As General Motors prepares to roll out the next-generation 2027 Silverado 1500, GM Authority is busy collecting all the intel we can. One of the big headlines for the upcoming generational update is a new powertrain lineup, including the launch of the new Gen 6 Small Block V8. Now, it looks as though we’ve managed to capture the next-gen V8 undergoing real-world testing.
Unlike earlier prototype models that featured quad exhaust tips, this particular 2027 Silverado prototype appears to be equipped with a dual exhaust system with a set of temporary tips.
2027 Silverado 1500 prototype with placeholder dual exhaust tips (credit: Andrey P)
While GM has yet to officially confirm many details on its Gen 6 Small Block family, this vehicle may represent our first look at it in action. As we can see, this particular prototype has a set of bumper cutouts meant for more than two tips (likely quad tips), with the placeholder dual exhaust pipes finishing the look.
Although the Gen Six Small Block V8 is expected to debut with the next-gen 2027 Silverado, the new gasoline-powered engine will also be found in the next-gen 2027 GMC Sierra 1500 and GM’s full-size SUVs. Further variants may include a high-displacement setup for GM’s heavy-duty pickups, plus a performance variant for the C8 Corvette.
A different 2027 Silverado 1500 prototype running quad exhaust tips
Mechanically, the Gen Six architecture is expected to continue to the traditional OHV (overhead valve) layout and 90-degree V. The new engines are also anticipated to deliver notable improvements in refinement, power, torque, and fuel efficiency compared to the Gen V engines currently in service.
During GM’s 2024 Investor Day, President Mark Reuss hinted that the next-generation GM full-size pickups would debut with new internal combustion engines, specifically highlighting advancements in the upcoming V8. This latest prototype, caught in the midst of emissions testing, provides further evidence of exactly that.
As always, keep it locked to GM Authority for everything you need to know about the 2027 Silverado, and for those folks hungry for more info, make sure to check out the 2027 Silverado prototype video below:
Hat tip to GM Authority reader Andrey P. for the photos of the prototypes with the placeholder dual exhaust setup.
Comments
ICE forever:)
I like Alex’s hat, and I like those wheels!
Prob a 2.5L turbo hybrid
That’d actually be a pretty good combo, 300+hp and 330+ tq paired with an electric motor netting 400+/450+. the 2.5 is based on the 2.7 and is plenty stout for hybrid truck duty. I have a feeling they’d pair the 2.7 with it though.
Interesting, covering up the whole truck with camo…I can’t picture GM making enough body and outside trim changes to make enough of a big change that requires “hiding” what is already being used in the current light duty truck of both Chevy and GMC. However, what GM has to be more adept at changing is it’s current “bad press” info about these trucks lousy mechanical problems that seem to be their downfall of of late! These big trucks are not selling in the quanities required to maintain their profit margins. You can make all of the little changes you want to the body and interior trim features…but if you can’t address the staggering amount of mechanical problems with certain V8 engines, and transmission failures, you’re simply fooling no one! GM has to address it’s dismal mechanical concerns and back it up with extended warranties to regain the public’s trust in GM products once again. Just an observation on my part, but perhaps all of the bigger and oh so expensive big trucks are being somewhat sidelined for the mid size trucks, although using a turbo 4 cylinder instead of a good small V8 or V6 engine in the current Colorado’s ect. isn’t winning over too many truck fans either. Reliability is the key word here…do whatever it takes to give the customer the best and most reliable products possible. Anything less, is simply a means to many failures in the very competitive light duty truck marketplace.
GM needs to bring back the 100k drivetrain warranties they stopped a few years ago, that would go a long way towards restoring customer confidence in their vehicles.
Agreed.
Up till 10 years ago any Silverado would do 150k miles with no issues, now is rare to see one make that at all.
???? Only on B$$$$$$ forums. Seams like there’s plenty on auto trader with high milage and original power train.
There is no money in vehicles that last past 65 to 70 thousand miles. I have been unloading them at max 70,000 mi. And have lived a quiet trouble free motoring life.
Exactly why I don’t intend on buying any ‘new’ engines with all the emissions crap on them.
I know it’s not the majority of current trucks only getting through warranty but way more than it used to be.
My ’89 5.7 had 350k and my ’03 has 250k. neither had required anymore than normal external wear parts replaced.
Bring back that reliability and you’ll get customers back. I used to expect every GM v8 to reach 250k no problem. Definitely don’t expect that after the last couple decades.
