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One of the first Chevrolet Colorado ZR2s to roll off the assembly line will live its life as a development vehicle to be raced by GM royalty.
This Red Hot Crew Cab was among the first batch of trucks to leave GM’s Wentzville Assembly Center last week en route to Nevada where it will be picked up by the literal Kings of the Baja at Hall Racing. The patriarch, Rod Hall, has competed in every Baja 1000, and together with his sons Josh and Chad, used to run the HUMMER factory racing program.
After a mild round of modifications, the 8-speed, 3.6-liter V6 ZR2 will be raced by Hall’s youngest son, Chad, in the Best in the Desert off-road series, starting with the General Tire Vegas to Reno presented by FOX in August.
SEE ALSO: 2018 Chevy Colorado ZR2 Pricing Undercuts the Tacoma TRD Pro
“The Colorado ZR2 really caught our attention with its built-in versatility and the high-speed, off-road potential of the Multimatic DSSV dampers,” said Hall. “We love the ground clearance, ride stability, departure and breakover angles of the ZR2, and the inherent light weight and maneuverability of its midsize package. It should be a great platform for us to build an off-road desert-racing truck.”
Chevy hopes to use the race truck for real-world validation testing of new over-the-counter performance parts under development for current Colorado owners chasing a bit more off-road prowess. Factory-built ZR2s are 3.5 inches wider, lifted 2-inches and rides on Multimatic’s Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve dampening system, a first for any off-road truck.
ZR2s are officially on sale across the country and those who ordered early should be receiving their trucks in the coming weeks.
A version of this story originally appeared on GM Inside News
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