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2017 Chevrolet SS Sedan to Get 580HP LSA?

The rumor mill has be churning as the Elizabeth, Australia assembly plant that produces the Chevrolet SS sedan is set to power down for good by the end of next year (2017). GM Authority is reporting that the 2017 Chevrolet SS could be in line for a powerplant upgrade in the form of the 6.2L supercharged LSA V-8 as a last hurrah. The 580hp mill was used in the 2012-2015 Camaro ZL1, and would make an interesting addition to the SS sedan as well as the Holden Commodore, which is produced in the same South Australia plant and on the same Zeta chassis.

Chevrolet has made no announcement of a flagship model or of the SS nameplate dying as of yet. However, it seems unlikely that the Zeta platform would continue given that the Camaro and other GM small sedans have moved on to the lighter and more nimble Alpha platform produced in North America. The soon-to-be-vacated Oshawa, Ontario (Canada) plant would be the perfect location to resume production of the Chevrolet SS, since it once produced the fifth-gen Camaro on a similar chassis. The fly in the ointment is that GM does not plan to continue producing cars or trucks with LS engines. The more efficient and powerful Gen V has been quickly replacing LS engines throughout the lineup. As a matter of fact, the Chevrolet SS is one of only two holdouts still being produced for the U.S. market with a Gen IV V-8.

The origins of the Zeta platform date back to the Australian Holden division, which used it to produce the VE Commodore as well as the 2008-2009 Pontiac G8. Following GM’s decision to fold the Pontiac brand, a similar design lived on as the extended wheelbase Chevrolet Caprice PPV used by U.S. police (but still made in Australia) starting in 2011. Two years later, the 2014 Chevrolet SS brought the familiar sports sedan back to the general public. The Chevrolet SS was basically a completely restyled G8 GXP, complete with Brembo brakes and a 415hp 6.2L LS3 V-8. Unlike the GXP, it came only with the 6-speed (6L80) automatic transmission. That soon changed, though, as a manual trans and other upgrades were made over the last three years.

Holden announced the shutdown of all Australian production in December 2013, which was soon followed by Toyota and Ford. The consumer backlash of pulling out was more than GM anticipated. However, the reality is that Australia is just too small to produce cars with enough efficiency to be profitable. “Our business is driven by scale of economics, of productivity, of an efficient supplier industry … optimized logistics… Australia is just too small in these scales,” said Stefan Jacoby, GM’s head of international operations. “Local production, even if would be a pure assembly (operation) doesn’t make any sense.” The Holden brand will live on, though, with various models imported from Europe, Asia or possibly the U.S.

This entry was posted in News and tagged Chevrolet SS, 2017 Chevrolet SS, rumors on July 13, 2016 by Scott Parker.
Cars & Coffee This Saturday!

Join us this Saturday, July 9th, for our monthly Cars & Coffee event. Check out the cars and get free dyno runs on a first-come first-served basis (arrive early, as the list fills up fast).

Yes it will be hot this weekend, but you can enjoy the show from the comfort of our 9,000 sq. ft. air-conditioned showroom.

This entry was posted in Cars & Coffee Events and tagged Brothers Performance, cars and coffee, dyno day, free dyno on July 7, 2016 by Brothers Performance.
Happy Birthday Chevrolet Camaro!

The Chevrolet Camaro was revealed fifty years ago today. Chevrolet’s 50^th anniversary celebration includes tours of the Lansing Grand River plant where the Camaro is built (Aug. 18^th), “Camaros and Coffee” in Detroit (Aug. 19^th), and a Camaro heritage display at the Woodward Dream Cruise (Aug. 20^th). If you are a Chevrolet Camaro fan and have always dreamed (no pun intended) of hitting up the Dream Cruise, THIS is the year to do it. The new 2017 Camaro ZL1 and 1LE models will be there.

Chevrolet has created an event website (click here) with more details and updates, so you can stay on top of what is happening with these three activities. Chief Engineer Al Oppenheiser will be at the Lansing Grand River plant, near downtown Lansing, Michigan for a discussion with various Camaro team members. A Camaro-only parking area will hold up to 500 cars, and there will also be an anniversary merchandise tent and on-site food vendors. Head over to www.CamaroFifty.com to reserve a spot. Camaros and Coffee takes place in the Joe Louis Arena Riverfront parking lot, with space for 500 cars on a first come, first serve basis. From there, a Camaro Rally to Woodward Avenue will be led by 50^th Anniversary Edition Camaros.

