GM to build Chevy Colorado ZR2-based Infantry Squad Vehicles for U.S. Army
Production-based truck wins $214 million contract
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The Chevrolet Colorado is reporting for duty.
GM Defense, a General Motors division launched in 2017, has won a $214.3 million contract from the U.S. Army to build Infantry Squad Vehicles based on the high-performance Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 pickup.
The troop-toting truck features seating for nine and a protective roll cage that has mounts for gear and attachment points where it can be strapped to a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter for rapid deployment, but is low enough so that the vehicle loaded into a CH-47 Chinook.
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The ISV uses 90 percent off-the-shelf parts, including the Colorado’s 186 hp 2.8-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder and six-speed automatic transmission. It also carries over the consumer model’s precision-tuned Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers, which allow it to drive and jump over rough terrain at high speeds.
The project is a collaboration with Ricardo Defense that beat out submissions from Oshkosh/Flyer Defense and SAIC/Polaris for the contract.
FOX NEWS AUTOS TEST DRIVE: CHEVROLET COLORADO ZR2
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According to a GM Defense spokeswoman, the contract price covers the purchase of up to 1,070 trucks, with the first 649 of them confirmed, while additional allocations could expand the program to 2,065 vehicles.