2013 NASCAR Chevrolet SS unveiled
By Melissa Burden The Detroit News
From The Detroit News http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121129/AUTO0103/211290453
Chevrolet on Thursday in Las Vegas revealed its 2013 NASCAR Chevrolet SS — a race car that closely will mirror the limited-edition 2014 Chevrolet SS that will hit U.S. showrooms late next year.
The rear-wheel drive SS, powered by a V-8 engine, is Chevy’s new entry in the NASCAR Spring Cup Series beginning in February at SpeedWeeks in Daytona, Fla. It replaces the Impala as the company’s race car for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup. The Impala had 152 wins from 1959-64 and 2007-12.
“With the SS, Chevrolet is delivering a true rear-wheel-drive NASCAR race car that is very closely linked to the performance sedan that will be available for sale, ensuring that our most loyal enthusiasts will have the opportunity to experience the same thrill every day on the open road that our race car drivers enjoy on the track on race day,” Mark Reuss, General Motors North America president, said in a statement.
Chevy has used the SS or Super Sport badge on select high-performance models for decades. It first appeared in 1957 on a prototype Corvette racer and was first available on a production car with the 1961 Impala.
The 2014 Chevy SS will be available in limited quantities in the U.S. beginning late next year. The automaker, which said in May it would bring a new Chevy SS sedan to the U.S., expects the new vehicle to help bolster its position with performance cars including the Camaro and Corvette. It marks the first time in 17 years that Chevy has offered U.S. buyers a V-8 rear-wheel drive. The last offering was the Caprice, which went away in 1996.
GM says the SS will be based on global rear-wheel platforms of vehicles such as the Camaro and next-generation Holden VF Commodore, produced by GM in Australia.
Analysts don’t expect the production SS will be a big-volume seller for Chevy, and it won’t take sales away from the Camaro. It’ll likely compete against vehicles such as the Dodge Charger SRT8.
Ford Motor Co. has said it will race a 2013 Ford Fusion, modeled after the 2013 Fusion, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, while Chrysler Group LLC’s Dodge and SRT Motorsports will race a 2013 Dodge Charger.
