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Chevy Colorado ZR2 Gets Green Light to Become Army’s Next Infantry Vehicle

Back in September 2019, the U.S. Army announced the short list of companies selected as finalists in the race to provide the military with the next-generation Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV). These companies were Oshkosh, Flyer, and GM Defense.
GM ISV based on the Colorado ZR2 14 photos
Photo: GM Defense
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About nine months have passed since, and this weekend the U.S. Army Contracting Command–Detroit Arsenal announced that GM is the winner of a $214.3 million contract that would see the carmaker’s subsidiary develop, field and sustain a total of 2,065 combat vehicles.

More to the point, GM’s proposition for the Army is based on the 2020 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 pickup truck and uses around 90 percent commercial off-the-shelf parts. Even so, the price of each of the ISVs to be made by GM comes in at around $100,000, which is more than double the price of the version available for civilians.

But it will be a lot more potent too. The specifics of the conversion are of course not known, being secrets and all, but we do know the GM ISV can carry an infantry squad of nine people, and should be light enough to be sling loaded from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. A CH-47 Chinook will easily be able to house of these inside its belly.

The transporters for the military are powered by a 2.8-liter Duramax engine linked to a six-speed automatic transmission. Just like the one fitted on the civilian ZR2, it develops 186 horsepower.

“Winning this Army award is well-deserved recognition for the hard work and dedication of our GM Defense team and their production of a fantastic vehicle. We are confident the GMD ISV will meet and exceed all of our customers’ requirements,” said in a statement David Albritton, president of GM Defense.

“It’s indeed an honor to leverage our parent company’s experience as one of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers to design, build and deliver the best technologies available to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and our allies.”

GM did not say when it will deliver the first ZR2-based ISVs.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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