New Chevrolet SS Performance sedan to debut at 2013 Daytona 500

The Chevrolet SS Performance was made official for the NASCAR Sprint Cup (click here for more on the new NASCAR program) in mid-May with debut of the race car set for the 2013 Daytona 500 but according to Australian publication The Age, the road version of the Chevrolet SS will also debut in Daytona at the Great American Race. The Chevrolet SS is based on the new Holden VF Commodore – being built in Australia and imported to the US - so with the introduction of the new high performance Chevrolet sedan in the US on February 21st 2013, Holden will introduce their own version of the performance sedan wearing Commodore badges on their home soil.

Little is known about the Chevrolet SS performance sedan but we can fully expect that, like the Holden VF Commodore, it will be a rear wheel drive car powered by a V8 engine. Since the SS moniker has long been used by Chevrolet to indicate its highest performance vehicle, we would expect that the new performance sedan will be among the higher performance models in the Chevrolet lineup.

The current Holden Commodore SS (shown on the right in Redline trim) sold in Australia is powered by a 6.0L V8 that makes 362 horsepower and 390lb-ft of torque whether mated to a manual transmission while automatic models pack 349 horsepower and 381lb-ft of torque. That output seems a little light for the US market as it would make less power than the Dodge Charger R/T and the Ford Taurus SHO. We would expect that the Chevrolet SS performance sedan would take aim at the likes of the Dodge Charger SRT8 which packs 470 horsepower so the SS is going to need way more than 349-362hp to really compete with the high end, high performance Dodge Charger. Should the SS be powered by an existing engine, it could pack the LS3 6.2L V8 found in the Chevrolet Camaro SS with 426 horsepower and 420lb-ft of torque or it could pack a similar 6.2L V8 found in the base Chevrolet Corvette with a current output as high as 436 horsepower and 428lb-ft of torque. Considering that we are a long way from the production debut of the Chevy SS sedan – it could feature a revised version of the current LS3 V8 or it could be powered by an all-new engine.

If we really want to dream, we could speculate that the 2014 Chevrolet SS sedan will pack a far more powerful engine that would likely afford it the ability to destroy the Dodge Charger SRT8. The Chevy SS could feature the LS7 aluminum V8 that currently provides 505 horsepower and 470lb-ft of torque for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 or perhaps – if GM really wants to make a major splash with the Chevrolet SS – it could pack either the supercharged LS9 from the Corvette ZR1 or the supercharged LSA found in the Cadillac V Series and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. These two blown V8s offer 638hp in the Corvette, 556hp in the Cadillacs and 580hp in the Camaro ZL1 – all of which would make the Chevrolet SS a juggernaut in the performance sedan segment.

The Chevy SS is planned to arrive in late 2013 with limited availability as a 2014 model year vehicle but if these reports prove to be true, - we will all get our first look at the new sedan next February. With the debut being some 8 months away, it could be some time before we get more details on the Chevy SS but when it does arrive – we can hope that the new high performance Chevy sedan is more exciting than the Holden Commodore that was introduced in the US as the Pontiac G8 before the demise of that brand.

Source: The Age