The official debut of the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 happened last week and where better for it to debut than on the longest off-road race in America – the “Vegas to Reno” race presented by FOX. What is even more interesting is the fact that the Chevy Colorado ZR2 finished the race in its near stock guise, without breaking down, pretty much thanks to the cooperation between Chevrolet Performance and Hall Racing. Behind the wheel of this vehicle was Chad Hall and Frank DeAngelo of Hall Racing who managed to bring this beast to finish in just 18 hours, 50 minutes and 16 seconds. The unofficial results are that the ZR2 finished the 539-mile course at the 136th overall position with an average speed of 28.6 MPH.
Those who are not aware this course is harsh and unforgiving, and it already took one life of a solo motorcycle competitor and put a quad driver in the hospital this year. This is a very dangerous track, and it is not definitely for those who drive recreationally and seek a quick adrenaline rush. It hosts a variety of different terrain that is difficult for both drivers and their machines. This is backed up by the fact that only 204 of the 336 vehicles finished the race and reached the chequered flag. The track took its toll on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 as well, and it took a few hits in the tires and body department, but it managed to hold its own. Driver Chad Hall mentioned this as well, and he said that “This truck is a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. I clobbered some things on the course that would’ve broken the many of the vehicles we competed with in the past.”
If you are wondering what mods were installed on the ZR2, we are happy to inform you that mods were limited to racing body-mandated items like a roll cage, a 44-gallon racing fuel tank and racing seats with safety harnesses. The crew also attached on KC HiLites racing lights, two-way radios, and a GPS system too as those were also required to run the show. Those of you who plan to purchase the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 will appreciate the info that its 3.6 L V6 engine and 8-speed automatic transmission, along with a modified version of ZR2’s Multimatic DSSV damper technology have passed the exam that came in the form of America’s longest Off-Road race with flying colors.
The rally Colorado ZR2 also hosted the Chevrolet Performance Exhaust system, which is from now on available for all Colorado models, as well as a bunch of new parts from Chevrolet Performance. Thanks to those parts surviving the Vegas to Reno race, you can easily expect to see them all in Chevrolet dealerships in the very near future. This was, by the way, also confirmed in a statement that Mark Dickens, Executive Director of Global Accessories, Performance Variants, Parts & Motorsports, General Motors, gave – “We cannot wait to pass along the benefits of what we’ve learned here under extreme use and at future races to our customers.”
