America has been without a GM rear wheel drive performance sedan since the General tomahawked the Pontiac G8 in 2009. If you've been waiting for another to come along, your prayers have been answered: GM will bring a Chevrolet version of the Australia-built Zeta platform to North America next year, reviving the vaunted SS nameplate.
Chevrolet will also throw its hat into the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, debuting the SS at the 2013 Daytona 500.
The 2014 Chevrolet SS — which will be built upon the platform used for Australia's Holden VF Commodore as well as the Chevrolet Camaro — will be available at North American dealerships by the end of 2013. It has been 17 years since the Chevrolet division has offered a rear wheel drive sedan in the U.S., a gap filled for a few years by the Pontiac G8. Well, before GM melted down and killed the chief.
GM hasn't yet let the cat out of the bag on the car's options, performance and otherwise. But it would be reasonable to assume that it will be somewhere between the Pontiac GXP and the police-only Chevy Caprice model. We're not sure about V6 options like the 3.0- and 3.6-liter mills currently available to Aussie Holden customers, but there's a good chance the the V8 offering will exceed six liters and crank out about 400 hp.
After putting so much creative thought into finding civilian sales loopholes for the Caprice, America's Chevy aficionados will undoubtedly be stoked that an above board performance sedan is finally on its way. The SS badge, which first appeared on the performance-kitted 1961 Chevrolet Impala, is icing on the bowtie-shaped cake.