The second-generation Chevrolet Colorado launched in the U.S. for the 2015 model year, offering customers either a standard four-cylinder engine or an available six-cylinder engine. However, since the second-gen model’s release, enthusiasts have been clamoring for a high-performance version. Well, we heard ‘ya, so we decided to render our very own Chevrolet Colorado SS.
Before we dive into this, it’s worth mentioning that General Motors currently has no plans to actually build a Chevrolet Colorado SS model. But hey – we can dream, can’t we?
With that covered, let’s take a took at the rendering.
Draped in black paint and sporting a number of black accents, our Chevrolet Colorado SS rendering looks sinister. The front end gains a unique SS-style grille insert with a black Bow Tie badge, black crossbar, and red SS badging, while additional SS badging was added to the front doors in white. The wheels are large alloys that fill the squared-off fenders with purpose, and the pickup is lowered to give it the appropriate stance. There’s also a black air dam up front that enhances the aero, plus a slim horizontal intake for the hood.
Meanwhile, the rear end of our Chevrolet Colorado SS shows off with clear-lens tail lamps and new inner graphics. Additional SS badging is added to the tailgate, and there’s a set of quad exhaust pipes integrated with the body-colored lower bumper. Another black Bow Tie badge on the tailgate finishes it off.
As a reminder, the current Chevrolet Colorado’s most-powerful engine option is the atmospheric 3.6L V6 LGZ, which doles out 308 horsepower at 6,800 rom and 275 pound-feet of torque a 4,000 rpm. Buyers can also get the atmospheric 2.5L I-4 LCV, which produces 200 horsepower and 191 pound-feet of torque, or the turbodiesel 2.8L I-4 LWN, which produces 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque.
2019 Chevrolet Colorado Powertrain Summary
| Brand | Model | RPO Code | Displacement (L / ci) | Layout & Cylinders | Valvetrain | Aspiration | Compression Ratio | Bore & Stroke (in / mm) | Fuel | Fuel Delivery | Valve Lifters | Engine Block Material | Cylinder Head Material | Wheel Drive | Transmission | Axles (Final Drive Ratio) | Power (hp / kW @ RPM) | Torque (lb-ft / Nm @ RPM) | Fuel Economy 2WD (City / Hwy) | Fuel Economy 4WD (City / Hwy) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Colorado | LCV | 2.5L / 152.5 | I-4 | DOHC, four valves per cylinder, CVVT | Atmospheric | 11.3:1 | 3.46 x 3.97 / 88 x 101 | Gasoline | High-pressure direct fuel injection with electronic throttle control | Hydraulic roller finger follower | Cast aluminum | Cast aluminum | 2WD / 4WD | 6-speed manual (N8D) or 6-speed automatic (MYB) | 4.10 | 200 / 149 @ 6300 | 191 / 259 @ 4400 | 20 / 26 | 19 / 24 |
| Chevrolet | Colorado | LGZ | 3.6L / 219.7 | V-6 | DOHC, four valves per cylinder, CVVT | Atmospheric | 11.5:1 | 3.7 x 3.37 / 94 x 85.6 | Gasoline | High-pressure direct fuel injection with electronic throttle control | Hydraulic roller | Cast aluminum | Cast aluminum | 2WD / 4WD | 8-speed automatic (M5T) | 3.42 | 308 / 230 @ 6800 | 275 / 373 @ 4000 | 18 / 25 | 17 / 24 |
| Chevrolet | Colorado | LWN | 2.8L / 170.8 | I-4 | DOHC, four valves per cylinder | Turbocharger | 16.5:1 | 3.7 x 3.94 / 94 x 100 | Diesel | Common rail direct fuel injection | Hydraulic roller | Grey cast iron | Cast aluminum | 2WD / 4WD | 6-speed automatic (MYB) | 3.42 | 181 / 135 @ 3400 | 369 / 500 @ 2000 | 22 / 30 | 20 / 28 |
As for possible engine options in our Chevrolet Colorado SS, a Small Block V8 from the Silverado 1500 would fit nicely, either with the 5.3L V8 L83/L84 (355 horsepower, 383 pound-feet of torque), or the 6.2L V8 L86/L87 (420 horsepower, 450 pound-feet of torque).
To note, the second-gen Colorado is poised to receive it’s biggest update for the 2021 model year, including a revised front fascia, new rear tailgate lettering, new standard equipment, and new packages. The current Colorado will be replaced with an all-new model around 2023, riding on an updated version of the current GMT31XX platform called 31XX-2.
