Chevrolet announced its SEMA entries in style with an off-road monstrosity called the Beast, packing a 650-hp crate engine!
SEMA is the one time of the year where legalities and on-road scrutineering don’t matter since the event is a magnet for all things awesome and custom. Several specialized auto-build houses and some mainstream manufacturers create rad, wacky, and sometimes controversial concepts to show off their creativity for the world to see.
For example, one of the most famous revered kits in car culture — the Rocket Bunny Scion FR-S — gained widespread popularity thanks to SEMA.
For 2021, Chevy brought out an entire arsenal of trucks and other vehicles, including the Beast itself. The truck is based on a modified Silverado chassis with its power and off-road capabilities dialed up to eleven.
And the automaker clearly hit the nail on the head with the name. The sheer monstrosity starts with the Silverado-derived grille and headlamps on the front fascia, giving it a sci-fi vibe. Meanwhile, the rest of the body goes full nomad with a skid plate, massive bonnet scoops, roof scoop, and a twin-pod cabin.
The Chevy Beast receives super tall wheel arches from the sides housing the heavy-duty 37-inch off-road tires, 20-inch beadlock wheels, and safari-style doors. The rear end is accompanied by two spare tires for emergency use, a tubular space frame, a slim horizontal light tail strip, and rear skid plates to top it all off!
While it has all the styling to set it apart from everything else, it is the hardware under the body that truly gives the Beast its name. Namely, the modified Silverado chassis is shorter and reinforced with a 4130 Chromoly tubular space frame. As a result, the concept truck is much stiffer yet lighter than Chevy’s run-of-the-mill truck.
Furthermore, under its lightweight and tough exterior, the Chevy Beast packs a behemoth 6.2-liter supercharged V8 crate engine producing 650 hp! Power goes through all four wheels via a 10L90 10-speed auto transmission with optimized gear ratios.
Other noteworthy additions include custom suspension (12-in front and 15.5-in rear travel), Chevy Performance Big Brake System, and two 7-inch displays on the inside.
This isn’t the only custom vehicle in store, though, since Chevy brought along several other cool builds to the SEMA event. Some of these models include:
2022 Silverado ZR2
The ZR2 is the flagship off-road variant of the regular truck. It comes standard with 33-inch off-road tires, 40 mm DSSV spool dampers, 18-inch rims. Meanwhile, the Rock Protection System and Chevy Steel Driveshaft are optional.
2022 High Country Midnight Concept
The High Country Midnight Concept is a limited edition of the latest range of Silverado’s. It is accentuated by dark colors and black badging on the outside and a Multi-Flex Tailgate Audio by KICKER.
2022 Colorado ZR2 Extreme Off-Road
The next best thing to a rally-spec vehicle, as it comes with front and rear jounce shocks, long-travel shocks, and a leaf-spring kit.
2022 Colorado Z71 Off-Road Performance Edition
The off-road edition of the ZR1 gets the Trail Boss package with a 1-inch suspension leveling kit, 17-inch Gloss Black Wheels, and tow hooks.
2022 Tahoe Overlanding Concept
It is the go-to SUV for camping and overlanding. It comes standard with Air Ride suspension, 33-inch off-road tires, custom A-pillar off-road lights, and a 55-inch rooftop tent.
2022 Suburban Street Concept
It is a custom street built by Chevy Performance. Components include Air Ride suspension (lowest setting), 24-inch aluminum billet wheels, blacked-out grille, mirror caps, and decals.
Chevrolet Hoonigan 88’ Camaro ZZ632 Concept
The crown jewel after the Chevy Beast, the old-school Camaro is designed in collaboration with renowned tuning house Hoonigan. It features the most powerful Chevy Performance crate engine with 1,004 hp and 876 lb-ft out of the crank, married to a charming ZZ632 Camaro from 1988.
2022 Silverado 3500 HD Hoonigan Concept
Acts as the official towing vehicle of the ‘88 Camaro. Based on the top-of-the-line Silverado 3500 HD, it packs a 6.6 L Duramax Turbo-Diesel V8 engine.
At this point, it’s safe to say that one can easily get overwhelmed with the amount of rad stuff happening in and around SEMA. Chevy seems to have knocked it out of the ballpark this time!
Gallery: Chevy Beast Concept
