When it came out, the Chevrolet SS was described as a four-door Corvette and the closest thing to a modern-day E39 BMW M5. Despite the warm reception from the media and enthusiasts, GM had trouble selling the Super Sport for a number of reasons, including the way it's called.
SS can be considered generic for a nameplate, but a bigger problem comes in the guise of the exterior styling. There’s no other way of saying it, so excuse my frankness. The Super Sport looks like a rental car instead of a family-sized muscle car, and the retail price can also be considered an issue.
For the final model year of the SS, the Golden Bowtie was charging just under $49,000 after the destination charge and gas-guzzler tax. That’s was lot, even in comparison to the Dodge Charger Scat Pack Widebody, and you shouldn’t be surprised that only 13,000 units were sold from 2013 to 2017.
Be that as it may, the SS has a strong following in the United States.
One of these sports sedans received a ported supercharger featuring a 2.75 pulley, ARH long-tube headers, less restrictive catalytic converters, a Varex XForce exhaust system, and an E85 tune for a grand total of 650 rear-wheel horsepower. Owned by a gentleman called Anthony, the car is capable of 750 ponies but 650 will have to suffice because it’s used as a daily driver.
Anthony has also spent $500 to import a part from Australia, the country of origin for the Chevrolet SS. The part in question is the airbag cover with the Holden logo, and Holden badges up front and on the trunk lid replace the original bowties. The list of upgrades further includes Ace alloys in satin black, Brembo brake calipers in neon green, and 20-inch Michelin PS4S tires.
Although the owner describes this tuned SS as “very tame,” bear in mind that the rear end tends to dance around with the traction control turned on. As for strip-slaying capability, high 10s on the quarter-mile is pretty darn impressive for such a heavy vehicle with the bone-stock automatic transmission.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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