Monster American tow tug coming

HSV has confirmed that the big Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD LTZ will go on sale in Australia with a price tag of $147,990 from early September.

The chunky ute with its signature dual rear wheels will have a payload of 2.25 tonnes and a maximum towing weight of up to nine tonnes.

The big American bad-boy is powered by the Duramax 6.6-litre V8 turbo diesel that puts out 332kW of power and a hefty 1234Nm of torque. The engine features a standard exhaust brake that helps reduce the amount of conventional braking needed while towing or hauling big loads, as well as a fully integrated trailer-brake controller.

Transmission is through a six-speed Allison automatic gearbox and an electric two-speed transfer case.

The Silverados are imported from the US and fully re-engineered by HSV for right hand drive in a process that takes at least 100 man hours.

The production line for the 3500 is right beside the line for the Silverado 2500HD and not far from the line that re-engineers the Holden Colorado SportsCat using a lot of local parts as well as some of the companies that used to service our car manufacturing industry.

HSV General Manager of Marketing, Damon Paull said that the Silverado 3500HD isn’t for everyone: “This truck is for the serious load-hauler or serious tower,” he said. “And with a GVM of up around six tonnes, you’ll probably need to bring your truck licence with you as well.”

The first of the HSV-converted 3500s are currently heading down the re-engineering line. However, Paull says they will only be in relatively small numbers so if you want one of the first out of the Melbourne factory, you might want to high-tail it down to your HSV dealer. YeeHaa!