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Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra Confirmed With 277-horsepower Duramax Diesel I6

277-horsepower Duramax Diesel I6 1 photo
Photo: GMC via TFLTruck
For a short time, the configurators for the Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 listed the 3.0-liter Duramax turbo diesel inline-six engine paired with the ten-speed automatic transmission co-developed with Ford. The oil-chugging motor develops 277 horsepower at 3,750 rpm while torque is rated at 460 pound-feet from as low as 1,500 rpm.
As far as towing and efficiency are concerned, we’re inclined to think that General Motors came up with a better option than the Power Stroke V6 from Ford. In the F-150, the engine develops 250 horsepower and 440 pound-feet, translating to an EPA rating of 30 miles to the gallon on the combined driving cycle. This figure applies to the bone-stock SuperCab with rear-wheel drive.

There’s also the matter of origin. Duramax has tons of know-how in diesel technologies while the Power Stroke can trace its roots back to when Groupe PSA was called PSA Peugeot Citroen. The 3.0-liter V6 also happens to be used by Land Rover (including Range Rover) and Jaguar in models such as the Discovery utility vehicle and XJ luxury sedan.

Being the most powerful, torquiest turbo diesel in the half-ton category, the Duramax inline-six promises to be an interesting choice for customers who are on the road on a daily basis, on the long haul. The Ram 1500 still hasn’t added the EcoDiesel to the options list, but if we’re not mistaken, Fiat Chrysler won’t change the engine too much from the 260-horsepower and 442-lb.ft. version utilized by Jeep.

TFLTruck understands from General Motors that diesel-engined Silverado and Sierra models will be available to order soon, with first customer deliveries scheduled to start in the summer of 2019. Turning out attention to the architecture of the engine, an inline-six is harder to package than a V6 but much, much smoother than six cylinders arranged in two banks.

In the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, the Duramax turbo diesel features four cylinders, 2.8 liters of displacement, 181 horsepower, 369 pound-feet, and “may require additional optional equipment.” The latter can also be said about the inline-six in the full-size pickup trucks, as you can tell from the pictured screenshot from the configurator.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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