2022 Chevy Silverado ZR2 makes racing debut in the deserts of Laughlin

The first-ever Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 — the automaker’s flagship off-road truck — makes its official racing debut in the Best In The Desert King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic.

Chevy entered the 2022 Silverado ZR2 in the racing event to validate its off-road performance and test the 420-horsepower truck’s capabilities in the deserts of Laughlin, Nevada.

“At Chevrolet, our motorsports philosophy is ‘sell what you race, and race what you sell.’ Competing in off-road racing puts our trucks and performance parts through extreme levels of abuse that most trucks will never encounter. The Silverado ZR2 is a perfect example of how that strategy delivers. We applied what we learned with Chad Hall’s experience in the prototype race truck to the production truck customers buy in the showroom,” said General Motors Chief Engineer for Performance Variants, Parts, and Motorsports Engineering Dom Lester.

Since 2019, Chevrolet has used a prototype of the ZR2 to compete in various professionally sanctioned off-road races. For the 2021 King Shocks Laughlin Desert Classic, Chevy updated the truck with ZR2 sheet metal to match the new production truck.

Links between the production truck and the race truck are significant as they share most of the major chassis and drivetrain components such as the ladder-type frame, the 6.2-liter V8 engine, the 10-speed automatic transmission, the transfer case, its front and rear differential, front skid plate, and transfer case skid plate.

The truck used in Laughlin also had a new black hood insert, a unique grille with integrated lighting, wheel moldings, ZR2 badges, unique 18-inch wheels, and an exclusive Jet Black/Graystone leather-trimmed interior with complementing dark trim.

“It was exciting to help Chevrolet prove the Silverado ZR2’s off-road capability, hiding the prototype technologies in plain sight. The tests and refinements made over the past couple of years absolutely prove the adage that racing improves the breed — making the production Silverado ZR2 a strong, capable off-road truck,” said off-road racing champ, Chad Hall.

According to Chevrolet, the race-proven Silverado ZR2 will be made available in 2022.

Photos from Chevrolet

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