25-Year-Old Chevrolet Express Refuses To Die, Gains 401 HP 6.6L V8 For 2021

The Chevrolet Express van is the equivalent of the never-ending “The Young and the Restless” soap opera for the automaker’s commercial fleet business.

After all, this is a work vehicle Chevrolet has been selling with very few changes since 1995 and doesn’t plan to ditch anytime soon. Much like the TV series, the Express is a cash cow for GM and the automaker has decided to extend its shelf life with a major powertrain update for the 2021 model year.

At the Work Truck Show, Chevrolet announced the introduction of a new 6.6-liter V8 gasoline engine on the Express and Low Cab Forward models. Sourced from the all-new 2020 Silverado 2500 HD and 3500 HD, the new direct-injected V8 engine is rated at 401 horsepower and 464 lb-ft (628 Nm) of torque.

Read Also: GM Still Sells A Lot Of Old-School American Vans

2021 Chevrolet Express Box Truck

That’s 17 percent more power and 24 percent more peak torque than the Express’ 341 HP 6.0-liter V8 Vortec engine it replaces. Chevrolet says the additional output and wider torque band will give drivers “more on-demand power and confidence, especially with heavy payloads.”

Arriving on the 2021 Chevrolet Express Cutaway, Cargo and Passenger models late this summer, the new 6.6-liter V8 engine is expected to become the most popular powertrain option for the Express family, with a take rate of around 70 percent – the same as the outgoing 6.0-liter unit.

The standard engine for the Chevy Express is a 4.3-liter V6 rated at 276 HP at 5,200 rpm and 298 lb-ft (404 Nm) of torque at 3,900 rpm. A 181 HP 2.8-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel engine is also available, though GM did not say if it will remain on offer for 2021. GM says demand for the Express remains high across Passenger, Cargo and Cutaway configurations, with a 12 percent increase year over year in 2019 across the entire lineup.

2021 Chevrolet Low Cab Forward and Silverado Medium Duty

The new 6.6-liter V8 gasoline engine will be introduced on the Isuzu-made Low Cab Forward truck as well, but in a de-tuned configuration of 350 HP and 425 lb-ft (576 Nm) of torque. Still, that’s nearly 18 percent more power and 14 percent more torque than the Low Cab Forward’s outgoing 6.0-liter V8.

Besides the introduction of the 6.6-liter V8 on the 2021 Express and 2021 Low Cab Forward, Chevrolet has also announced updates for the Silverado 4500 HD, 5500 HD and 6500 HD chassis cab trucks that further increase performance and flexibility for upfitting.

Those include a higher maximum gross combined weight rating of 37,000 lbs (16,783 kg), a new mechanical locking rear axle, longer axle-to-end-of-frame options for the two shortest wheelbases, new extended mirror arms, new left-hand power take-off capability, and an auxiliary switch bank available with six additional upfit switches located in headliner.