This is a 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe Premier RST 4×4 that’s been modified into a modern take on the classic Chevrolet K5 Blazer that debuted back in 1969. It’ll likely divide opinion somewhat, but even its detractors will have to admit it’s been well-executed.
This custom represents someone’s vision of what a modern take on the K5 Blazer might have looked like from the manufacturer. In kind of the same spirit as the new Ford Bronco or the upcoming new Scout Traveler and Terra 4×4.
Fast Facts: A K5 Blazer-Style Chevrolet Tahoe 4×4
- The custom 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe Premier RST 4×4 has been rebuilt in the style of the original 1969 K5 Blazer, combining retro cues with modern underlying hardware. Built by Flat Out Autos of Arkansas, it has hand-formed panels, custom trim, and a metallic blue with white roof finish.
- The original K5 Blazer launched in 1969 as Chevrolet’s competitor to the Jeep CJ, Ford Bronco, and International Scout. Unlike its rivals, it used a shortened full-size C/K pickup platform with a removable roof, delivering more passenger space, optional V8 power, and higher comfort levels while maintaining off-road ability.
- Buyers quickly embraced the K5 Blazer for its comfort and versatility over its more spartan competitors. Its success pushed Ford to enlarge the Bronco in 1978 and influenced International to upscale the Scout II in 1971. The K5 helped set the template for modern full-size SUVs by merging a larger size with passenger-car amenities.
- The Tahoe succeeded the Blazer in 1995, debuting as a more refined family-oriented SUV on the GMT400 platform. Offered initially in two- and four-door versions, the latter became dominant, especially as police and government fleets adopted it.
History Speedrun: The Chevrolet K5 Blazer
The Chevrolet K5 Blazer arrived in 1969 as General Motors’ answer to the rapidly growing compact 4×4 utility market in the USA, then dominated by the Jeep CJ series, the Ford Bronco, and the International Harvester Scout. These rivals had launched years earlier with the Jeep leading the pack, all with short wheelbases, spartan interiors, and somewhat agricultural handling.
The Chevrolet K5 Blazer arrived in 1969 as General Motors’ answer to the rapidly growing compact 4×4 utility market, then dominated by the Jeep CJ series, the Ford Bronco, and the International Harvester Scout. Image courtesy of General Motors.
Instead of creating a downsized off-roader to match its contemporaries, GM modified its existing full-size C/K pickup truck platform, cutting it down to a 104 inch wheelbase and fitting a removable fiberglass roof over the rear section. This gave the Blazer genuine four-passenger comfort, the option of V8 power, the refinement of a full-sized truck underneath, and it vastly reduced development time (and cost) due to the shared platform.
The formula worked remarkably well. Buyers loved the K5’s roomier interior, its ability to be optioned with automatic transmissions, air conditioning, and plush trim, and the familiarity of Chevrolet’s truck hardware.
Power choices ranged from a 250 cubic inch inline-six up to the 350 cubic inch small-block V8, with manual or automatic gearboxes and either two or four-wheel drive. The first generation ran from 1969 through 1972 and sold strongly – quickly surpassing Bronco and Scout sales in the process.
That success had industry-wide consequences. Ford and International soon realized their smaller, more utilitarian trucks were being left behind in comfort and usability – as a result, both would move their SUVs upmarket and in size. The Bronco’s second generation in 1978 grew onto a shortened F-Series platform, mirroring the Blazer’s full-size pickup foundations.
Likewise, International’s Scout II, introduced in 1971, was larger and better equipped, a clear attempt to follow Chevrolet’s winning template.
Though it was late to the party, the K5 Blazer reshaped the American SUV market. It bridged the gap between more minimalist off-roaders and the comfort of passenger cars, showing that buyers wanted 4×4 capability without giving up on comfort.
The Chevrolet Tahoe
The Tahoe entered the market in 1995 as the successor to the K5 Blazer, it would be a major turning point in General Motors’ SUV strategy. Whereas the K5 had helped pioneer the full-size SUV formula by adapting 4×4 pickup truck underpinnings for improved size and passenger comfort, the Tahoe further refined that recipe into a more modern, family-oriented package.
The Tahoe entered the market in 1995 as the successor to the K5 Blazer, it would be a major turning point in General Motors’ SUV strategy. Image courtesy of General Motors.
Built on the GMT400 pickup chassis, it initially came in both two-door and four-door versions, though the four-door quickly became the dominant choice. Buyers seemed to love its balance of moderate off-road capability, towing ability, and its everyday usability resulting in it becoming one of the most popular SUVs of its time.
By 2000, the Tahoe shifted to the GMT800 platform, with a longer wheelbase, and it adopted styling in line with Chevrolet’s growing SUV family. The relatively short-lived two-door model was dropped, leaving the four-door as the Tahoe’s only option.
Competition at the time came from the Ford Expedition and the Dodge Durango, but the Tahoe consistently found a sweet spot between size and practicality – it also became a staple in government and law enforcement fleets, with the Police Pursuit Vehicle and Special Service Vehicle variants becoming a common sight on urban streets and highways from coast to coast.
The K5 Blazer-Style Chevrolet Tahoe Shown Here
The vehicle you see here is a one-off 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe Premier RST 4×4 that has been modified into the style of a K5 Blazer. The conversion isn’t going to be loved by all, these sorts of things rarely are, but as noted above, it does offer a window into how GM could have gone with the latest generation Blazer if they’d been in the same retro mood as Ford with the Bronco.
The project was undertaken by Flat Out Autos of Jonesboro, Arkansas, with a Tahoe Premier RST 4×4. It was modified with a reproduction hood, fenders, and rear quarter panels, as well as hand-formed door skins. Additional custom touches included the grille, headlights, taillights, chrome bumpers and mirror caps, and it now has a carbon-fiber rear tailgate.
This is a 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe Premier RST 4×4 that has been modified into a modern take on the classic Chevrolet K5 Blazer that debuted back in 1969.
After the bodywork was completed it was repainted in metallic blue with a white upper section and given 20″ US Mags Scottsdale wheels which are shod with 35×10.5″ BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires on all four corners.
It’s now being offered for sale out of Roggen, Colorado with the owner’s manual and a Colorado title. If you’d like to read more or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