Buy you a 3.0 diesel, it comes with a 5/100k
I’d have to agree heard a lot of good about the 3liter Duramax and rode in one I was impressed with it the 2.7 turbo Max is a good engine but I think they could have done improvements to the 4.3 v6 and still got same or better numbers out of it
They 100% could have, but the 2.7 isn’t a standalone engine, it’s a whole engine family now. They’re pushing the 3.6 “high feature” to end of life as it’s an expensive engine with not much advantage over the 4.3 or 2.7/2.5 family. The 2.7/2.5 family now powers
-silverado/Sierra
-CT4
-colorado/canyon
-Traverse/Acadia/Enclave
From 1 engine they eliminated one of their most expensive engines and maintained competitiveness while reducing costs. I do thing a Gen6 4.3 could do the same thing as the 2.7 family for about the same price, but the gen 6 V8’s haven’t even hit the market yet.
Steve. The 2.7/2.5 is a tweener, only likeable in a cheaper Traverse. People warned before they went through with it. Cadillac, Enclave people will still want a soft 6 over a 4. Chevy, truck guys would take a bigger 4.3 variant to run hard. I wouldn’t want it built cheap though.
Anonymous, agree 100%. My point was the reason they dropped the 4.3 wasn’t cause it wasn’t selling in the K2XX trucks (it was at a similar rate to the 2.7 today) it’s cause the 4.3 didn’t have a hole in another vehicle, and with the volume the 2.7/2.5 now share throughout the whole GM lineup, it’s a significantly cheaper engine internally to GM.
Id love a new “Buick V6” that would do the same thing, or even maybe a 4.2V8 that could fit into everything as well and still meet cafe#’s. We know that a strait 4 fits in the traverse, why not a V? They did it in the Impala SS with the 5.3. it put people on notice having a V8 in every vehicle.
Wait! Do I hear rod or lifter noise coming from it already?
Most of the time, at least in the past, pipes like that were just used so the muffs fitted to the exhaust for emissions fit better. Not sure but it was like that 20 years ago.
I mean, exhaust tips are just that. Tips. There’s no quad square pipes running back to the engine. Just looks like they didn’t put tips on for testing, which would be regardless of engine. However, they’ve announced that the new truck will have the new 8, so unless this has the diesel or 4 cylinder, it’s the new truck.
Real question, will GM continue with a 2.5″ downpipe on the exhaust or grow to a 2.75″?
Uh ….. what’s wrong with just using the tried an true 4.3 V6 that’s been to the moon an back hundreds of times without missing a beat ?
They were dropped because they didn’t sell….
Fix the crappy engines and trannies.
Who cares about looks.
The 19-26 gm pickups are at the bottom of quality with multiple issues.
Sold my ’19 at 1/2 price, horrible Silverado.
I look forward to the new small block V8, I want that 2.7 4 banger to go. Please bring back the 4.3 V6 for base Silverado/Sierra and make it standard for Colorado/Canyon. Also bring back the 496 V8 for the 2500/3500 trucks and the optional 7.5 V12 found in the Cadillac Cien. GO GM
I have a 2012 WT with the 4.3 V6 w/ 4-speed AT that I bought new. It won’t pull a heavy trailer but will pull up to 5000 pounds without a problem except in the mountains. For the average homeowner this is more than enough. It is my daily driver and has never missed a beat. It has been back to the dealer once for the airbag recall. In 13 years it’s had brakes, a battery, a thermostat, tires, oil changes, and wipers, all done by me. I would love to update to a newer truck but I don’t think the new ones will measure up to the great service from this one. I agree the 4.3 is a fantastic proven engine that will last 100’s of thousands of miles with good care. Mine gets fresh full synthetic Mobile 1 every 5000 miles in my driveway. It just turned 111,000 miles and has no rust. Even if I do buy a new truck I will keep this one, it is just too good and no one wants it because of the 6-cylinder engine but that’s ok.
To be honest, your issue performance wise isn’t the engine, it’s the 4 speed. Even just having the 6 speed would improve mountain towing significantly. I got an 09 5.3 with the 4 speed, as a farm truck, and it just rolled over 220k. It tows great till it needs to drop down to 2nd. They changed the gear ratios when they went from the 4R200 to the 4l60e. Now 2nd is too high and 1st is too low, and when you get on a grade, your in low RPM’s in 2nd or huffing in 1st. The 6speed also keeps the converter locked longer and lower so you don’t loose 10% of your power to the converter. Your not engine limited there.
Longevity and durability are the things customers are looking for, not another body style. My 2020 Silverado at 33k miles just started shifting poorly last month. I took it to a transmission shop, and they changed the oil to Mobil 1 synthetic plus 2 cans of some additive to make it shift better. Luckily, it did the trick and is better for now. I also worry about the DFM and when will it fail and kill the cam or worse. GM, please invest engineering in your drivetrains and customers will come back. This is my 3rd Silverado, and I hope it’s not my last.
