REVISITED: The case of the sunken Silverados

We're looking back through some of our most-viewed content throughout the year, and it turns out you couldn't get enough of this one! Kick back and relive one of the standouts from a tumultuous 2020.

A couple of Chevrolet Silverado 2500s that were on their way to American vehicle specialists Performax in Queensland were pulled from the ocean off the coast of Newcastle.

The pair of Silverado 2500s had been sitting on the sea floor, approximately 120 metres below the surface, for the last two years after the shipping containers they were in fell off the deck of the vessel YM Efficiency in June 2018. They were among 81 of the heavy containers to drop off the ship in rough seas.

“In 30 years of trading that was the first time we have ever lost a container,” Performax’s Kevin Thoroughgood told 4X4 Australia. “Ironically, the blue one was a special factory order in a colour called Deep Ocean Blue.

"They were fully insured, so they belong to the salvage company now.”

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The shipping containers are currently being retrieved off the sea bed as part of a $15 million recovery and clean-up operation. Other containers retrieved to date have contained tyres, furniture and household items.

The 2018 Silverado pick-ups, each worth around $140,000 once converted and on sale, are total write-offs, having been filled with seawater during their adventures in the underwater garden.

Performax now has current model 2020 GMC heavy-duty and 1500 pick-ups already available, and Kevin says the related Silverados won’t be far behind.

“We were going to delay the Silverado, but our customers want it so we are full steam ahead.We also have the new RAM HD in customs.”

This comes on the back of news that HSV has ceased its steering conversions and sales of the heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado 2500 model, as it is now focused on the half-tonne Silverado 1500 LTZ variant which officially went on sale this week. The only remaining HD Silverados from HSV are those already in dealers.

Queensland-based Performax International has 10 dealers around Australia selling a range of American pick-up trucks and performance vehicles.