Chevy Colorado ZR2 Infantry Squad Vehicle

The current Chevy Colorado ZR2 is a hot-selling off-road-focused pickup, and now the U.S. military wants to up that ruggedness quotient by creating an Infantry Squad Vehicle for tactical and combat duties. The GM Defense arm of the Detroit automaker just received a contract to build 650 of them, and what you see here is one of the prototypes that, well, looks nothing like a Colorado. It takes the frame and suspension of the pickup but essentially loses the body, doors, and roof. The ZR2 ISV gets a new front end with an exposed radiator, angular rear fenders, and a cabin that amounts to a structural rear cage and a set of rearward and outward-facing jump seats in the back. To keep costs low, the ISV uses GM parts bin components and guts from the Chevy Performance Parts catalog. Under the hood is the ZR2’s optional 2.8-liter four-cylinder turobdiesel engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission for shifting duties. The ISV holds nine soldiers with gear thanks to those four jump seats and five more in the first two rows, all within the Colorado’s original dimensions. GM is confident it will fulfill the stringent needs of the U.S. military, but this sucker also looks like it might also get commandeered for action movie duties.