Did you ever notice that some GM trucks can turn well over a hundred thousand miles with very little problems, giving those lucky owners the ability to say “I love my Chevy/GMC truck, would not trade it for any other make of truck” while other Chevy/GMC truck owners are constantly having multiple problems from engine to transmissions ect, nothing but multiple dealer visits and constant fighting with the dealer and GM warranty people! Think about why this is, and why GM basically monitors these concerns but does very little about it?
My contention (as a 38 year GM retireded employee working in the quality control section or lack there of for many years) is that GM will monitor just how many complaints they have to deal with, whether it’s drivetrain problems, or paint and trim problems, suspension problems ect. and also most importantly checking out the “warranty cost versus the cost of fixing the problem”! GM is fully aware of the failing GM 6.2 liter engines, and the failing 10 speed auto transmissions, they keep very good records, they know that their going to build a certain amount of trucks that’ll be “damn near perfect” and bring great praise on the social channels, and they know that a certain percentage of their products will create major issues due to sub standard parts and assembly. The key issue here is to be able to sustain itself, profit margin wise every year, while delivering products, and satisfying those who invest heavly in GM products, and while closely watching the warranty cost! Here is the rub…GM allows for a certain amount of anticipated failures and a certain amount of warranty cost, and if this sounds totally crazy, you’d probably be correct thinking this way. But what else could explain the multiple problems that Chevy and GMC light duty trucks have been having to deal with over the last few years? Someone has to place a limit on how much GM is allowed to spend on warranty cost, someone has to be watching where the money is made, and where the money is spent…it’s the way big business works. What GM is doing is taking a lot of chances allowing sub standard products to be used in their product line, causing really bad press and making it so that GM receives a product quality rating of “just good enough” to keep the assembly lines moving, and if it’s at a slower rate, that’s fine, they’ll just slow the production lins down, lay people off, claim “it’s the economies fault” but never admit to creating and not handling their problems with honesty and with concern for their future! Again, think this basically is creating multiple problems they’ll have to deal with over the life of the product?
It just does not make good sense to “go to war with the customer over warranty items”, all you do is to create hard feelings between GM and it’s cherished (sic) customers, but GM is willing to simply “let it be”…and the end results are obvious, multiple complaints, people getting mad a GM, people getting furious with the dealers and every year, less and less new buyers, less and less new product brought out to compete in the very competitive marketplace!
Go ahead shake your collective heads, thinking “who runs a business this way”…knowing that you can and will lose customers and not get them back, all the while watching your quality ratings keep going down! If I were running GM (yeah, right) I would not allow customers to be short changed, give them what they want, what they deserve and if your’re losing money doing things this way, you obviously are walking a really thin line that in time will break as most customers, who’ve been “wronged” and abused by GM products quality (or lack there of) with their products won’t go looking for their next new vehicle at other manufactures product dealer lots.
Nothing that I know of is more maddening than having to fight with a dealer or manufacture over any sort of warranty failings, it’s a game that GM plays, and yes the dealers play that game too as they try to appease Mighty GM showing that they can also “blow the customer away” when they need to! If this does not sound realistic, then please explain why manufactures are constantly being called out for producing a sub standrd product?
Okay, ’nuff said, I’ve said my peace, that is my explanation as to why customers are so infuriated with GM products…sadly it doesn’t have to be this way, just give the customer who has spent their hard earned money on your product what they expect, a decent and reliable product and when things go wrong under warranty…just fix it and you’ll keep your customers!
Long winded but correct.
I’m getting more and more convinced the root cause is certain dealerships or service centers in select areas that are ripping customers off with bad oil. Selling them premium and then coyly topping them off with cheap junk. I have a farm truck thats one of the original “AFM” problem vehicles that’s never had problems. None of my friends have had issues and their all farmers who are hard on their trucks. I’ve seen nobody with the current number of bearing or lifter issues, but bought my dailer driver up north out of state and I had the dealership change the transmission fluid as part of the negotiations (it was used and had 120K on it already) 15K miles later, converter shudder. I changed the fluid myself with off the shelf Valvoline and that SUV now has 266k and never skipped a beat. It’s the only conclusion I can come up with. Unscrupulous service centers looking for return sales.
Last month my 2020 Silverado started the trans shudder at 33K miles. I took it into a transmission shop, and they did a fluid change and added 2 can of “shift improver” and the shudder problem stopped. I’m glad I took it in but worry about how long it will last. They put in 12 Quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic, not GM oil.
Good luck! Some testing has showed the dreaded 8 speed is a 300K transmission if properly taken care of.
