Shock and Awe: Chevy's 1,100 HP Electric Beast Bites Dust at Mint 400
Image Credit: GM.
You know I like the new Chevy Silverado. Heck - I called it The Best EV In The World! But now, there's even a better version - Chevrolet has just rolled out something that makes every other truck, electric or not, look like a golf cart with a bad haircut. Say hello to the Silverado EV ZR2 concept, a tri-motor electric monster that makes the Rivian R1T look like it's taking a nap. I've seen some wild contraptions in my time, but this thing is like Thor's hammer on wheels, powered by lightning.
The standard Silverado EV puts out nearly 760 horsepower, which already is plenty for this truck. But this ZR2 concept? It makes the civilian version look like a chihuahua next to a grizzly bear. It's a whole different ballgame. Chevy squeezed in a third motor, because more power is always better, right? We're talking 1,100 horsepower. One thousand, one hundred. And torque? Oh, sweet heavens, the torque. They're claiming 11,500 pound-feet. I'm a journalist, not a mathematician, but that sounds like enough torque to rotate the earth. I'm pretty sure they just made that number up to make us all giggle. But I'm not complaining.
Image Credit: GM.
This beast isn't just a paper tiger, either. They threw it into the Mint 400, a desert race that makes your average pothole look like a baby's dimple. To handle the abuse, they've slapped on a lifted suspension with Multimatic dampers, giving it over 13 inches of wheel travel. That's enough to clear small countries. And those tires? 37-inch BFGoodrich KM3 mud-terrain tires. They're so big, they probably have their own zip code.
Chevrolet's Scott Bell says they built this thing mostly out of production parts. I'm picturing engineers raiding the parts bin, throwing everything they could find at this electric Frankenstein. "Need more power? Throw another motor in there!" "Suspension too soft? Let's lift it till it scrapes the clouds!" "Tires too small? Get the ones from that monster truck rally!"
Image Credit: GM.
And you know what? The finished product works. And it proves that electric vehicles aren't just for tree-huggers anymore. They can be downright bonkers. This ZR2 concept is proof that you can have your cake and eat it too – you can be environmentally friendly and still have enough power to pull a house off its foundation.
Don't rush out to your local Chevy dealer with a fistful of cash just yet, though. Let's pump the brakes a bit. This is a concept. A working concept, a glimpse into the future. But fear not, because Chevrolet is also bringing us the 2026 Silverado EV Trail Boss this summer. It'll have a factory lift and 35-inch tires. Not quite the ZR2, but still enough to make your neighbors green with envy.
Image Credit: GM.
I can't stop thinking about that 1,100 horsepower. That's enough to launch you from 0 to "Are you kidding me?" in a heartbeat. I can just see the look on people's faces as this electric beast tears through the desert, leaving nothing but a trail of dust and stunned silence in its wake. A silent, but deadly tornado.
Here's to the future of electric off-roading. I hope it'll be filled with ridiculous power outputs, oversized tires, and enough torque to make us all dizzy. And I hope we all will have the chance to experience the sheer joy of driving a truck that can outrun anything.
