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This Prototype Could Point To A 2020 Tahoe Diesel

As previously reported, at least one variant of Chevrolet’s forthcoming, all-new 2020 Tahoe appears poised to offer a single-outlet exhaust system, as a prototype Tahoe was photographed testing with just such an exhaust earlier in the month. Meanwhile, other prototypes have been spotted sporting a very different quad-tip exhaust design, leaving us to wonder just what model gets which exhaust, and what engines might be offered on the next-generation SUV.

Originally, it was believed that the 2020 Tahoe with the single-outlet exhaust was the next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe RST model, although we’d suspected there was also a chance it will instead become the standard exhaust for Tahoes equipped with GM’s new 2.7-liter I4 turbo L3B engine. But there’s another plausible answer to the question that we haven’t mentioned: that the single-outlet exhaust will be reserved for next-gen Tahoe models powered by GM’s new 3.0-liter LM2 Duramax engine – thereby clearing a 2020 Tahoe Diesel.

2020 Chevrolet Tahoe Diesel Exhaust - Spotlight Image

Consider: when Chevy’s all-new, 2019 Silverado 1500 with the new 3.0L LM2 Duramax engine will only offer a single-tip exhaust when equipped with that engine. Other trim levels of the 2019 Silverado are available with dual-outlet exhaust systems, but a more simple exhaust system with a single pipe to carry exhaust gases to the rear of the vehicle is advantageous where Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) is required.

2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax Diesel - Spy Pictures - Colorado - June 2018 016

Full details of GM’s new “baby Duramax” engine haven’t yet been revealed, but it will reportedly deliver up to about 280 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque, with highway fuel economy around 28 mpg. That’s class-leading performance, besting the likes of Ram’s EcoDiesel and Ford’s smallest, newest addition to the Power Stroke diesel family, which are both of the same displacement as GM’s new oil-burner for the Silverado.

Chevrolet’s all-new, 2020 Tahoe could make its debut as soon as the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this coming January. Stay tuned for more on the potential 2020 Tahoe diesel and Chevrolet Tahoe news as we continue to uncover more about the forthcoming full-size SUV.

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Aaron Brzozowski is a writer and motoring enthusiast from Detroit with an affinity for '80s German steel. He is not active on the Twitter these days, but you may send him a courier pigeon.

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Comments

  1. Fingers crossed!

    Reply
  2. The photo is unfortunately not a diesel. There is no diffuser exhaust tip (required to control outlet temps during DPF regens) and it also has a regular muffler. Diesels now no longer require a muffler due to the natural muffling effect in the DOC and SCR catalysts and the DPF. I do hope that the diesel engine will be an option.

    Reply
  3. As a former GMer, and a current Duramax owner, I can only say one thing about Diesels’ returning to the 1/2 ton truck platforms since abandoning it in the 90’s:

    ABOUT FREAKING TIME.

    (Just imagine the mileage if would we would drive manual trannys behind those little Diesels…)

    Reply
  4. Slightly off topic, glad to see that the Tahoe will finally have an independent rear suspension.

    Reply
  5. Not a diesel.

    I see a resonator and just a turned down tailpipe. Diesel would have a tailpipe cooling and no resonator that far back.

    Reply
  6. Request an article on why diesel fuel price is not lower than regular gasoline …seeing that it’s much cheaper to make/refine!

    Reply

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