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I woke up this morning in Arizona and spent the day happily hooning the go fast Nurburgring-tuned version of Chevrolet's HHR on freeways, twisty mountain two-laners and the Bondurant Road Course. How does the car drive? How's the Launch Mode? How do 260 horses and 260 ft-lb of torque feel through the front wheels? How much does it cost? Why did Bob Lutz call me a "pinhead?" We'll answer a few questions — and show you the Chevy press release — after the jump. More »
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One of us likes his cars black, the same way he likes his coffee. But the black Chevy HHR SS we spotted at the HHR SS reveal yesterday and that we've got pictured up above and in the gallery below — may have some "Go" to go along with the "Show." You see, this particular tester is the actual prototype HHR SS the GM engineers took around the Nurburgring with a lap time of 8:43.52 minutes. The engineering team's even commemorated the run by dropping an adorable little red 'ring graphic on to the back of this particular esh-esh tester. There's also something fun we learned about the traction control system in the new HHR SS — the system llows the driver to slip into several SS-specific modes, including a "competition" mode that is designed for closed course performance driving and adjusts chassis controls (including turning off traction control) in controlled driving conditions. The second non-normal mode is a "Launch Control" function — similar to what can be found in performance models from other automakers — that's part of the competition mode and enables consistent acceleration performance. That'll be good for all of those drag-strip racers... More »
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There, there boy — hold yer horses — all 260 of them. They'll be lettin' you out from under that thar new-car condom shortly. For the time being, just relax. The reveal is set for 4:00 PM and we'll be there live. For the time being, sate yourself with our press shots, "Maximum" Bob and the sounds and video of the newly SS-badged HHR running 'round the road. More »
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There's a new member of the SS family hitting the streets of Detroit tonight in honor of the Woodward Dream Cruise — it's the new 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS. The new all-capital letter retro-truckagan gets a 2.0-liter turbocharged and intercooled Ecotec engine under the hood. That engine hits 260 horses on the top end, but that's not the limit to upgrades from Chevy. The SS edition will also get a "Nürburgring-tuned FE5 sport suspension" to keep those tires as best to the road as the front wheel drive can get it. In addition you'll also get some interior and exterior visual enhancements from the folks at GM's Performance Division. Hit the jump for the full release and head back over here tomorrow afternoon as we'll see the new edition Chevy HHR SS revealed in person on Woodward Avenue. You'll be able to see it in person in Chevy dealerships beginning in the fall of this year. More »
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