When the mighty new 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 4500HD, 5500HD and 6500HD trucks were revealed last month at the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, they featured an overlooked design feature borrowed from the Camaro of all vehicles: the "Flowtie."
That would be the hollow bowtie grille badge that first appeared on the 2014 Camaro Z/28 and is now standard on the 2018 Camaro ZL1. Lore has it that engineers during wind-tunnel testing noticed that the standard bowtie was inhibiting the flow of air to the radiator, so propulsion engineer Richard Quinn cut out the bowtie's gold fill, leaving a prototype version with a chrome outline that resulted in 2-degree Fahrenheit lower coolant and oil temperatures during track testing.
That'll help provide the maximum airflow needed for the heavy-duty trucks, Chevy says.
"The Flowtie is an elegant solution," design manager Kevin O'Donnell says in a release. "And it's going to work on the Silverado exactly the way it does on Camaro."
The chassis-cab trucks are powered by a 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel V8 that generates 350 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque. Chevy also gave the commercial trucks a fiberglass tilt-hood with integrated hand grips to make them easier to service and added triple door seals to keep road noise out of the interior.
Other interesting features are factory-installed air suspension and options like 4G LTE WiFi, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The front wheels can also be turned up to 50 degrees for better maneuverability and to more easily access the engine for servicing.
The new 4500HD, 5500HD and 6500HD models represent Chevrolet's return to this truck segment after it discontinued the Kodiak and its GMC twin, the TopKick. Production begins late this year.
Related Video:
That would be the hollow bowtie grille badge that first appeared on the 2014 Camaro Z/28 and is now standard on the 2018 Camaro ZL1. Lore has it that engineers during wind-tunnel testing noticed that the standard bowtie was inhibiting the flow of air to the radiator, so propulsion engineer Richard Quinn cut out the bowtie's gold fill, leaving a prototype version with a chrome outline that resulted in 2-degree Fahrenheit lower coolant and oil temperatures during track testing.
That'll help provide the maximum airflow needed for the heavy-duty trucks, Chevy says.
"The Flowtie is an elegant solution," design manager Kevin O'Donnell says in a release. "And it's going to work on the Silverado exactly the way it does on Camaro."
The chassis-cab trucks are powered by a 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel V8 that generates 350 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque. Chevy also gave the commercial trucks a fiberglass tilt-hood with integrated hand grips to make them easier to service and added triple door seals to keep road noise out of the interior.
Other interesting features are factory-installed air suspension and options like 4G LTE WiFi, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The front wheels can also be turned up to 50 degrees for better maneuverability and to more easily access the engine for servicing.
The new 4500HD, 5500HD and 6500HD models represent Chevrolet's return to this truck segment after it discontinued the Kodiak and its GMC twin, the TopKick. Production begins late this year.
Related Video:
Featured Gallery 2019 Chevrolet Silverado HD flowtie
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue