The Chevy ZR2 Bison is the most ferocious Colorado yet

Chevrolet has teamed with Michigan-based American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) to produce an even more capable version of its popular mid-sized truck. AEV is well known in the Jeep community for its over-the-top Wrangler builds and parts.

“More and more enthusiasts are discovering that Colorado is ideal for off-roading, especially for overland travel,” said Sandor Piszar, director of marketing for Chevrolet trucks. He’s right—we did notice that the current Colorado ZR2 was one of the more popular new trucks at the Overland Expo when we visited earlier this year, and the Colorado ZR2 Bison offers some serious upgrades that off-roaders will appreciate on the trail.

The Colorado ZR2 Bison builds on the ZR2’s long-travel suspension and front and rear differential lockers by adding a set of Boron steel skid plates that cover both differentials, the transmission, engine, and transfer case. AEV also adds front and rear steel bumpers, with the front adding provisions for fog lights and a winch, while the rear includes recovery points and lower rear bed corner armor by way of a small, tubular steel exoskeleton that ties into the chassis. The Bison wears exclusive 17×8-inch AEV wheels using the same 31-inch-tall Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tires found on the ZR2, but with unique fender flares.

Optional on the ZR2 Bison is a snorkel to help draw air in from up high, avoiding trail dust. That part will soon be available for all Colorado models, while the full ZR2 Bison package will hit dealers in January 2019. It will be available in both crew and extended cabs, and with either the 3.6-liter gasoline V-6 or 2.8-liter Duramax diesel engines.

But did you know that this isn’t the first time Chevrolet has used the Bison name on a truck? In 1964, Chevy built a working heavy duty truck concept with the name, and it was turbine-powered. The Bison name was then later used for production Chevrolet semi trucks from 1977–87.