Tuning company Blacklake Research and Development is turning the Chevrolet Silverado into the Ford F-150 Raptor fighter General Motors won't build.
The Blacklake XT1 starts out as a Silverado 1500 crew cab and is then transformed with a carbon-kevlar wide body, which adds 8.0 inches of width. Blacklake claims the widened fenders were designed to an OEM level of fit and finish; the company even replaced the entire bed rather than simply attaching new panels to it.
The XT1 also gets a new front bumper with an integrated Warn winch, but retains the stock bed-access steps in the rear bumper.
The wide body makes room for 35-inch BF Goodrich KM3 tires and 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels. The truck also gets long-travel suspension with billet aluminum control arms and JRI internal-bypass shocks. The latter are so tall that they poke through the bed.
Blacklake adds a Lingenfelter/Magnuson supercharger and HP Tuners ECU to the stock 6.2-liter V-8, a setup the company claims is good for 650 horsepower. The XT1 retains the Silverado's stock 10-speed automatic transmission, and features 3.73 front and rear-end gear ratios and an electronic locking rear differential.
Pricing starts at around $250,000. The XT1 won't be the only tuned Silverado available. Specialty Vehicle Engineering plans to build its own limited run of supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 trucks in both off-road and street configurations, each packing 850 hp. Meanwhile, Chevy is launching a Silverado ZR2 off-roader for the 2022 model year, but it may fall short of a true Raptor rival.
