GM Just Gave Its Midsize Trucks a Power Number Ford Cannot Ignore
Ford called the Ranger Raptor untouchable in the midsize class.
GM just answered with a number under the hood nobody outside Detroit expected this soon.
The 2027 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon are getting an engine upgrade that rewrites the torque leaderboard for every non-hybrid truck in the segment.
The 2.7 Liter Four Cylinder Just Out Muscled Half the V6 Field
GM confirmed the Enhanced TurboMax engine, internally coded L4B, is landing in the 2027 Colorado and Canyon.
The number is 350 horsepower.
The torque number is even more brutal at 455 pound feet.
That is a jump of 40 horsepower and 25 pound feet over the outgoing L3B engine, and GM did it without touching the 2.7 liter displacement.
Engineers got there with a new turbocharger, an upgraded fuel injection system, improved thermal management, and redesigned pistons.
No bigger block, no bolted on hybrid battery pack, just a smarter version of the same four cylinder engine already sitting in driveways across America.
The engine pairs with an eight speed automatic in the midsize trucks, versus the 10 speed GM uses in the full-size Silverado and Sierra that share this same L4B unit.
Max towing holds at 7,700 pounds, which tells you GM tuned this update for punch off the line rather than chasing a bigger towing sticker.
Ford Still Wins on Horsepower But GM Just Took the Torque Crown
Ford's Ranger Raptor still claims the horsepower title in this fight, putting out 405 horsepower from its twin turbo 3.0 liter V6.
But horsepower is not the number that matters when you are loading a horse trailer or dragging a boat out of a Texas lake.
Torque is what moves weight, and on torque the Ranger Raptor cannot touch GM's new engine, with the Raptor stuck at 430 pound feet against the Colorado's 455.
Toyota's Tacoma i Force Max hybrid edges GM on torque at 465 pound feet, but it needs a hybrid battery pack and an electric motor assist to get there.
GM's engine hits 455 pound feet running on turbocharged gas alone, no battery, no extra weight, no hybrid complexity to break down at 80,000 miles.
Stack the non-hybrid field and the Colorado now claims more torque than anything else in the segment that does not carry a battery pack.
That is a four cylinder truck engine out muscling V6 engines that conservative truck buyers were told for years could never be matched by a turbo four.
What This Actually Means for the Guy Buying the Truck
Detroit did not need a Japanese-style hybrid supply chain to win this round, it needed better engineering inside the same 2.7 liter block already rolling off the line in Missouri.
That is the kind of win this country's truck buyers actually respect, because it beat the import competition's complexity with an American wrench, not a battery lab.
Toyota built a reputation on the Tacoma being the reliable choice and let horsepower bragging rights slide to everyone else.
GM just made that trade off a lot harder to defend, because now the reliable sounding four cylinder option also happens to out muscle most of the V6 trucks and match the import hybrids parked next to it at the dealership.
Ford built the Ranger Raptor's reputation as the segment's muscle truck, and that horsepower number still stands, but the torque story just flipped against them, and it flipped in Detroit's favor.
GM has not published exact 2027 order guide pricing for the Colorado and Canyon as of this writing, and the full specification sheet for the midsize application still carries some unconfirmed figures pending final GM release, but the 350 horsepower and 455 pound feet numbers are locked from the automaker's own announcement.
Watch the towing and payload charts when GM drops final Colorado ZR2 numbers, because a torque jump this size usually shows up everywhere else on the spec sheet too.
Sources:
- Alex Nunez, "Enhanced TurboMax Engine Gets More Power And Torque," GM Authority, September 17, 2026.
- Cody Hutchins, "2027 Colorado, Canyon TurboMax: 350 HP, 455 LB-FT," Pickup Truck Talk, September 2026.
- Staff, "Most Powerful Standard Midsize Truck Ever? The 2027 Chevy Colorado's L4B Code Hints at 350 HP," GM-Trucks.com, September 2026.
- Staff, "2027 Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon Gets Power And Torque Increases," GM Authority, September 2026.
