The Chevrolet Colorado Race Development Truck And AEV Concept Are The Mighty, Manly Trucks You Can't Buy... Yet

If you like American trucks, you may want to take a deep breath: Chevrolet wants you to see two of its most awesome pickups, designed to deliver a shot of pure manliness direct to your crotch.

The first of these two heavy-hitters is the Colorado ZR2 Race Development Truck. Using tech derived from the Best in the Desert racing series, it gets a 1.5-inch body lift courtesy of long-travel versions of the stock DSSV shocks, 33-inch off-road tyres, metal protection plates for the rear suspension and rear differential, an uprated steel driveshaft, an off-road air intake and a performance exhaust.

The jounce shocks at both ends are boosted at the back by long-travel leaf springs and a selection of small mods to help with packaging and practicality.

Under the bonnet the engine is the same 3.6-litre V6 and eight-speed automatic gearbox as found in the standard Colorado truck, linking to electronically-locking front and rear diffs, a specific off-road driving mode and more taken directly from the production version.

The ZR2 AEV concept is the other Colorado-based SEMA debutant, built with American Expedition Vehicles. This time we’re talking about a 2.8-litre turbodiesel with even more low-down torque for even tougher off-roading.

As well as much of the same production-based kit as the Race Development Truck, it adds just a splash more aggression with AEV-specific front and rear bumpers, AEV DualSport wheels, 35-inch BF Goodrich KM2 mud tyres, high-output LED lighting and lots more, like a snorkel for epic wading ability.

Other highlights include a fridge-freezer, equipment storage cases, fuel cans and an awning in the load bay. There are recovery shackles, a 9.5xp-s winch and a Hi-Lift jack. Basically it’s the truck you need if you’re going hunting in the wilderness for a few days.

These are just concepts at the moment, says Chevrolet, but we’re fairly confident that if you went to AEV with a briefcase full of cash and a donor Colorado, they’d build you one.