Supercharged Chevrolet Silverado still coming

If you thought HSV and its sister company Walkinshaw Performance had gone cold on the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 supercharger upgrade we reported on way back in July, think again.

The same people who previously produced hot homegrown Holden Commodore-based HSV models have just confirmed via Twitter that they’re still working on a supercharger kit for the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ V8 Crew Cab pick-up.

“Silverado 1500 owners – strap yourself in… it’s what you’ve been waiting for,” tweeted Walkinshaw Performance, alongside a video revealing the distinctive whine of a blower apparently being dyno-tested.

“We’re working on something for the Silverado 1500. Coming soon,” said WP.

While the HSV brand has effectively been shelved following the launch of GM Specialty Vehicles and its 54-dealer national retail network last month, Walkinshaw Automotive Group continues to ‘remanufacture’ the Silverado 1500 for GMSV on a contract conversion basis, and its WP aftermarket hot-shop continues to do what it does best.

As we’ve reported, we expect the Silverado 1500 blower kit, which will be available to new and existing owners, to deliver around 500kW of power and 850Nm of torque – significantly more than the 313kW/624Nm outputs of the naturally-aspirated 6.2-litre V8 in the standard 1500 LTZ.

Chevrolet doesn’t offer the latest Silverado 1500 with a supercharged V8 in North America, so Walkinshaw Performance is developing its own blower upgrade using WP parts like those it still offers owners of 6.0- and 6.2-litre Holden and HSV models.

GM’s Gen IV 6.2 LS3 – the last naturally-aspirated V8 sold by Holden and HSV – is a different engine to the Gen V 6.2 L87 that debuted in the fourth-generation Silverado in 2019.

Matched to a 10-speed automatic transmission, it’s based around a new block and incorporates new tech like direct-injection and cylinder shut-down.

But as the latest in a long line of small-block pushrod V8s from GM, the L87 is a willing recipient of many of the performance upgrades offered over many years by HSV’s sister company for the LS3 V8.

Take, for example, the W497 package – WP’s entry-level forced-induction kit for LS3 cars – which adds an Eaton Twin Vortices 2300 Series supercharger and, along with bigger injectors and a full WP exhaust, intake and ECU tune, slams down a claimed 497kW and 855Nm.

Then there’s the W547 kit, which adds a lumpier camshaft and, as the name suggests, pumps out an even healthier 547kW/880Nm.

Whatever state of tune WP has settled on for its Silverado 1500 blower kit, it won’t be cheap. The W457 kit, for example, costs around $25,000 – on top of the LTZ’s base price of $113,990 plus on-road costs.