Spied! The next-gen 2027 Chevy Silverado we spotted looks a lot like the leaked patent images

• The 2027 Chevy Silverado is moving closer to production as new spy photos reveal more exterior details.
• The next generation of Chevy’s half-ton truck looks a lot like the patent images that leaked last year.
• The new Silverado will be officially unveiled sometime later this year, suggesting it will launch as a 2027 model.

Every day is a day closer to when General Motors finally unveils its next generation of full-size pickup trucks. Today we have new spy photos that give us our best look yet at the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The truck is still completely covered in camouflage that tries to hide the exterior details, but the form-fitting packaging in these photos is much more revealing than the heavy camouflage worn by test mules we’ve seen in the wild before.

Late last year, a filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) appeared to fully reflect the Silverado’s new design. Although GM said at the time that the patent filings are not always indicative of future products, as we can see from our spy photos showing three Silverado models on a car rack, the production versions will look very similar to those in the patent images. Specifically, the front has the same grille shape, intersected by a bar that connects high-mounted daytime running lights. The latter also mirrors the arrangement seen in the patent images, including lower C-shaped headlight units that are partially visible in the new spy shots.

From the rear, we can see that the next-generation Silverado will have taillights that extend further into the nightstands, just like in the patent images. The shape of the tailgate also matches the one in the file, and we can see that the familiar side steps are still integrated into the rear bumper. We previously saw the truck’s square, quad-tipped exhaust pipes in the photo above, but now we can get a better look at the rear suspension. While GM’s latest generation of full-size SUVs have adopted a more advanced multilink setup, the Silverado models in these spy photos all have a solid rear axle.

Our spy photographer speculates that two of the three trucks he saw are similar to the mid-range LT trim. Both roll on 20-inch wheels, but one of them seems better positioned for off-roading, judging by the 33-inch-tall Goodyear Wrangler TrailRunner AT tires. The third could be a high-performance High Country, based on Bridgestone Alenza all-season rubber.

While we don’t have specific details yet on the next-generation Silverado’s powertrains, we do know it will feature a small-block V-8. The current four-cylinder turbo engines and six-cylinder diesel engines will likely remain when the new generation is officially unveiled sometime later this year. That would make the Chevy Silverado a 2027 model, but we certainly expect to find out in the coming months.

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Eric Stafford’s car addiction started before he could walk, and it’s fueled his passion for writing news, reviews and more for Car and driver since 2016. His childhood ambition was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno-esque car collection. Apparently getting rich is harder than social media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree from Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of essentially burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and driver hired him. His garage currently has a 2010 Acura RDX, a ’97 manual Chevy Camaro Z/28 and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.