![Chevrolet’s All-New 2019 Silverado Chassis Cab Trucks Adopt Ra](https://img.ccjdigital.com/files/base/randallreilly/all/image/2018/04/ccj.2019-Chevrolet-Silverado-ChassisCab-002-2018-04-04-09-29.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
It may not be obvious, but the newest – and largest – additions to the Chevrolet product line share a design element with one of the Detroit automaker’s most legacy-rich – and fastest – vehicles.
When they hit the streets next model year, Chevy’s all-new Silverado 4500HD/5500HD/6500HD trucks will feature the “flowtie,” which was first introduced on the front grille of the 2014 Camaro Z/28 and now standard on the 2018 Camaro ZL1.
The chrome outline of a traditional Chevrolet bowtie with the center removed, the flowtie allows increased airflow to the engine which Design Manager Kevin O’Donnell says helps boost performance.
![Chevrolet’s All-New 2019 Silverado Chassis Cab Trucks Adopt Racing-inspired Flowtie](https://img.ccjdigital.com/files/base/randallreilly/all/image/2018/04/ccj.2019-Chevrolet-Silverado-ChassisCab-001-2018-04-04-09-36.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&q=70&w=400)
“Our engineers designed it to help win races by using airflow to lower coolant and oil temperatures on the race track,” he says.
During aerodynamic testing on the Z/28, engineers found the grille’s bowtie was displacing air away from the radiator, which can impact engine cooling. With cutting wheel in-hand, propulsions engineer Richard Quinn removed the bowtie’s gold fill, leaving only the silver outline intact. He installed the prototype flowtie on the grille and a retest revealed that it allowed more air into the engine, lowering engine fluid temperatures during extended track sessions.
Conventional cab Silverado heavy-duty cycle trucks needed a similar solution that allowed for maximum airflow with the truck’s pumped-up grille, so designers borrowed the flowtie design.
“It’s going to work on the Silverado exactly the way it does on Camaro,” O’Donnell says.