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Comments
It’s just leaving money on the table, GM.
My dad is a seasoned citizen, his next pickup will definitely be downsized. I couldn’t get him into a Gladiator before FCA yanked MOPAR Lifetime Extended Warranties.
A Colorado SS would be perfect for him.
They should build SS and offer suspension and cosmetics across all models.
Plenty of flat bill hat guys sporting man buns that would love a truck like this. Plenty of room for their 6.5 Creedmore supplies in the back seat.
At 77 years young, my younger years were spent in the SS years of production. If they offered it in other colors other than black I’d buy it. I’ve owned 2 black cars in my teens through my 40s, I didn’t mind washing a car every other day back then to keep it looking good. Now in my 70s I can find other ways to spend my spare time. Lol
put a better set of seats in the Colorado, even the seat from the Enclave. That was the reason why I never bought the new Colorado.
v8 not go happen
Their already talking about putting the Diesel Option on the Chopping Block, so they certainly won’t have a V8 option….sadly.
GM needs your talent on their design team. Cuz they suck at it.
How about an SS Silverado?
How about a render of the 2023 Colorado.
Today’s truck is just running out time.
If the rumors are true about the next generation having a 4 cylinder powertrain, perhaps GM will be open to sticking in its Turbo V6 for the ZR2 or an SS model for extra boost. A lot of people want a V8 but not sure if that would happen.
If you have the capability to build a Colorado SS with a 5.3 V-8, why don’t you just offer it as an option? What is the worst that could happen? Colorado sales increase dramatically? GM makes more money? Customers have a smaller sized truck with more dependable and higher capacity towing power? Actually can’t think of one single negative. Keep the 4 and the 6 cylinder offerings, but just make the SS with a direct injected 5.3, or 5.7 engine and a H.D. 6,8,or 10 speed trans purely optional. I think you would be very pleasantly surprised how well this truck would sell and the excitement it would create. On a personal note, I have a 4000 pound 1956 wooden Chris Craft Capri speed boat- pure 1950’s nostalgia with a .030 over 350 Chevy. This boat and trailer require a heavier duty drivetrain than a 3.6 or 2.0 to get around to the various lakes and rivers. My wife wanted a Buick Enclave, but the 3.6 powerplant and transmission were the same ones we have in our 2012 Buick Lacrosse and not suitable for towing the Chris Craft. Put a V-8 in the Colorado and also consider doing the same thing to the Blazer. You might be pleasantly surprised, and you will catch the Blue Oval guys flatfooted.
Jeff everyone says they want a V8 but when it comes time to buy the response is much less.
Today if you are a large comPany like GM bolting the Engine in is the easy part.
The difficulty is first off the track was never designed for it. If you have ever seen a V8 swap it would never pass the crash test as the crumple zones now have funniness in them. That calls for a re engineering of the truck at a large cost.
Then you have the new round of emissions testing. Companies are not just going to smaller engines for mpg but for lower emissions. That is more high priced expenses added to the truck.
Then you have the added EPA CAFE testing that adds more cost.
Then you have yo upgrade the transmission as the. Colorado tranny is the V6 transmission not the one used on the V8.
Once you get all this done you have to address the cooling system and feudal system that could require retesting. Yes more money.
This all could add up to tens of millions of dollars for each step.
Then you have to price the truck. That means a higher price than a present Bison already is. Note when they did the a Bison they did not touch the drive train not even the wheels and tires as to not negate the high cost testing it would incurred.
The bumper testing was in the millions and just the close out panel below the head lamp the tooling to make it was several million.
Now once you fo all this you may sell 10% of production if you are lucky. The odds of making money are slim. The last gen V8 did not sell well at all. That is one major reason it did not come back.
Now if you are doing this with a full size truck you have a lot more volume to leverage the cost over.
It is much cheaper for GM to support companies like a Mallet or Callaway to build these tuner trucks. GM has much less invested this way.
Even the Syclone as famed as it was sold only a couple thousand units.
I think you will find GM going 4 cylinder only will make it much simpler and cheaper to build. They all can use the same mounts and brackets and just add the a Turbo hardware for the option engine.
The days where you just drop a 389 in and call it a GTO are long over due to regulations and high cost of development I am very sad yo say. This is why you got a lot of SS vehicles with emblems and not much now they at least call the sport trim RS.
Note the Blazer will not take a V8. It was designed as a FWD transverse and it will not take a ton of power and if it did you would not want it in the front wheels. The GXP GP was a mess with the low power V8 as it was. If they upgraded the AWD and the added cost would you pay over $60K for a Blazer?
