SS meets SRT in a precipitous battle of modern-day muscle.
Chevrolet laid its groundwork for the new SS with a profile
body for the 2013 NASCAR circuit. The racing Chevy SS and the racing Dodge
Charger would have each been that rarest of things: a V-8 rear-drive Sprint Cup
competitor modeled after a V-8 rear-drive production car. But the SS arrived
just as Dodge quit the series, so fans were cheated.
Chevrolet laid its
groundwork for the new SS with a profile body for the 2013 NASCAR circuit
Instead, the speedway rivalry that never was has simply
moved out to the parking lot. The production SS squares off here, on a rainy
weekend, against the Dodge Charger SRT8. The latter has strutted alone in
Detroit’s arena of civilian rear-wheel-drive muscle sedans since 2009, when GM
pulled Pontitac’s plug and with it the SS’s excellent predecessor, the G8.
While both the Charger and SS are more sensible than their two-door siblings,
the Challenger and the Camaro, these old-school tire smokers cement their
relevance by not really giving a damn about it.
Still, Chevrolet wants you to know that its new halo sedan
is the brand’s first rear-drive four-door V-8 in nearly 20 years. The SS is as
American as can be for a Euro-inspired car built in Elizabeth, South Australia,
which is absolutely nowhere near Sydney or any place with a working telephone.
Known as the Holden Commodore SS in its home market, the Chevy SS is GM’s third
attempt to domesticate one of its Australian models – after the ill-fated
Pontitac GTO coupe and G8 sedan.
The Charger SRT8
was last updated in 2012
The Commodore’s current VF chassis (so named for the Aussie
fashion of giving each new version of a model its own two-letter code) has been
updated from the VE structure that we loved in the G8, but it’s still similar
to what’s underneath the stubbier Chevrolet Camaro and the stretched Caprice
PPV police cruiser. Additional aluminum in the suspension, sub-frames, hood,
and trunklid helps the SS shed more than 100 pounds from a comparable G8. GM
paid special attention to overall refinement and noise insulation, while a new
electrical system supports all of the company’s latest safety and entertainment
gear, including the feared switch to electric power steering.
A low-volume unicorn for the brand, the handful of SSs to be
imported will all be pretty much fully equipped and ready to boogie for
$45,770, including a $1300 gas-guzzler fee slapped on the sole engine – a
415-hp, 6.2-liter LS3 V-8. GM’s six-speed 6L80 automatic is sadly the only
transmission offered. Although a power sunroof ($900) and a spare tire ($500)
are optional, the sporty suspension, Brembo front brakes, and 19-inch wheels
with performance tires are all standard.
The Charger SRT8 was last updated in 2012. It’s now a
thoroughly modern muscle car, with a sinister mien, a 470-hp 6.4-liter Hemi
V-8, driver-adjustable adaptive suspension, and even larger Brembo brakes all
around. The Charger also is automatic-only, with just an old five-speed unit
until ZF’s ubiquitous eight-speed enters service.
Chevrolet wants
you to know that its new halo sedan is the brand’s first rear-drive four-door
V-8 in nearly 20 years
Although budget Super Bee versions of the 2014 SRT start at
$45,380 (including $1000 in guzzler tax), the regular SRT is $3000 more and
closer to 50 grand when equipped like the Chevrolet. Our test car was a 2013
model mechanically identical to the 2014 SRT; it blossomed from its $47,475
base price to $55,150 with the 2013-only 392 Edition appearance package
($2495), as well as a Harman/Kardon audio system ($1995) and Laguna leather
seats ($1495), plus summer performance rubber and a few electronic watchdogs
and gizmos that are standard on the SS.
As chest-thumping totems for their respective makes, these
cars are here to claim bragging rights. So, after the obligatory burnouts, we
headed for the last vestiges of fall color in rain-soaked northern Michigan to
see which car best re-imagines the great American performance sedan.
