CONVERSION THERAPY

HSV ADDS THE CHEVROLET LIGHT DUTY SILVERADO 1500 LTZ GROWING RANGE OF AMERICAN PICK-UP CONVERSIONS.

- Trent Giunco

IF BIGGER is better, then the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ is both good and bad. Let me explain. In terms of the Silverado family tree, the 1500 sits below the heavy duty 2500 and 3500 models, yet, line it up next to an Amarok, and the US-sourced pick-up is endowed with notably larger dimensions. Either way, the popularity of the American trucks is growing quickly, meaning the conversion companies such as HSV and Walkinshaw are pouncing on the opportunity.

On the back of the success of the RAM and Chevy pick-ups, the newest imported player is, of course, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ. And while it’s the ‘little’ bro to its heavy duty Silverado siblings, at 5885mm long and 2063mm wide, it’s hardly what you’d call ‘small’.

It looks tough, but the fact it’s plastered with chrome bling might be too much for some. The Silverado 1500 tested here has a host of HSV optional kit like the 20-inch Gloss Black wheels ($1103.30), black nameplate badges ($325.80), black ‘Chevrolet’ tailgate badging ($324.50) and a black sports bar ($2466.20) to cover off most of the design additions. In fact, the bits bolted on to this particular 1500 add up to more than $18,500 – ouch!

The 1500 packs a 6.2-litre V8 under the hood and HSV is currently only offering the highly specified LTZ variant that’s expected to come in at around $110,000 – which isn’t exactly spare change. However, your money buys you a lot of metal and strong mechanical hardware.