(By Tom Lohnes) – Hot on the tail of the insane C8 ZO6 reveal, Chevrolet Performance has posted a dark, not very revealing teaser of something to Instagram with the caption “beast” and it should give Chevy truck fans all around the country a breath of fresh air.
First off, absolutely no one knew this was coming. There were no teasers, spy shots, or any information presented before this. Total surprise. So, what could this be? Well, after talking with some of my equally intrigued friends, I have some theories.
First off, the most obvious thing to guess would be a Supercharged pickup truck. Using either the LT4 out of the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing with upwards of 668 horses or maybe even the LT5 with over 700, this thing would be a beast fit to rival the Ram 1500 TRX and the upcoming Ford F-150 Raptor R. With the ZR2 aimed straight at the standard raptor, it makes sense for GM to up the ante a bit and actually compete. But what would it be called? Guess a random dinosaur and you’ll probably be right.
Now some less obvious speculations for what this supposed “beast” could be. For one, a V8 Colorado. It seems unnecessary, but putting an LT1 into a Colorado ZR2 would put it in a class of its own compared to other midsize trucks. Chevy could also shoehorn the CT4-V Blackwing’s boosted V6 into there, making a mini-raptor from a rival brand. I doubt this is the case, but it would definitely be cool.
And lastly, the thing I am really hoping on, a legit Blazer. With the unbelievable success of the new Ford Bronco, General Motors isn’t just going to sit around. Likely based on the Colorado platform, this new “big blazer” would have pretty much the exact same formula as the Ford: Body-on-frame, 2-or-4-door, cool-looking SUV with a massive aftermarket at launch and a diehard fanbase. What engines could power this thing? Well, there’s the punchy 2.7L turbo 4 that powers some Chevy trucks, and also a whole variety of V8s, with or without boost.
Of course, all of these theories could be totally wrong. But, if one of these miraculously comes true, you saw it here first.
Looks like the headlights/hood on the Beast concept in the Chevrolet SEMA booth- would be amazing if that’s the platform for a new big Blazer in the long run! It’s 650hp, Silverado platform, and would take on the TRX and Raptor.
GM has always been great at the marketing “game”…just lousy at execution. They had winners in the Camaro, SS sedan, etc..but they never advertise them. Then, when they don’t sell, they blame consumers. Not to mention, how many times have you seen awesome GM concept cars and then the production version is a watered down, ridiculously expensive vehicle.
Ford is almost as bad, but at lest they are still selling Mustangs…
Dodge might be left behind on some things…like electrification, BUT they seem to be connected to t their customer base.
gm is always late to the party and will no doubt kill it after one or two years of production.
Why can’t they make a short box regular cab pickup for all of us who have been waiting?
15 years too late
Should be a new K5 Blazer. But they will drop the ball like always. Come out with some emancipated thing then stop building it when they fix the quirky stuff on it.