I get it and I personally gave nothing against a V8 but I also understand what it takes to pay for all this and It sadly prevents many of the low volume cars we once enjoyed.
Note GM is not the only one doing what they do. The a Raptor is the rare offering and Ram is working on a full size competitor. I expect GM will do something but only on the full size. The volume there would support it.
I interpreted Jeff’s comment that he’d like a B.o.F. Blazer based on Colorado with a 5.3 (or bumped to 5.7). And SS in the classic sense of being the top trim, not a street performer like the Syclone or even ZQ8. The current Colorado is a clearly bigger truck, a better match for a 5.3, than the last gen that came out in a recession that put it on hiatus. You make it sound like they’d be starting from scratch when it’s already in the bigger truck.
Jeff: sorry if I was putting words in your mouth.
Well then…I guess we’re stuck with a showroom full of Sticker Editions.
Why bother teasing? Stupid idea. Performance trucks are dead. It is too hard to find a new 2dr truck with a V8 unless you opt for a work truck and there are no more 2dr trucks with a short bed.
Not true about performance trucks. The raptor crowd begs to differ. Wait until the hellcat powered ram is released. It will be a hit. People in the south love adding performance mods to their truck no matter the power plant. As far as the 2dr trucks go we know GM makes them, you will just have to buy one overseas.
Given that the oil is trading at under $20.00 a barrel should mean CHEAP gas; thus, General Motors should take advantage of the situation and make the small block V8 an option to every vehicle that General Motors builds that uses the 3.6L V6; this should give excellent performance advantage and displacement on demand, fuel mileage shouldn’t suffer as much as people might think.
It will the oil prices be there by the time such models reach the market.
Also if the economy falls into a recession due to the virus do you want to,pump a ton of money into something people will not be able afford.
Also you realize that displacement on in demand is more about Emission credits than actual realized mpg gains. The EPA just awards credits toward a mfg for using displacement on demand.
They are called off cycle credit. Read up on it as is very interesting.
Adding two cylinders to a motor is mostly testing and regulatory. The reason a V8 costs more is price discrimination.
If you can’t get people to buy new, adding a V8 as a low cost up sell option is a solid move.
What to get?
Testing and regulatory is what cost so much. Then it is no longer low cost.
Just look at the last V8 Colorado. It added a substantial cost and then look at the production numbers sold. No much meat on the bones.
The silly thing is the present V6 is faster and more efficient in an even larger heavier truck.
The present truck is not exactly running a 90 Hp Iron Duke or 120 hp 2.8.
You can be sure if easy money was there to be made every mid size truck would have a V8.
Oh please. EPA and CARB testing and validation for a motor is a few million at best. Calibration, validation, safety testing… this is a high volume pickup, not a Grand Prix GXP with a transverse V8.
“You can be sure if easy money was there to be made every mid size truck would have a V8.”
You’d think so, but there’s this little thing called market manipulation. And forcing people to buy the larger truck is called price discrimination in polite terms. Someone’s gotta blink between Ford, GM, and FCA. And they will – even if FCA has to wait another product cycle to do it.
You wish!
Note the Colorado sells in smaller volumes then the W body that spread out the cost.
We are not speaking of full size truck volumes here.
Now if you were arguing Silverado then you may have a point.
Who else is putting a V8 in a small truck?
Cost are much more than a few million.
No money is easy and regulations are very tough and expensive to pass.
They are shortening fasteners to cut weight now.
Discrimination? You are out we’re the busses don’t stop on that one. Lol!
You really need to sit down and talk to an engineer from any automaker and they will tell you the same thing.
If there is easy money it would be already be in production.
If there was low risk of losing money they would already be doing it.
TOTALLY disagree! My 09 v8 Colorado 4×4 is faster than todays v6 even if it’s edged by 10 hp. My truck is lighter and the torque is 60 ft lbs more. 325 ft lbs vs 265 ft lbs I have the 4L60 which is lighter than the current trans. 0-45 we’re even than after that…they see my tail lights. This is only to the amount of torque in my v8 to keep me from driving by the big boys, but it didn’t work… Other v8 owners are getting 550 bhp with a supercharger or swapping in a 6.2 and adding corvette 4L60 parts to handle the torque.
