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New Chevrolet Montana is Photographed Undergoing Road Tests in Brazil

Chevrolet Montana 7 photos
Photo: Abandonados.com
Chevrolet MontanaChevrolet MontanaChevrolet MontanaChevrolet MontanaChevrolet MontanaChevrolet Montana
When Theottle conceived a unibody pickup truck based on the Dacia Jogger, we said it could be a successful product in this expanding market segment. Ford wants a slice of it with the Maverick, but it is not alone. VW also studied the Tarok, and GM will soon reveal the new Chevrolet Montana, photographed undergoing road tests in Brazil by the Instagram channel Abandonados.com. They kindly allowed us to publish the image.
The Chevrolet Montana prototype is still mildly camouflaged but already presenting its final design through the uncovered (yet disguised) parts. The wheels are connected to rubber tubes that remind us of air brakes, but that is certainly not the case. South Korean prototypes photographed and shared on the Bobbae Dream forum reveal a regular vehicle, with no air brakes.

GM’s unibody pickup truck is rumored to be about a 5-meter (197-inch) long pickup truck, which would allow it to compete with the Maverick. Well, sort of: the spy shots made so far show that the new Montana has a rather small bed. The Honda Ridge is also a unibody pickup truck, but it is larger and more expensive.

The new Montana has the same name as a subcompact unibody pickup truck GM developed and sold in Brazil. It was based on the European Opel/Vauxhall Corsa C and was pretty successful in Latin American countries. However, profit margins were not that high, something the new Montana plans to correct.

Built over the VSS-F platform that underpins the Chevrolet Onix and Tracker, the larger pickup truck will be powered by a turbocharged 1.3-liter three-cylinder engine known as LT3. It delivers 155 hp (115 kW) and 174 hp (236 Nm). Thanks to ethanol, the GM engineering teams might be able to extract 163 hp (121 kW) in Brazil.

Montana’s only transmission option will consist of an automatic transmission in the Brazilian market: the GF6-3 six-speed gearbox. However, it may also receive the 9T4X transmission in other markets, which the Buick Encore GX and the Chevrolet Trailblazer mate to the LT3 engine.

In Brazil, the new Montana will be produced in São Caetano do Sul. GM will also make in South Korea, but it is improbable that it will be exported to the U.S. from there due to the Chicken Tax. If American customers ever get to buy the new Montana, it will have to be from a USMCA factory to make it more competitive. Thanks to Abandonados.com and South Korean photographers, we now have a better idea of how it will look like.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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