2012 Chevrolet Colorado fully unveiled, goes on sale in Thailand

The 2012 Chevrolet Colorado has been officially redesigned and re-engineered and has been revealed to the world. Known as GM’s toughest, highest-performance and most refined midsize pickup truck ever, the model made its global debut today in Thailand.

The model has yet to be confirmed for the United States, but Thai customers will get 26 combinations of Colorado models, powertrains, cabins, and ride heights when the range goes on sale this month. Based on GM’s global body-on-frame, the new Colorado sits on rear-drive midsize truck architecture.

The 2012 Chevrolet Colorado range will be offered with two new Duramax turbo-diesel engines including a 2.8 liter turbo diesel and a 2.5 liter naturally aspirated 4-cylinder. The 2.8 liter turbo diesel makes 180-hp with a peak torque of 346 lb-ft, while the 2.5 liter makes 150-hp and 258 lb-ft of torque.

“Thailand is excited to be the first market in the world to introduce the all-new Colorado, which represents GM’s most significant play in the midsize pickup truck market ever,” said GM Thailand President Martin Apfel. “This is a vehicle built tough for the people of Thailand, by the people of Thailand. It is a truck of which Thailand can be proud.”

Hit the jump for the highlights.

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2012 Chevrolet Colorado – HIGHLIGHTS

Overview

  • GM Thailand’s largest-ever engineering and manufacturing program
  • Total global program costs were $2 billion, including a $500 million investment to prepare GM Thailand’s Rayong manufacturing facility for Colorado production
  • More than 2.5 million kilometers were driven during program development
  • Developed across five continents for sale in more than 60 markets around the world
  • More markets and production sites for the vehicle will be announced in the coming months

Engines

  • 2.5-liter Duramax turbo-diesel
  • 2.8-liter Duramax turbo-diesel

Transmissions

  • Five-speed manual transmissions
  • Hydra-Matic six-speed automatic transmission with automatic gear selection via a toggle switch on the shift head
  • A new two-speed, electronically actuated part-time transfer case is applied on four-wheel-drive-equipped vehicles

Further product details will be announced later.

– By: Omar Rana