In the US, an all-new sedan will debut next year called the Chevrolet SS. It will be the company’s only high performance sedan in its showroom, and it will be produced right here in Australia along side the upcoming 2013 Holden VF Commodore.
Speaking about the new Chevrolet SS, Mark Reuss, GM North America president, recently said that the new model will sit underneath the Corvette in terms of outright performance and speed, saying it will be like “a four-door Corvette”.
Obviously, in Australia the ‘SS’ refers to the highest performance Holden Commodore, however, what the Chev SS will more likely resemble is the next-gen wave of HSV vehicles to spawn from the VF.
Either way, the Chevrolet SS will be good for the Australian automotive and manufacturing industries, and for our economy.
In terms of production numbers and how many Chevrolet will order, there’s been no set limit. Reuss said,
“There’s no target, there’s no goal. We’re bringing the car here to go racing. That’s the number one goal. It will be a halo for Chevrolet. We really don’t have a high-performance four-door sedan in the lineup. It fills that niche. We’ll make as many as people want.
“Anyone who has the right amount of money and shows up in a Chevrolet dealership, we will sell them this car. You don’t want to over-think this stuff. We haven’t focus-grouped it. It’s going to be a really good car. People are going to want it.”
As for specifications, the Chevrolet SS is expected to come with the company’s new LT1 Gen 5 small block 6.2-litre V8. Power levels are set to kick off at around 336kW, going upwards from there for our local HSV variants, and even higher for the new C7 ZR1 Corvette.
Styling-wise, the Chevrolet SS and the VF Commodore are set to feature GM’s latest design philosophy, incorporating the new twin-grille face. Similar styling can be seen on the 2012 Holden Colorado and the new Holden Colorado 7 SUV.
The Chev version has already been previewed with the unveiling of the 2013 Chevrolet NASCAR, which is loosely based on the upcoming SS. It features muscular wheel arches, an aggressive lower front bar, and a set of vertical vents behind the front wheels.
All is expected to be revealed at either the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, starting January 14, or the Daytona 500 on February 24.