Photo: Kolesa.ru
A missed opportunity. That’s how I would describe the K5 Blazer revival that never was because General Motors is content with body-on-frame sport utility vehicles that aren’t particularly exciting compared to the likes of the new Ford Bronco for the 2021 model year and the Jeep Wrangler.
The full-size Blazer based on the C/K series of pickups ran from 1969 to 1991. The no-nonsense 4x4 switched to the GMT400 architecture for 1992, and not long after that, Chevrolet decided to discontinue it over slow sales.
As fate would have it, the first-generation Tahoe took its place in the lineup even though it doesn’t appeal to the same customer pool. This succession explains the following rendering from our friends at Kolesa, which imagines the 2021 model year Tahoe with two doors and a short wheelbase.
A worthy successor of the K5 Blazer, the design study can be summed up as wishful thinking because General Motors is looking forward to an electrified future that may bring us a Corvette-styled SUV and a Camaro-like sports car. Another reason the K5 Blazer’s return is for naught comes in the guise of an electrical architecture with hellish encryption for the ECU.
The old-school Blazer is easy to service and modify thanks to its relative simplicity, but today's ECU-locked Tahoe limits the customer and aftermarket alike. Considering that Wranglers can be jacked up with 6.0-inch (152-mm) lift kits and Hellcat-swapped for the right price, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a commercially successful K5 if Chevrolet would make it happen.
Instead of the Cadillac XT5- and GMC Acadia-twinned crossover that Chevy calls Blazer, the K5 lives on a retromod. The K5 Tahoe from Flat Out Autos is the vehicle I’m referring to, based on the 2015 to 2020 model year Tahoe that doesn’t feature an uncrackable engine control unit.
Be warned, though, because it’s pretty darn expensive. Excluding the donor vehicle, each conversion starts at $69,950 for the labor, all the necessary parts and subassemblies, and a two-tone paint job of your liking.
As fate would have it, the first-generation Tahoe took its place in the lineup even though it doesn’t appeal to the same customer pool. This succession explains the following rendering from our friends at Kolesa, which imagines the 2021 model year Tahoe with two doors and a short wheelbase.
A worthy successor of the K5 Blazer, the design study can be summed up as wishful thinking because General Motors is looking forward to an electrified future that may bring us a Corvette-styled SUV and a Camaro-like sports car. Another reason the K5 Blazer’s return is for naught comes in the guise of an electrical architecture with hellish encryption for the ECU.
The old-school Blazer is easy to service and modify thanks to its relative simplicity, but today's ECU-locked Tahoe limits the customer and aftermarket alike. Considering that Wranglers can be jacked up with 6.0-inch (152-mm) lift kits and Hellcat-swapped for the right price, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a commercially successful K5 if Chevrolet would make it happen.
Instead of the Cadillac XT5- and GMC Acadia-twinned crossover that Chevy calls Blazer, the K5 lives on a retromod. The K5 Tahoe from Flat Out Autos is the vehicle I’m referring to, based on the 2015 to 2020 model year Tahoe that doesn’t feature an uncrackable engine control unit.
Be warned, though, because it’s pretty darn expensive. Excluding the donor vehicle, each conversion starts at $69,950 for the labor, all the necessary parts and subassemblies, and a two-tone paint job of your liking.
Google News