Check it out! The first-ever Chevy Silverado EV ZR2 off-road race truck finishes its MINT 400 Nevada desert race with 40% of battery remaining. Here is what happened.
Chevrolet has an expanding lineup of Silverado EV pickup trucks. They currently sell a WT work truck, an LT mainstream version, and a sporty and premium RST trim. They have a Silverado EV Trail Boss truck on the way. It should come to market this summer, in just a few months.
This EV ZR2 off-road concept truck shows what’s possible when the company applies the ZR2 recipe to the Silverado EV pickup truck. This off-road race is using a tri-motor system from the GMC Hummer EV truck. This off-road racer turns up the power to 1,100 horsepower. It has front and rear locking differentials. This a production setup that includes a virtual locker in the rear.
The truck completed a single lap of the MINT 400, like it was supposed to. This was a 73+ miles of grueling desert terrain just south of Las Vegas, NV. The Silverado EV ZR2 concept racer uses 98% of production components. It also includes a full roll cage, fire suppression system, and all racing equipment that is required by the race organizers and the sanctioning body.
The Silverado EV ZR2 participated in the Open EV Class. It was the only vehicle in its class, so it means it also won its class by completing the race distance and following all rules.
The truck started the race with 100% of the battery charge. It completed the 73+ miles of racing distance in about two hours, and it had about 40% of charge remaining. Chad Hall, the driver, said that he did not push the truck to the limit during this race. This is the first race that this electric truck is participating in. This was a learning experience for everybody involved.
Considering that the full battery has close to 212 kWh of energy, the truck used about 127 kWh to race over 73 miles of desert. This calculates to 0.57 mi/kWh of energy usage or about 19.3 eMPG. If this truck was to go for the full 400-mile distance, it would have required several charging stops.
Check out this video below! Our full MINT 400 off-road race experience video is coming early next week.
