Walkinshaw is turning up the wick on the Chevrolet Silverado.
A new supercharger kit for the 6.2-litre V8 ups power in the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 from 313kW to 485kW, and boosts torque from 624Nm to 837Nm.
A car fitted with the package has run the quarter mile in 12.66 seconds, according to Walkinshaw, making it a pickup capable of hassling a BMW M340i or Audi S4 at the drag strip.
The package comprises an Eaton TVS2650 supercharger and water-to-air intercooler, and is backed by bespoke control software allowing the V8 engine’s cylinder deactivation system to operate properly when the kit is installed.
Claimed fuel economy doesn’t change from 12.3L/100km, according to the company, although you can easily use much more than that with a heavy right foot.
It doesn’t come cheap. You’re up for $21,990 excluding fitment, and that’s atop the $106,990 before on-road costs you’ll need to pay for the least expensive 2021 Chevrolet Silverado.
There are plenty of ways to spend more on your Silverado, though. The supercharger kit sits alongside a growing range of accessories and performance upgrades in the Walkinshaw range, including new headers and cats for the 6.2L V8, and a cat-back exhaust designed to free up a bit more bass.
Having experienced a launch in a Silverado kitted out with the supercharger and exhaust, we can confirm it gets a move on in a straight line, and sounds good doing it.
The engine upgrades follow in the footsteps of the Walkinshaw Performance Fury Pack 1 and Fury Pack 2 revealed earlier in 2021.
Fury Pack 1 costs $10,990 and adds 18-inch “Method” rims in 295/65R18 co-branded Walkinshaw Performance/Goodyear A/T tyres.
Also included is a cat-back sports exhaust, a two-inch lift kit for the suspension, and unique decals and badging.
Fury Pack 2 costs $15,990 and replaces the 18-inch wheels with 20-inch wheels in WP/Goodyear 285/60R20 tyres. It also adds larger, six-piston front brakes with 410mm rotors.
Expect to see the catalogue of Walkinshaw Performance parts available for the Silverado and RAM 1500 grow going forward, as the company pivots away from making parts for Holden and HSV models and into the growing American pickup market.
“It’s important for us to develop packages that are warrantable, and that’s our point of difference in the marketplace out there,” Walkinshaw Performance general manager Rick Perchold said.
“We think that we’re the benchmark in the industry,” he said.
The broader Walkinshaw Group consists of an engineering division, which works on its accessories and partners with carmakers such as Volkswagen on Walkinshaw-fettled vehicles like the Amarok W580, and a manufacturing arm that converts the Chevrolet Silverado and RAM 1500 to right-hand drive for Australia.
With four production lines and around 750 employees, the Group is expecting to produce more than 9000 vehicles in 2021 at its 30,000 square metre facility in Clayton, Victoria.