Just like the 45^th anniversary, Chevrolet has announced a special edition Camaro that includes distinct interior treatments with orange stitching and suede inserts, unique wheels, orange brake calipers, unique stripe package, unique grille, body-colored front splitter, and Nightfall Gray Metallic paint. The 50^th Anniversary Edition will be available on the coupe and convertible 2LT with the RS Appearance Package and 2SS models.

This entry was posted in News, Camaro News and tagged chevy camaro, camaro, chevy, 2017 camaro on July 7, 2016 by Scott Parker.
Is GM Cooking Up a 427ci & Twin-Turbo Gen V V8?

Will the new Camaro Z/28 have a 427ci Gen V V8?

The cat has been out of the bag for some time that Chevrolet has been cooking up a Gen6 version of the Z/28 as well as a mid-engine version of the Corvette. While a mid-engine Corvette could stay just a concept, as it has since the ‘60s, the Z/28 has already been spotted testing at the Nürburgring. The original speculation was that it would be very similar to the previous generation, but faster and powered by the supercharged LT4 Gen V V8 found in the upcoming 2017 Camaro ZL1 as well as the current Corvette Z06 and Cadillac CTS-V. However, after this video surfaced, it seemed to indicate that the track-born model will have a naturally aspirated Gen V V8 engine.

[Camaro fans note: don’t worry about the crash at the end, this car was back on the road the next day.]

Now you may be thinking that a naturally aspirated Gen V8 engine is the natural choice (no pun intended) for a car built for road racing like the new Camaro Z/28. So where did that original speculation even come from? Well back when the 2015 Corvette Z06 was launched at the 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), journalists asked Corvette engineers point blank: why not a 427 Gen V V8? The answer was that they could not make their performance target, assumed to be over 600 horsepower, and that the R&D costs did not justify the increase in power over an LS7. And without the flagship supercar to bear the cost burden of developing a large cube Gen V V8, it seemed unlikely that a 2018 Camaro Z/28 would have such an engine. From a cost perspective, it was more likely that the Z/28 would have either the ZL1’s LT4 or a slightly hopped-up version of the LT1.

The big BUT (there’s always one) is that the Camaro team never likes to play second fiddle to the Mustang. Since the Shelby is making 526 horsepower with its flat-plane crank 5.2-liter, that would be the obvious performance target for a new Z/28. It seems unlikely that Chevrolet would be able to extract that from a 6.2L LT1, which begs the question whether a 427-cube Gen V V8 is in the works. The counterpoint is that the Camaro is almost a hundred pounds lighter, and does not require as much power to equal or surpass a Mustang. And, in fact, one of the greatest benefits of the Gen V V8 engines over the Gen IV is average power, not peak. Anyone who has driven a C7 Corvette Stingray can tell you that the off-idle torque of the 6.2L LT1 is comparable to the LS7 in the previous generation Z06. A stark contrast from the high revving, dual overhead cam Ford motors. Could Chevrolet make a 427ci direct-injection engine that makes over 526 horsepower? I’d bet on it. But, will they?

As for the mid-engine Corvette, a prototype was spotted at GM’s proving grounds in early 2015. The Corvette team has been toying with the notion of making a mid-engine Corvette since Zora Arkas-Duntov was at the helm. The current mid-front layout with the transaxle was sort of a stepping-stone to optimum front to rear weight balance. As horsepower continues to climb, many engineers think that a mid-engine layout is needed for traction – hence why the fastest production supercars in the world use this layout. According to the latest rumors, the mid-engine platform will eventually replace the C7. However, it will first be unveiled as the new halo model. As a last hurrah, we could very well see the first twin-turbo production Corvette. Some have said it has a smaller displacement Gen V V8 (such as 5.5 liters), however a certain GM dealership claims it is a 6-cylinder with 700hp. The price could be over $150,000. Given GM’s need to separate the Corvette from the Camaro, its experience with twin-turbo V-6s and the release of the new Ford GT, all of this sounds entirely possible.

This entry was posted in News, Opinion, Camaro News and tagged corvette, Camaro Z/28, Gen V V8, LT1, LT4, C7 on May 17, 2016 by Scott Parker.