2021 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 V8 review

The model name will be familiar to Aussies, but the US-spec Chevrolet Colorado is a very different beast to the Colorado that graced Holden showrooms.

It ramps up the aggression factor by roughly 300 per cent, especially in ZR2 guise with its 2.0-inch (5cm) lift and 3.5-inch (8.9cm) wider tracks, flared guards and massive bonnet bulge.

However, even in the horsepower-obsessed US the Colorado’s engine choices don’t really back up its looks, customers offered either a 135kW/500Nm 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel, a similar engine to that offered in the HSV Colorado SportsCat locally, or a 230kW/373Nm 3.6-litre petrol V6.

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The solution to this has come from an unlikely source in the form of Walkinshaw Performance. Under the bonnet now sits the 339kW/614Nm 6.2-litre LT1 V8 from the Chevrolet Camaro, along with an eight-speed automatic and the transfer case from the previous generation Silverado.

The upgrades don’t stop there, with the Camaro also donating its front brakes – 345mm rotors with four-piston calipers – and the HSV SportsCat sharing its rolling stock, the 18 x 10.0-inch wheels and 285mm Cooper tyres further fattening the Colorado’s stance.

Sadly, it’s not a project that will be offered for sale. The Colorado ZR2 V8 is a proof of concept, presented to GM by Walkinshaw Performance, but with the keys in hand we have a chance to find out what might have been.

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The confusion starts with entering the car and being presented with a blank dash. Force of habit sees you enter the right-hand side of the car but the ZR2 is still a left-hooker. Mistake rectified, the confusion continues with a Camaro steering wheel complete with paddle shifters.

Obviously this wouldn’t have carried over to production but it’s a sign of how well put together this prototype is. Often these Frankenstein’s monsters are a bit thrown together, but despite the disparate component set there are no warning lights and the engine fires immediately with a twist of the key.

Walkinshaw Performance senior engineer David Kermond reaches under the bonnet and fiddles with something to engage track mode.

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Appropriate given our drive is taking place at Sandown Raceway – being an engineering prototype, the Colorado can’t be driven on public roads – but slightly incongruous in a high-riding off-roader.

It turns the powertrain up to its most aggressive setting, not that it really needs any help. The Camaro V8 makes the Colorado ZR2 sound and feel like a monster truck. It rears and roars under acceleration, with shift-cut cracks from the exhaust on full-throttle upshifts.

Walkinshaw claims 4.5-5.0sec from 0-100km/h; even the latter feels slightly optimistic, but it also feels more than fast enough from the elevated driver’s seat.

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The speedo only goes to 140km/h and the needle quickly sails off the end of the dial, a process you want to repeat over and over again due to the outrageous noise.

Fuel consumption in this thing would be horrendous, not just because of the 339kW/2200kg combination, but also because you can’t help but floor it at every opportunity.

Handling is...not a priority. Walkinshaw has added a rear anti-roll bar to settle things down a bit and the wider rubber from the SportsCat does provide a bit more purchase but it certainly feels out of its comfort zone on a racetrack.

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The Camaro wheel feels to have a Camaro rack behind it as well as the steering is quite sharp and responsive; having not driven a standard Colorado ZR2 it might be unchanged but it would be quicker steering than the vast majority of dual cabs.

Another example of the thoroughness of Walkinshaw’s conversion is that the ESP remains fully functional as does the choice of rear- or all-wheel drive with high- and low-range.

Sandown’s short off-road course isn’t particularly challenging, even when waterlogged, especially when the ZR2 boasts front and rear locking diffs and Multimatic’s DSSV (Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve) dampers, which are typically found in the likes of the Ford GT, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and Ferrari SF90 Assetto Fiorano.

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Instead of shims in the dampers these use precisely machined holes to control oil flow which allows for less variance between dampers, more precise damping control and greater temperature resistance.

It all adds up to a tantalising taste of what could have been and surely the US public would’ve lapped up a mid-size (in US terms) ‘pick-up’ that sounded and performed like this. Still, presumably, if GM wanted a V8 Colorado it would’ve made one itself!

The Colorado ZR2 V8 is one of those cars that doesn’t really make a lot of sense on paper but when you drive it you can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it. At which point it makes quite a lot of sense after all.

Specifications