2019 GMC Sierra AT4's Off-Road Performance Package Actually Adds Power

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

If you need to get somewhere off the beaten path just that much more quickly than The Other Guy – or maybe you simply want to one-up your neighbor and their new Sierra AT4 – GMC has an answer for you.

Despite being only about three seconds old, The General is already throwing a new package at the 2019 Sierra. Meant to layer on top of the off-road focused AT4 trim, this new option adds even more horses to the hand-of-god 6.2-liter V8.

And, for once, buyers actually save money by selecting the option package. Speed normally costs money – but not this time.

GMC says the Sierra AT4 Off-Road Performance Package has an MSRP of $4,940. For such a sum, owners will find themselves in possession of 15 extra horsepower and 9 lb-ft of torque, bringing output of the 6.2L to 435 hp and 469 units of twist. Bundled in the package are the 6.2L engine, GM’s cat-back performance exhaust system, and a performance air intake. A set of 275/65/18 Goodyear Wrangler M/T DuraTracs are part of the deal as well.

Breaking things down, those rubber hoops are available as a stand-alone option for just $295, which is a pretty good price all on its own. The performance air intake will set a buyer back $695 if they order it a la carte, while the cat-back performance exhaust system costs $1,595 all by itself.

Basic math teaches us that these items, already available on the GMC menu, tot up to $2,585. This means those who check the new AT4 Off-Road Performance Package option box are shelling out $2,355 for the hi-po “six-two.” If selected as a solo item, the stock 6.2L V8 adds $2,495 to the truck’s bottom line.

Save $90 and get more horsepower? We think that’s a good deal.

Introduced along with the rest of its high-trim models earlier this year, the AT4 is intended to compete with the Ram Rebel and its own half-brother, the Silverado Trail Boss. It has a 2-inch lift and a few skid plates right from the factory, along with off-road-tuned Rancho monotube shocks and a locking rear diff.

Unlike the Ram Rebel, whose styling suggests it constantly THIRSTS FOR BLOOD, the AT4 is content with its black-chrome finishes and color-keyed body accents. Take note: a Chevy Truck rep told me earlier this year that the Trail Boss gear can be dealer-installed on any trim Silverado, so it stands to reason the same applies to the Sierra and its AT4 equipment. If you want a Denali with a factory lift, go for it.

The Sierra AT4 Off-Road Performance Package is available now.

[Image: General Motors]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Wooootles Wooootles on Dec 19, 2018

    @Jon From GM's business standpoint, why sell base trim+'preferred' goodies when GM can just upsell you for a higher trim? You said it yourself, customers are willing to plunk down the extra cash/longer loan term anyways. So in reality It's less than the 20000 additional trucks you claim in your mafff (in which you applied 1 anecdotal sample to the entire Chevy/GMC dealer network). If it made sense dollar-wise, they would build them.

    • Jon Jon on Dec 19, 2018

      As frustrating as it it, you are correct. GM probably performed a detailed cost analysis and discovered that the profit from selling fewer premium trucks is greater than the profit from selling more lower level trucks. I just dont like electronic gadgets since i drive my vehicles to 250,000+ miles. They tend to be expensive to repair when the break.

  • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Dec 19, 2018

    "A set of 275/65/18 Goodyear Wrangler M/T DuraTracs are part of the deal as well." Real actual sidewalls! From the factory! It will just make me shake my head harder when I inevitably start seeing them with wagon wheels on them to make the Bros feel better.

  • MRF 95 T-Bird I own a 2018 Challenger GT awd in the same slate gray color. Paid $28k for it in late 2019 as a leftover on the lot. It’s probably worth $23k today which is roughly what this 2015 RT should be going for.
  • Mike978 There is trouble recruiting police because they know they won’t get support from local (Democratic) mayors if the arrests are on favored groups.
  • FreedMike I'm sure that someone in the U.S. commerce department during the 1950s said, "you know, that whole computer thing is gonna be big, and some country is going to cash in...might as well be us. How do we kick start this?" Thus began billions of taxpayer dollars being spent to develop computers, and then the Internet. And - voila! - now we have a world-leading computer industry that's generated untold trillions of dollars of value for the the good old US of A. Would "the market" have eventually developed it? Of course. The question is how much later it would have done so and how much lead time (and capital) we would have ceded to other countries. We can do the same for alternative energy, electric vehicles, and fusion power. That stuff is all coming, it's going to be huge, and someone's gonna cash in. If it's not us, you can damn well bet it'll be China or the EU (and don't count out India). If that's not what you want, then stop grumbling about the big bad gubmint spending money on all that stuff (and no doubt doing said grumbling on the computer and the Internet that were developed in the first place because the big bad gubmint spent money to develop them).
  • MRF 95 T-Bird The proportions of the 500/Taurus-Montego/Sable were a bit taller, akin to 1940’s-50’s cars in order to cater to crossover buyers as well as older drivers who tend to like to sit a tad higher.
  • FreedMike You know, before you judge this IS the same police department that gave Sonny Crockett a Ferrari Testarossa to cruise around in.
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