General Motors has officially unveiled the company’s global 2012 Chevrolet Colorado in Thailand. The automaker says the truck is the culmination of a vehicle program that spanned five years, $2 billion and five continents. What did all that effort come up with? For starters, buyers in Thailand will be able to chose between a pair of new turbo-diesel four-cylinder Duramax engines. The engines are available in both 2.5-liter and 2.8-liter displacements, with the smaller lump producing 150 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

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The larger, 2.8-liter turbo diesel yields 180 hp and a very impressive 346 lb-ft of torque. For reference, that’s just 20 horsepower shy of the base 4.8-liter V8 in the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, but it’s also 41 more lb-ft of torque. GM hasn’t released any fuel economy estimates on either diesel engine, but both can be mated to either a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission. Four-wheel drive versions of the Colorado make use of a two-speed, electronically actuated transfer case.

Will it come our way? GM isn’t saying, but recent United Auto Workers deal-related news suggests that a mid-size truck like this one is being considered for the company’s Wentzville plant near St. Louis. We’ve got our fingers crossed.
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