Chevy Colorado ZR1: 6.2L LS9 V8 Plus 120 Shot of Nitrous Equals 1,000 HP Super Truck
Chevy never built a Colorado ZR1, but Izzy Performance did, and the result is truck that dominates on the street and the track.
In 2006 you could order your Chevy Colorado with a 3.5L inline-five-cylinder engine that made 220 horsepower. However, the Colorado you are looking at here has a bit more than that. And by a bit more we mean nearly five times as much! A gentleman named Izzy from Izzy Performance built himself a Colorado ZR1 that produces over 1,000 horsepower at the wheels. He did this by using the supercharged LS9 engine that powered the C6 generation Corvette ZR1. But the 638 horsepower from the stock unit was not enough for Izzy. So, he made several other modifications including a Kong 2650 blower and a nitrous setup that pushes power into the 4-digit range. But the most impressive part of this build is that even with all that power this truck is gentle enough to cruise around town in.
Recently this Colorado ZR1 build was captured in a video posted to the AutotopiaLA YouTube channel. In this video we get the hear from Izzy himself about all the details of the build. And the best part is we also get to hear from the truck as it rips up the streets around Los Angeles. The performance is incredible but so is the attention to detail that went into this truck. It looks like something that GM developed and built. And if you didn’t notice the beadlock wheels you might mistake it for a regular Colorado with a hood scoop. Until it blows you into the weeds that is.
Mechanical Upgrades
The LS9 under the hood with the Kong blower running E85 is good for 890 horsepower. The nitrous pushes it to over 1,000. But there is a lot more to this truck than that. Power flows through a fully built 4L80 automatic gearbox that can handle 1,300 horsepower. A Ford 9-inch rear end takes care of distributing that power. AFCO Racing shocks are all around. The brakes in the rear are from Wilwood. And the wheels are from Forgeline. Mickey Thompson tires provide the grip with an assist from the CalTracs setup. On the inside you will be greeted by a pair of Recaro seats, Holley digital dash and a switch panel to control the nitrous setup, transmission fans, the intercooler, and so on. It is all well integrated and looks almost factory.
Street and Track
If you want to build a truck that can tear up the drag strip that is not all that difficult if you don’t give a crap about drivability on the street. But this Colorado ZR1 build does care about street performance. The Recaro seats are supportive but comfy. The truck still has air conditioning. The bed is filled with a fuel cell and nitrous bottles, so Home Depot runs are out of the question. But if you just want to have fun around town, this little truck would be happy to oblige.
Test Drive
We don’t get to see this truck on a proper drag strip, but we do get to see it attack the street. And you can sense just from the video the kind of pull this truck has. Give her just a little bit of gas and she wants to run. But more than the acceleration, it is the handling that impresses. Izzy says in the video that he actually took this truck on a road course and finished in second place. A 1,000-horsepower truck is not something that you would expect to do well on a road course. But when was the last time you saw a Colorado ZR1?
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