exhibits at SEMA, the Silverado Cheyenne isn’t tipped for production. The official word is that Chevy is ‘continually exploring new ways to give Silverado customers more’.

[sc4589]

Why is it access denied?!!

EDIT: viewable in the forum. And I think this is awesome. Good to see them bringing back a defunct trim level and it actually meaning something- old Cheyennes were about being pared-down workhorses. Could be an interesting steer, looks awesome.

[davepoth]

The Corvette has composite leaf springs.

[Andehh]

They make concept cars and boast figures that Land Rover makes in its production cars.

The official word is that Chevy is ‘continually exploring new ways to give Silverado customers more’.

Give up?

[Fleckers]

liking that lots

will the do in a crew cab ?

[bobberz]

That "silly name" has a lot of meaning and brand cachet for GM truck fans. Any full-size, American truck with a weight under two-tons is a serious achievement, especially with all the infotainment-tech/luxury equipment usually found on these trucks. Remember, these things are waaaay bigger than anything you'd typically find on UK roads.

Those wheels look seriously out of place on a truck, even for a concept vehicle.

The thing that astonishes me is the price of modern trucks. The higher-end ones like a Ford F350 Super-Duty King Ranch (Americans are noted for their evocatively named cars like the Mustang, Viper, Cobra, and Thunderbird. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case! ) cost between $65,000 and $70,000 US Dollars. For reference, a base (but extremely competent) brand-spankin'-new Corvette Stingray will set you back only $51,000. That's roughly £40,000 to £43,500 for the truck versus £31,700 for the 'Vette.

Pretty astonishing prices for what used to be the most basic of basic transportation in America.