If you want a rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered American sedan today, the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 are essentially your only options. Roll the clock back a few years, though, and four-door muscle cars like that were more common. However, some were more than just straight-line cruisers. And this week on Cars & Bids, you can get one of those cars: a 2015 Chevrolet SS.
Car and Driver called the Chevrolet SS “the E39 M5 that BMW” wouldn’t build
The story of the Chevrolet SS begins in Australia with a RWD, V8-powered car called the Holden Commodore. In the early 2000s, GM, which owns Holden, brought the Commodore to the US as the Pontiac G8. And in GXP trim, the G8 was benchmarked against BMW’s 5 Series—and was genuinely an equal, Road & Track explains. However, the GXP came right before Pontiac went bankrupt, which meant the end of the G8.
However, the Commodore itself wasn’t dead. And in 2014, GM once again brought it to the States, this time as the Chevrolet SS. With a 6.2-liter V8 under its hood, the 2014 SS made 415 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque. And with a six-speed automatic sending that power to the rear wheels via a limited-slip differential, it went 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds, Car and Driver reports. But while it was fast, reviewers felt something was missing: a manual.
That ‘misstep’ was rectified with the 2015 Chevrolet SS. It doesn’t have more power or torque than the 2014 model. But it does have a six-speed manual. On the downside, the stick adds 0.1 seconds to the 0-60 mph time. On the upside, though, “the SS is…absolutely transformed by the addition of a manual,” Autoweek says. More on this in a moment.
To be fair, the 2015 Chevy SS received more tweaks than just the manual. For one, it comes standard with the Corvette’s magnetorheological dampers. Secondly, while the 2014 SS had front Brembo brakes, the 2015 model gets front and rear Brembos. However, the manual was the main event—one that highlighted the SS’s strengths.
It’s worth pointing out that the Commodore shared a platform with the Camaro. And while the Chevrolet SS isn’t “as tossable as the Camaro, it nevertheless handles similarly,” Car and Driver reports. More to the point, in terms of dynamics, thrills, and fun, it matches the beloved E39 M5, R&T says. That is to say, it’s a sports sedan that’s about the experience, not just sheer power.
There’s one up for auction on Cars & Bids—and it has a stick
This brings us to the manual 2015 Chevrolet SS listed on Cars & Bids. Besides the stick factor, Cars & Bids claims that only 273 examples were painted the same ‘Perfect Blue’ shade. The auction site also says that only 43 other cars share this car’s spec.
Some of this 2015 Chevy SS’s features aren’t standard. It has an OBD module to remotely open and close the windows, a 35% window tint, and another module to bypass the 1-4 skip-shift feature. Plus, the owner replaced the Chevrolet badges on the wheels, hood, trunk, and driver airbag with Holden ones. Based on the various SS models I’ve seen, that appears to be a common modification. And topping off the Holden theme are black-out kits for the front end, side vents, and window trim.
But even outside the modifications, this 2015 Chevrolet SS comes well-equipped. It has leather upholstery, navigation, heated and ventilated front seats, a Bose audio system, front and rear parking sensors, and Bluetooth. