Chevrolet is stepping up testing of the all new Silverado EV. We’ve heard a lot about the all new, all-electric pickup, but so far, however, we’ve never seen a prototype testing out in public- until today.

Silverado EV Prototype: Our Photographer Reports

We finally caught our first prototype for the Chevy Silverado EV testing in the real world. This early test vehicle has some placeholder items that makes it something of a guessing game as to what trim this prototype represents, but there are signs that it could be a trim that hasn’t been revealed yet.

So far the Silverado EV has been shown in carefully orchestrated PR exercises, focusing on the fancy RST trim, a stripped-down WT trim, and a single image teasing a Silverado EV Trail Boss. This new prototype has some details that don’t seem to match up with any of those variants, perhaps signaling a model one step up from the WT—a Silverado EV LT, perhaps?

The prototype appears to have the front-fascia of the WT, based on the treatments applied to the front air-intakes, the matte black finish, and the apparent lack of full-width front lighting found on the upmarket RST and Trail Boss. This prototype, however, appears to be a bit less basic than what is found on the initial images of the WT. Here’s what we noticed:

New Wheel Design
The WT teaser images showed relatively small steel wheels and rugged tires, while this prototype has larger wheels, and clearly pavement-focused tires. We can’t quite make out the tire size, but this prototype is clearly wearing Bridgestone Alenzas, which are a fixture on GM’s big SUV’s fitted with 22-inch wheels. Judging from the size of the sidewall of the tires on this prototype, we may be looking at 22-inch wheels (or possibly 20s), but definitely NOT the big 24-inch wheels found on the RST.

Some Body Colored Trim Elements
The initial images of the Silverado EV WT all show lots of simple black trim, including the door handles and the shark fin roof antenna. While it may be too early to draw iron-clad conclusions about this particular truck’s set-up, it must be noted that all of these trim elements are all glossy, and body-colored. Combining this detail with the upgraded wheels, and we may be looking at a truck that will sit between the WT and RST in the Silverado EV’s model-range.

Now that Silverado EV prototypes clearly exist, we’ll be working to dig deep to break down the finer details of any test trucks we catch on public roads.