2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD ZR2 / ZR2 Bison First Look: Better Late Than Never English Us
Channel: kamran sumqayitli
Date: 21/04/2023

2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD ZR2 / ZR2 Bison First Look: Better Late Than Never English Us
The Ram 2500 HD Power Wagon has been around on and off in one form or another since 1940. Ford's answer, the F-250 Tremor, since 2019. And GM? Well, it's hoping you won't mind its fashionably late entrance into the heavy-duty off-roader space, revealing two new overland-ready variants of the Chevy Silverado HD to make up for lost time: the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD ZR2 and 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD ZR2 Bison.
Meet The Heaviest Off-Road-Ready Chevy
Building off the refreshed-for-2024 Silverado HD, the new Chevy Silverado HD ZR2s pick up where the lesser Z71 models leave off in an attempt to lure the younger, more affluent buyers that typically go for Ford Super Duty Tremors and Ram Rebels and Power Wagons back into the Chevrolet camp. Built on the bones of the three-quarter-ton Silverado 2500 HD (the Tremor remains the sole pickup in the segment available in a one-ton format), the new heavy-duty ZR2's biggest changes come at the truck's four corners.

Three-spool MultiMatic Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve dampers, first seen on the 2015 Camaro Z/28 but more commonly found underpinning the Colorado and Silverado 1500 ZR2s, team with a 1.5-inch suspension lift to improve ground clearance and ensure that the HD ZR2 is as at home towing and hauling as it is flattening dunes and scrambling over rocks. Silverado HD ZR2-specific front control arms and steering knuckles round out the undercarriage changes up front, while a rear electronic locking differential finishes off the truck. Chevy claims the HD ZR2's exclusive new off-road mode, coupled with new 35-inch all-terrain tires on 18-inch wheels, will negate the need for the locking front differential the smaller ZR2 trucks use.
Other notable changes include full underbody skidplates; the front skidplate is built from aluminum, while the transfer case gets steel shielding.

Amidst persistent rumors of a high-po Silverado 1500 ZR2 "Meteor," the new Silverado 2500 HD ZR2 makes do with the same revised-for-2024 engines as the rest of Chevy's heavy-duty lineup. The base engine is a 6.6-liter gas V-8 good for 401 hp and 464 lb-ft of torque, paired with an Allison 10-speed automatic. Optional—and expected to make up about 70 percent of Silverado HD ZR2 sales—is a Duramax 6.6-liter turbodiesel V-8 making a healthy 470 hp and 975 lb-ft of torque, also paired with the Allison 10-speed. Four-wheel drive is standard.
In their most potent forms, the Chevy's Ford rival puts out 430 hp and 435 lb-ft (gas V-8) and 500 hp and 1,200 lb-ft (turbodiesel V-8), and Ram rivals put out 410 hp and 429 lb-ft of torque (gas V-8), and 370 hp and 850 lb-ft (the Rebel's turbodiesel I-6; the Power Wagon is gas-only).

Available solely in the ever-popular crew cab/short bed configuration (6.8 feet in this case) the Silverado HD ZR2 package is finished off with unique styling, meaty red tow hooks up front, a "flow-tie" Chevy badge in the grille, and a high-content (but easy-to-wipe-down) interior reminiscent of those in loaded LTZ and High Country models. Technology remains front and center in the new HD ZR2, featuring a standard 13.4-inch infotainment screen and a 12.3-inch instrument cluster display, as well as an optional 15-inch head-up display capable of displaying an inclinometer.
What About The Silverado HD ZR2 Bison?
Like the Colorado and Silverado 1500 ZR2, the new Silverado 2500 ZR2 also gets a range-topping Bison variant co-developed with overland icon American Expeditionary Vehicles, better known as AEV. The Silverado 2500 HD ZR2 Bison sports unique steel bumpers with integrated winch provisions and recovery points, stamped steel skidplates underneath to protect the engine, steering rack, transfer case, and exhaust, as well as unique wheels and interior trim.
How Does The Silverado HD ZR2 Compare To The Ford F-250 Tremor And Ram 2500 Rebel And Power Wagon?
Being late to the party allowed Chevy the luxury of tweaking the Silverado HD ZR2's specs to match up favorably to its Ford F-250 Tremor and Ram 2500 Rebel and 2500 Power Wagon rivals. Like the Tremor and Rebel, the Silverado HD ZR2 is designed and engineered to offer robust off-road capability without compromising towing or payload capacities. Gas HD ZR2s can haul up to 3,397 pounds in the bed, besting the Rebel's 3,140-pound and the more off-road-focused Power Wagon's 1,660-pound ratings, but falling short of the lighter, aluminum-bodied F-250 Tremor's 4,053-pound capacity. Diesel HD ZR2s can tow up to 18,500 pounds, besting the Rebel's 16,850, Ford's 15,000, and Power Wagon's 10,620 pounds.