LGTwagon99 Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I have been seeing a lot about this lately, thought I would share with those of you that are interested or haven't heard! Chevrolet is due to release a RWD version of the new impala in a SS trim. 6.2l LS3 V8, 415hp/415tq! 6 speed automatic with paddle shifters, leather/suede interior. 19" wheels and Brembo brakes! I have never been a fan of the "special edition" Impalas or Monte Carlos, but this car is very nice. M3 competitor for sure. And supposedly to be priced around the 45k range. Not too bad, Government Motors! Here's a link to a link to a page with more info and pics! http://www.leftlanenews.com/new-car-buying/chevrolet/ss/# Let me know what you're thoughts are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattg Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Looks pretty nice. Potential for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 It's not an Impala, the car is simply called the SS. It will be on my short list of next vehicle purchase. Wish that GM would see fit to put the new LT1 in it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Wish that GM would see fit to put the new LT1 in it though. Why? LS3 is proven, and mod friendly. New LT1 doesn't look to be enough of an improvement to justify being GMs beta tester... at least not in my book. The SS looks to be essentially an updated G8GT, and that should make it very good indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoplightAssassin Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 The SS is in no way a M3 competitor. The SS is in a weird position. It's not luxury, so that cuts out all zee Germans and some Japanese manufacturers. It's only real competition is the Charger, but it slots between the RT and the SRT8...so like I said, it's in a weird position. Being a low production special model, that shouldn't matter much. It's more of a test for GM to see if the interest is still there to sell a mass produced large rwd sedan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Why? LS3 is proven, and mod friendly. New LT1 doesn't look to be enough of an improvement to justify being GMs beta tester... at least not in my book. The SS looks to be essentially an updated G8GT, and that should make it very good indeed. I wouldn't worry too much about the LT1 not being mod friendly. It is still a small block Chevy and the aftermarket will develop it. You might have to wait a year or two, but it will happen. In the mean time 460hp or so (I'm sure they would downgrade it so as not to rustle Corvette owner jimmies) and better fuel efficiency when you aren't giving it the beans would sure be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 The SS is in no way a M3 competitor. The SS is in a weird position. It's not luxury, so that cuts out all zee Germans and some Japanese manufacturers. It's only real competition is the Charger, but it slots between the RT and the SRT8...so like I said, it's in a weird position. Being a low production special model, that shouldn't matter much. It's more of a test for GM to see if the interest is still there to sell a mass produced large rwd sedan. I agree, although price wise it is closer to the Charger R/T with quite a few options. The SRT-8 all optioned up is damn near a $50K automobile. In the same price range you have all the entry level luxury/sport sedans from the usual suspects but the SS is quite a bit larger and roomier while being just as fast or faster due to a big V8 providing thrust. So not offering as much luxury features, but instead serving up more room, and maybe more performance. With as much silly shit as they are cramming into cars these days I don't really know if the luxury brands are worth the $$$. Beyond nicer materials, and styling what functional features does a BMW 328i really offer (as an option...$$$) that won't come standard on an SS? Don't get me wrong I still like BMW's and other high end cars, but the days of them offering real meaningful advances in technology that made them better to actually drive seem to have passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoplightAssassin Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Beyond nicer materials, and styling what functional features does a BMW 328i really offer (as an option...$$$) that won't come standard on an SS? Numb steering? Clunky stop/start operation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 In the mean time 460hp or so (I'm sure they would downgrade it so as not to rustle Corvette owner jimmies) and better fuel efficiency when you aren't giving it the beans would sure be nice. I'm not convinced that the LT1 is going to provide any significant improvement in fuel efficiency over the LS2/3. 1-2mpg is not worth the additional complexity to me. C7s are just starting to get into the hands of real world owners, so hopefully we'll soon know if it does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 GM could recapture some of what they lost with the G8 GT/GXP. If they don't **** it up which they are very good at doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoplightAssassin Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 I don't have any doubts this car will be better all around compared to a GXP, except for the auto only part. The VF Commodore (which this essentially is) is supposed to be some of Holden's best work yet. The many different variants have been getting great reviews from outside 'Murica! