The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD is on the way, sporting new looks and more power. The all-new Silverado HD will still offer a standard gasoline V8 engine or an optional and familiar Duramax turbodiesel V8, but both engines get power upgrades to match the heavy-duty Silverado’s new design.
Chevy says the new Silverado HD, available as either a 2500HD or 3500HD, is all about making towing easier and more comfortable. To do that, Chevy engineers focused on increasing the livability of the 6.6-liter turbodiesel V8, giving the Duramax engine 25 percent more low-end torque. The turbodiesel in the 2024 Silverado HD will make 470 horsepower and 975 lb-ft of torque at 1,600 rpm.
The standard-equipment gasser 6.6-liter V8 engine gets a bit of attention too. It still makes the same power as it did in the outgoing model, 401 hp and 464 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm, but now the gas engine comes attached to the Allison 10-speed automatic transmission that was previously only available with the diesel. The six-speed auto is gone; the Allison is the standard gearbox across all Silverado HD models.
That combination boosts the Gross Combined Weight Rating of the gas-engine Silverado HD to 26,000 pounds, an increase of 2,000 pounds compared to before. The gas truck’s tow rating will max out at 22,500 pounds when equipped with the “max tow” package, which is now available on 2500HD models.
Of course, the reworked turbodiesel V8 outdoes the gas engine by a bit, with a max tow rating of 36,000 pounds on the top-dog Silverado 3500 HD dually. That’s the same as the previous model, but Chevy says the improved low-end torque will make those big towing jobs easier.
Chevy added a whole bunch of new tech to the Silverado HD, including camera features to make hitching up a trailer easier, and adaptive cruise control that accounts for trailers. And all of that information will be easily legible on the Silverado HD’s redesigned dashboard with a huge new display.
The center console is angled toward the driver by six degrees, for a kind of command-center setup. Passengers will still be able to see what’s on-screen, given the massive 13.4-inch display, and the instrument panel is a 12.3-inch digital display. Geez. That’s the size of a small laptop at this point. The interior design looks good, a major improvement over the outgoing model.
Other than new towing capacities and drivetrain options, the big news is the Silverado HD ZR2 model, due for release in 2024. That’ll be in addition to other available Silverado HD trims: Work Truck, Custom, LT, LTZ, and High Country.
This will be the first time Chevy has made the off-road trim available on the Silverado HD, and it’ll be interesting to see what upgrades earned the truck its ZR2 badge. The ZR2 line is famous for advanced off-road suspension, but heavy-duty trucks are towing and hauling rigs first and foremost, meaning most of them have stuck with ancient leaf-spring rear suspension for decades. The new Silverado HD is no different, with independent front suspension and a leaf-sprung solid axle at the rear. We’ll see what the ZR2 brings when GM reveals more about this model at a later date.
In the nascent age of EVs, towing is one task where internal-combustion vehicles still reign supreme. We don’t have a clear idea of how towing and EV range can coexist (at least with current technology), and that’s why heavy-duty trucks like the Silverado HD will stick to dinosaur juice for awhile: Chevy vice president Scott Bell believes HD trucks will be the last category of vehicle hanging on to combustion engines. That seems likely.
Chevy didn’t specify pricing for the 2024 Silverado HD; we’ll have to wait until we’re closer to the truck’s release in the first half of 2023 to find out the MSRP.
