During the last decade, GM was on a performance car tangent – mostly because Bob Lutz knew that GM’s vehicle lines were otherwise pretty boring save for the Corvette when he first joined the team in 2004. By 2007, just about every model in GM’s portfolio had some kind of performance version.

This Silverado has been treated to a few modifications that will give it the performance it should have had from the factory.

The Silverado was no exception, and the SS variant took the performance theme at a different angle than what Ford’s SVT Lightning had. Rather than being a full-on performance machine with some towing capability, it was an extended cab, AWD, luxury cruiser with a bit of attitude.

Most enthusiasts were a little disheartened, especially after seeing that John Moss’ concept depicted a 6.6L 480hp engine package wasn’t going to be powering the real truck. Instead, the production version was powered by a much more pedestrian 6.0-liter LQ9 straight out of the 345hp Escalade.

But real hot-rodders weren’t so easily deterred.

They knew that since the LQ9 was essentially a larger and iron version of the LS1, it was open for an extensive list of modifications that could potentially put any pesky Ford in its place. We’ve seen many modified examples act as “backup drag car” when the Camaro broke at the track, and they never failed to impress onlookers.

A plush interior was one of the Silverado SS's strong points.

Built between 2003-2007 (billed as the Silverado SS Classic in ’07) they are relatively rare, but we do see them for sale quite often – they’re still not cheap. They retailed in the low $40k-range when they were new and most still command mid-$20s today. We found this 1-933 (Number 36) Dale Earnhardt edition on the Barrett-Jackson auction site, and it will be available for bidding in Scottsdale, Arizona on January 13-20th, 2013.

It features a bunch of upgrades, including a Magnuson supercharger, Borla headers, Corsa exhaust, and a Superchips programmer. It’s what we would like to consider the perfect combination of a truck that can haul the race car to the track and hold its own on the street in Anytown, USA.