Maybe they will bring back a new version of the 5.7 small block all aluminum with new technology couldn’t never beat the reliable 350 small block but I’m sure it will be around the 4.8- new 5.5 liter V8 that’s in the Cadillacs and corvettes just detuned for truck applica
The 4.8 was a clean sheet DOHC, and the 5.5 isn’t remotely related to the 4.8 despite also being DOHC. The 4.8 is built a lot like a Ford coyote, with a fairly square bore to stroke, roller rocker cam with turbos. The 5.5 is A very short stroke big bore V8 with a wider cam profile to fit solid tappet rockers (for 9000 rpm) and a structural bottom end to keep its lightweight block from breaking.
The new V8’s are 100% confirmed pushrods. The displacements likely won’t change as the 6.2 is an engine people look for. If anything they might go up to 6.3-6.4, maybe 6.6 like the trucks, but for marketing. The 5.3 is still the most popular V8 out there by sales, so if they keep their course, those will be the displacements. There’s a theory of just 1 displacement of 5.7, but that would be marketing suicide. Didn’t stop Ram from axing the hemi so anything is possible.
It will not be anything like the cardiac or Vette engines however, as those engines are not fit for trucks. The 4.8 was an intentionally complex engine to appeal to sophisticated buyers, and it’s failure and cost got Cadillacs CEO fired on that one item alone. The 5.5’s massive valves, bore and heads are optimized for screaming RPM’s and are useless at towing speeds. For reference, the 2001 5.3 makes more torque at 3000 rpm than the brand new 5.5. for good scavenging effect you need great flow, and big ports don’t help at low RPM’s. They hurt your flow.
There’s only. one thing we might see from the 5.5, an active intake. GM dropped 50 million into their intake manufacturing plant. Id imagine it be 10 or less if it was simply a new mold. There’s at least a dozen new processes for something. What that’ll probably mean for a 5.3 is you’ll see older trucks with great low end torque, but no HP. Bolting on a 6.2 intake on a 5.3 add 25HP to the wheels, but you loose towing torque. An active intake will mean best of both worlds instead of a compromise of both. 400HP 410tq 5.3?
I bought a 2500 with the 6.6 Duramax and 10 speed Allison. Believing I was paying for and receiving a real Allison trans as in the past. Instead GM pulled a fast one ( Can you say fraud ) and instead sold me a badge on the hood that said Allison and gave me an inferior and already problem prone ( 17,000 miles ) 10 speed trans that was designed and built by GM and Ford . Anyone want to start a class action, I’ll be lead plaintiff .
Yes these are not real Allison transmissions, you have to get at least a 4500 MD truck to get a new real Allison transmission.
It was well known on these message boards that the real Allison’s were going away in LT trucks a few years ago, sorry you missed that.
So maybe that’s what I should do, buy a short wheel base Silverado 4500 cab/chassis an put a pickup bed on it. It comes standard with a 6.6 Duramax and a real Allison transmission. It would be bulletproof and handle every job and to top it off they don’t cost much more than a loaded Silverado 3/4 ton. Mmmm, something to think about.
If you want an incredibly bad ride quality, terrible steering radius, a derated Duramax L5D, and the old K2XX cab…this truck would be great for you. We have two at work, rugged trucks, but both have already had electrical problems. Most people absolutely prefer driving the F-550’s we also have…even hard core GM guys…because they ride and steer so much nicer.
Let’s clear some stuff in the air right now for you misinformed stating they are not a “real” allison transmission. Yes, they are. GM didn’t do everything and buy a badge from allison, they were there from the get go while the transmission was designed. Yes it was designed and built in GM’s “house” by GM’s “engineers” but Allison’s engineers were right there checking, testing and recommending as it went along. Just because it has a single part issue (valve body) doesn’t mean that was a GM problem, Allison checked, tested and signed off on it. They weren’t impervious to issues in the past either, clutch issues in the 3/4, planetary gear issues and some heat/shifting issues with the fluid and torque converter. Technically, this was a co-developed unit (not a Ford unit as John B so incorrectly stated). The last one was sole Allison and GM bought it, here it was co-developed in GM’s house freeing up Allison’s facilities for other projects. They didn’t buy a badge, Allison (and no one with a business) would not do that if it didn’t live up to their standards. There was just a single part issue that they are correcting that wasn’t caught in all the testing, it happens. See the current 6.2 crank casting issues. Some of you need to stop stating false info, this is 100% a real Allison that had a quirk and you hang on the design and build location like it was an issue. It wasn’t…
It still has Allison input, as Allison designed the transmission. True Allison’s haven’t been in Chevys since the GMT400’s as the Allison 6 was engineered by Allison, but built in a GM facility. FYI, it’s the same facility today that makes the Allison 10 but ownership has been 100% transfered to GM. The guys overseeing your transmission production were the same guys who started out turning bolts on the original Allison’s 20 years ago.
Just bring the Colorado Bison to Australia and you will reclaim the Aussie market!!