NEWS
Big praise for Aussie-built Chev SS
North American journos appear to like what they see in Holden's Commodore SS-based exportHolden has received a welcome fillip from across the Pacific for the Chevrolet SS – a badge-engineered Commodore SS now offered in North America.
Praise from the American press for the new car has been conveyed to Fishermans Bend in the lead-up to managing director Mike Devereux's appearance at the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into taxpayer funding today. Devereux is hoping to influence an outcome in Holden's favour, despite the odds appearing to be stacked against the GM brand in Australia.
So Holden could do with some good news right now.
That the small-volume shipments across the Pacific will have any major effect on Holden’s bottom line is doubtful, but the incremental step up in local production volume can only be a good thing. Sales estimates for the Chevy SS are around 10,000 to 15,000 cars a year.
A sort of hopped-up version of the latest Commodore SS, and the successor to the Pontiac G8 that sold briefly before the brand went under in 2009, the SS has been rolled out as part of Chevrolet’s performance car line-up that includes the Camaro and the just-released convertible version of the Corvette Stingray. It is the first rear-drive Chev performance sedan since 1966 and the US press is generally pretty effusive.
“The gifted offspring of a BMW M5 and a Chevy Camaro SS,” says Car and Driver magazine, while Automobile magazine reckons it will go “toe-to-toe with a US$65,000 BMW 550i.”
While the Chevy SS gets basically the same running gear as the local Commodore SS including the six-speed auto transmission (with paddle shifters), the engine is different: It’s the 6.2-litre Gen IV LS3 pushrod V8 as used in the current Corvette, developing 310kW and 563Nm of torque where the local SS uses the 6.0-litre V8 with 260kW/517Nm.
According to reports coming in from the US, this means zero to 100km/h acceleration figures in the five-second region.
Describing the Chevy SS as “One of the best American sedans we've driven in a long, long time,” US authority Autoweek said the 6.2-litre V8 “delivers giant wads of torque right where you want them. In the SS, the transition from part throttle to full-on is sweetly smooth, without any angry reaction from the rear end. This car tolerates bravado or silliness without vengeance.”
Braking comes courtesy of Brembo, using 355mm ventilated rotors and two-piece, four-piston front callipers, and there’s an asymmetric wheel-tyre arrangement with tyres measuring 245/40ZR19 on the front, and a wider 275/35ZR19 at the rear, helping what is already a pretty balanced front-rear weight distribution.
According to Autoweek, the car’s balance is exceptionally good: “This full-size Chevy is surprisingly light on its feet, and almost never feels big. It's civilized but not desensitised in any notable fashion.”
The Australian-built Chevy is loaded up with electronic safety aids including a rear-vision camera, side blind-spot alert and lane departure warning, as well as Automatic Parking Assist.
The auto-only Chevrolet SS is tagged at US$44,470, which is cheap compared with the $A53,690 asked locally for the automatic version of the Commodore SS V Redline.
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Written byCarsales Staff
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If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
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