The real reason, no one knew it was available. No commercials, sales was not announcing the v8 to potential Colorado buyers. When I bought my v8, I said I test drove the first gen but didn’t want 5 or 6 cylinder so Im not really interested. the almost retired sales guy said wait right here. Around the corner here he comes in a burnt Orange Colorado v8. Say want… He told me to take it home tonight since it was late and he was 30 miles away. Ok… Next day, I ordered a black one and he found it almost 30 days later. The catch, he wanted my 2006 Monte Carlo Silver SS with less 20K miles before I left with the v8 burnt orange colorado. His reason, a guy wanted to buy my v8 SS so he didn’t want any more miles or afraid something would happen to it. He drives around in a v8 Impala SS for my loaner, said that’s all he had, is that ok… Hell yes. He kept in the garage until I took purchase 30 days later.
I asked why not many buyers, he said Chevy is not advertising just like the v8 Monte Carlo SS. He said maybe one more model year and its gone. He thought Chevy would bring back the S-10 since it was a huge seller. But we all know that didn’t happen.
So, to say it didn’t sell because of the v8 – A BIG WRONG. As of yesterday when I drove it, guys in the big trucks stare and roll down the window a bit to hear the muffler with side twin polished SS tips behind the rear passenger wheel.
Correction: “This is only to the amount of torque management in my v8 to keep me from driving by the big boys, but it didn’t work…”
I’m a little disappointed in all the negative reasons why a V-8 can’t or should not be put in a Chevy Colorado. Mileage concerns, crumple zones and crash testing re-engineering, emissions testing, transmission selection and a litany of all the reasons GM should never reach out and build something exciting. With that thinking, the GTO would have never been built. We are talking about the General Motors Corporation, the world’s #1 car and truck manufacturer. GM built the C-7 Corvette that was incredible and extremely creative not to mention really fast. I know, we have a 2014 Premiere Edition Convertible. I do zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds, and still get 32 mpg if I drive 70 mph freeway speeds. The body isn’t steel with crumple zones, yet the engineers used the frame and fiberglass body to achieve crash test standards. Now we have the ground braking 2020 and 2021 8th generation Corvette, and that car is pure excitement. My point is to never stifle creativity. We put a man on the moon 51 years ago with equipment that was quite honestly very primitive, I’m certain there is a logical and workable pathway to putting a V-8 and strong auto transmission in a number of GM vehicles. There needs to be a lot more can do attitude out there, or we are doomed to live a boring existence driving 4 banger engines. One other thing, just take a moment and consider the “M” series offerings from BMW, or the “S” variants for the Audi. I believe an M-3 BMW has a 400+ hp V-8 as does the M-5 BMW. The same can be said about the S Audi. Emissions, Mileage, and Performance in an engineered platform are what these companies that are much smaller than GM accomplished. These specialized cars from BMW and Audi are like the Corvette and the V-8 SS Camaro- they are “halo” cars. They bring people into the showrooms and create excitement. Those Camaros come with 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder engines like the Colorado, but they also offer that magical V-8 in an SS version. A well respected mentor of mine told me many times, don’t bring me problems, excuses, and reasons things can’t be done…bring me solutions, and find a way to win at what you do every day. Creating and building new more powerful trucks and cars isn’t easy. It isn’t supposed to be easy, but it is very rewarding. Just look what the Corvette design and engineering group accomplished within the corporate rules and regulations of GM. The end result in 2014 was sales of more Corvettes than the sales of Impalas. The difference is excitement for the Corvette because of all it offered.
Jeff it’s not 1964 anymore…..
The last GTO just to bring it here was tens of millions of dollars. Even then it was considered a low cost deal.
That is why you got the gas tank in the trunk, no restyling and no scoop or true duel exhaust. The cost was too much and they did not have the money.
Now on higher end car you can get away with it as the price absorbs The cost.
With the high cost of regulations and development making cool cars is no longer a cheap thing.
The other issue is often when they do they still don’t sell mostly due to cost.
The V8 Colorado last time was done. Look up the volume… GM most like.y did not make back the development cost. It was expensive.
The same applies to most other projects like this today.
That is why only a few cool vehicles are built today and when they are they are expensive.
The Shelby, The Z28, Demon and Hellcat all should be cheaper but to cover the added cost.
I get it and hate it too but pay attention to the details of the market and it is clear what thing cost anymore. On top of that vehicles cost too damn much in general today too.
Building things faster really is easy mechanically but financially it is a great challenge.
Just like how GM wanted to put in a better transaxle for the GXP GP. But it would not fit with out a redesign of the pan that would require crash testing. So we ended up with a $40 K plus FWD V8 that was returned to keep the transmission alive.
It sucks but the high cost have sucked the life out of many things. Sadly boring daily drivers pay the bills not the cool cars.
All of these SS renderings are cool to dream about, but it’s not going to happen . Barra and her crew aren’t interested in performance variations of the current models. You have the Corvette and for ~2 more years (until they kill it), the Camaro. The company is going in the direction of having 15-20 different CUV models and other EV powered vehicles.
If you don’t like it, go elsewhere for a vehicle. Sad, but true. Sorry.
The corvette and the camaro precede Mary and would never be created if it were up to her. I will be sad to see the camaro not live on another generation because if actually does sell well for it to be such a niche vehicle. Considering that there are virtually zero advertisements for the car and that Chevy has a weak image these days. Look at how Dodge is connected with it fans. People still want performance cars and dodge gives all of it variants love. The ZL1 does not even get any love. GM only has itself to blame for the camaro outreach. Just how the wii u did terrible because people thought it was an attachment for the wii because Nintendo did poorly with communication, GM has done an awful job with managing the camaro. The only people that really know about it are the inner circle and that is no way to get new customers.
That future portfolio is lame but it will happen considering the demographics. They might as well build some vans too.
GM went bankrupt making cool cars once already.
Ford is near bankrupt now building the Mustang and Raptor.
FCA is in dire need of a partner or they will be in major trouble even building their cool cars,
Times are hard today to make and keep a automaker profitable. Add to that people are coming more and more walking away from the performance icons as out side the Vette most sell a fraction of what the used to do.
GM used to move millions of muscle cars a year combined. Today they need 100k from the Camaro and struggle to get half that with one of the best they ever built,
Even the Raptor is seen as a hit but sells less than 30k units a year. At least the full size volume helps cover cost.
The future will still have some fun things but less than in the past. Making money comes first anymore.
Toyota is not the largest from making cool cars. Maybe once GM gets their house fully cleaned up we can see more toys.
The Bison I expect will improve in the next gen. The tuners if they sell will continue to expand.
Then if that does not make you happy call me and I can sell you a crate engine for a swap. Unless you have CARB like regulations.
Yeah, the Mustang, Raptor, and a captive import of Pontiac G8’s off an existing manufacturing line with a LHD conversion… that broke those companies.
Insert eyeroll here.
And Camaro sales are bad because they made a BMW M4 killer. Guess what Camaro drivers wanted? They wanted a ten year old G8 that was cheaper. They didn’t want an M4 killer at a $10k discount..
Chris
The Mustang is on the watch list just as the Camaro.
The Raptor survives as Ford bases it on a platform that moves over a million units per year. While the Raptor May add some cash it is not going to save Ford who has stock prices as low as they can get.
The Camaro struggles as it is no longer the cheap econo RWD like it was based on. Same for a Mustang. Also performance is a hard sell today as the youth can’t afford a new car less a performance model.
They would rather have an Apple 11 phone vs a cool car.
In this day and age even a fwd 4 cylinder Malibu is $30k so you are not going to get a V8 Camaro for $30k.
To be Honest they have offered a good 4 and V6 package but it is not selling too.
The coupe as we know it is dead. Even the cheap fwd coupes are hard sells.
Chris it’s not 1969 anymore.
You are so out of touch with the corporate financial side of things.
Yes you need emotions to sell cars but you still have to make money at the end of the day.
The old GM would have done this but not Mary. Too badass for the broad and her crew. If SS models were still a thing for all models we should have saw no change post 2008.
Considering the upcoming switch to the 2.7l turbo 4 power train coming in the next gen, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to offer it in a ZR2 or SS ahead of the new gen. It would be a pretty substantial power boost to any of the existing engine options.
Why would you invest millions into a truck that is fully changing in just over a year?
Would it not be better to take all that money and put in a better interior in all the trucks vs 2000 V8 trucks.
This is pretty slick. A lot people walking away from Camaro and vette would look at this with the 6.2.
For those of you that are in favor, the dreaming continues and the reality gets put to bed. GM has given you the only performance vehicles that they are ever willing to give you, like them or not. Mary B and associates, regrettably, know that they have to give you some performance vehicles…Corvette, Camaro, and sprinkle in a few overpriced Cadillac performance models. They are, predominately, in the business of building cookie cutter, fleet rental, soccer mom products. The performance market is a necessary evil.
Glass half empty kinda day, is it?
The SS version does not and never will exist so why this thread? As far as Chevy goes the Camaro is a slug that sees only the Stang’s taillights and the Vette looks like a POS.
Lets not ignore how badass V8 SOUND vs. the V6 and the 4 cyl mini-motors.
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