Chevy Beast Off-Road Concept Build for SEMA 2021

Chevrolet aims to up the wow-factor at the 2021 SEMA Show with an off-road concept build the company calls the Chevy Beast. Although it’s one of eight truck and SUV builds that Chevy will showcase at the annual automotive trade show, the Beast is the one. All engine, all shocks, big tires. It’s the one that looks like the king of all UTVs, the truck-based UTV that you’d probably feel really cool driving. It encompasses elements from sand rails, side-by-sides, luxury pre-runners, and race trucks into one pee-yourself scary-fun dirt machine.

The Chevy Beast is based on a modified, shortened short-bed Silverado frame that mates nicely with the 4130 chromoly tubular roll cage. Its overall length of 204 inches makes it half a foot shorter than a SuperCab Ford Ranger midsize truck; both wheelbases are about 126 inches.

When it comes to looks, the Chevy Beast is totally unique, sporting a custom body that’s aggressive, lightweight, and functional. Lightweight tubular doors replace traditional truck doors. A pair of spare tires in the rear takes up the entire “bed” area, which has been shortened (to reduce overhang) and looks nothing like a traditional truck bed. The Chevy Beast almost resembles a truggie, which is basically a truck-based build that has the body of a buggy. The body design affords impressive approach (45 degrees), departure (46.5), and breakover (35 degrees) angles.

The four-wheel-drive Chevy Beast has a surprise under the hood in the form of a supercharged Chevrolet Performance LT4 6.2-liter V-8 crate engine that produces 650 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. It’s mated to a 10L90 10-speed automatic transmission.

Smoothing out the unforgiving desert terrain is one of the most important duties, which is where the concept long-travel off-road suspension with beefy adjustable Fox shocks comes in handy. The front has concept upper and lower control arms, and the rear has a custom five-link setup with a Panhard bar. Chevy reports the suspension has 12 inches of travel in the front and 15.5 inches in the rear. There’s 13.5 inches of ground clearance.

The beadlock 20×10 Raceline RTM260M Avenger True wheels are wrapped in 37-inch AMP Terrain Attack M/Ts. It’s really, really wide with a track width of 91 inches (a Raptor’s is 74 inches), which increases stability but also makes it vulnerable to whacking things on trails. The brakes have been updated with a Chevrolet Performance Big Brake Upgrade System, should excessive speed necessitate some last-second hasty deceleration.

The interior, vulnerable to the elements due to the lack of glass windshield or windows, is minimalistic and functional. Bucket Recaro performance seats with four-point harnesses suspend occupants during wild rides. A pair of seven-inch LCD screens help monitor vehicle data.

Trust us: the Chevy Beast is a concept any desert-goer would gladly take for a (forever) spin.

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