Photo: jlord8/Instagram
The third-generation Chevrolet Montana recently made its official debut in Brazil, and it's quite different than its predecessor. Now, since it's based on the Tracker crossover, the compact pickup is 8.1 inches (205.7 mm) longer and was upgraded to a four-door layout. The perfect rival for the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz, right?
Unfortunately, the Montana will remain an emerging market affair and won't come to the U.S. anytime soon. But that didn't stop rendering artists from creating various "what if" iterations of the pickup, including a higher-performance RS version. Put together by Instagram's "jlord," the RS depicts a souped-up Chevy that would go against yet another pickup we probably won't see in showrooms: the Maverick Raptor.
The recipe is pretty simple but effective at the same time. The artist lowered the truck, added a set of larger, multi-spoke wheels, and altered the front fascia to fall in line with Chevrolet's current line of performance cars. He extended the bumper by a couple of inches toward the ground and enlarged the front grille, also replacing the horizontal slats with a honeycomb-style mesh. I see a lot of Camaro ZL1 in that front fascia, and I love it!
Overall, it's a cool set of tweaks that are definitely doable on the production Montana. And I'm pretty sure a Montana RS would be popular in the U.S., even against the hot-looking Hyundai Santa Cruz. But that would also depend on what it would have under the hood because the Montana's standard 1.2-liter Turbo Flex isn't exactly impressive at 133 horsepower and 155 pound-feet (210 Nm) of torque.
With the Santa Cruz offered with an optional 2.5-liter four-banger good for 281 horsepower and with the Maverick's optional 2.0 EcoBoost rated at 250 horses, Chevy would have to do better for the RS. The 2.0-liter LSY fitted in Blazer would be a more exciting option at 230 horsepower.
But I'm just taking shots in the dark here because the Montana might never make it Stateside. And that's a shame because it would be the closest thing to an El Camino revival. Come to think of it, Chevy should use this iconic nameplate on such a pickup, even if it has two extra doors. I can dream, can't I?
The recipe is pretty simple but effective at the same time. The artist lowered the truck, added a set of larger, multi-spoke wheels, and altered the front fascia to fall in line with Chevrolet's current line of performance cars. He extended the bumper by a couple of inches toward the ground and enlarged the front grille, also replacing the horizontal slats with a honeycomb-style mesh. I see a lot of Camaro ZL1 in that front fascia, and I love it!
Overall, it's a cool set of tweaks that are definitely doable on the production Montana. And I'm pretty sure a Montana RS would be popular in the U.S., even against the hot-looking Hyundai Santa Cruz. But that would also depend on what it would have under the hood because the Montana's standard 1.2-liter Turbo Flex isn't exactly impressive at 133 horsepower and 155 pound-feet (210 Nm) of torque.
With the Santa Cruz offered with an optional 2.5-liter four-banger good for 281 horsepower and with the Maverick's optional 2.0 EcoBoost rated at 250 horses, Chevy would have to do better for the RS. The 2.0-liter LSY fitted in Blazer would be a more exciting option at 230 horsepower.
But I'm just taking shots in the dark here because the Montana might never make it Stateside. And that's a shame because it would be the closest thing to an El Camino revival. Come to think of it, Chevy should use this iconic nameplate on such a pickup, even if it has two extra doors. I can dream, can't I?
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