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 The SS is in no way a M3 competitor. The SS is in a weird position. It's not luxury, so that cuts out all zee Germans and some Japanese manufacturers. It's only real competition is the Charger, but it slots between the RT and the SRT8...so like I said, it's in a weird position. Being a low production special model, that shouldn't matter much. It's more of a test for GM to see if the interest is still there to sell a mass produced large rwd sedan. +1. The SS will only be a competitor to a hot-rodded large sedan that the other American carmakers have come out with. Maybe the Taurus Eco-boost, or one of the Dodge SRT beasts. It's going to be American as apple pie. No 3 or 5 series buyer will look at it, or even an Audi S4 type customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGTwagon99 Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 I didn't necessarily mean that this car will be better than the M3, but sort of in the same class. This is 415hp rwd, M3 is 414hp rwd. Both nice 4 door sedans. Obviously the M3 is a nicer car and always will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 +1. The SS will only be a competitor to a hot-rodded large sedan that the other American carmakers have come out with. Maybe the Taurus Eco-boost, or one of the Dodge SRT beasts. It's going to be American as apple pie. No 3 or 5 series buyer will look at it, or even an Audi S4 type customer. Those 3 Series and 5 Series buyers along with S4 buyers will spend a great deal of time looking at the tail lights of any SS who's owner does a cam, intake, exhaust, and tuning to take advantage of those mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoplightAssassin Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Eh. The N55 and 3.0T respond exceptionally well to tuning also. I'd give the nod to either of the Germans, given the same extent of mods. The 335i with N55 is making 340hp 400tq to the ground with just a reflash. That's impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 The LS3 is already doing close to those numbers stock out of the box in most cases, and it is well documented that the LSx series engines react very well to a cam upgrade since the large rectangle port heads already flow well enough to support upwards of 600hp. Doing a cam upgrade, tune, and supporting intake and exhaust can get you to over 500hp at the crank (in some cases closer to 550hp) on stock heads. So figure easily into the 400+ hp range at the rear wheels. Plus you can do these upgrades relatively cheaply compared to similar mods for a BMW or Audi. We haven't even delved into the super easy, and readily available option of just sticking a blower on an LS3. Although it will cost more $$$ than a cam upgrade, intake etc. Then again you are now playing with a 550-650hp car depending on how wild you want to get with boost, and fueling. I love BMW's inline 6, it is a great engine easily the best 6 cylinder engine other than Porsche's H6, on the market. However, it doesn't have the capacity to be enlarged to 6.2L and that is a hard deficit to make up against a big V8 that does displace 6.2L and still breathes quite well despite pushrods and only two valves per cylinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoplightAssassin Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 We should just leave it at "the sky is the limit" for any of these engines. In reality they all respond very well to tuning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 The LSx has more power potential, and it is much much cheaper to mod and there are parts everywhere. The BMW and Audi are much more expensive to modify once you get past just tuning the ECU. For mere mortals that don't make the big $$$ seriously modding a BMW or Audi engine is not realistic financially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 The LS3 is already doing close to those numbers stock out of the box in most cases, and it is well documented that the LSx series engines react very well to a cam upgrade since the large rectangle port heads already flow well enough to support upwards of 600hp. Doing a cam upgrade, tune, and supporting intake and exhaust can get you to over 500hp at the crank (in some cases closer to 550hp) on stock heads. So figure easily into the 400+ hp range at the rear wheels. Plus you can do these upgrades relatively cheaply compared to similar mods for a BMW or Audi. We haven't even delved into the super easy, and readily available option of just sticking a blower on an LS3. Although it will cost more $$$ than a cam upgrade, intake etc. Then again you are now playing with a 550-650hp car depending on how wild you want to get with boost, and fueling. I love BMW's inline 6, it is a great engine easily the best 6 cylinder engine other than Porsche's H6, on the market. However, it doesn't have the capacity to be enlarged to 6.2L and that is a hard deficit to make up against a big V8 that does displace 6.2L and still breathes quite well despite pushrods and only two valves per cylinder. http://www.dragzine.com/news/video-700-hp-pontiac-g8-grenades-a-motor-at-the-strip/ Even at 4000lbs it runs low 11's. With a baby seat. They don't say how many passes but they hint at it being a lot. There's a not a lot of engine platforms that can do that without a shitlist of mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Well you might also notice that the stock rods and crank evidently were not up to that much boost being used that frequently. Backed of to around 600hp I would guess the motor would last a long time though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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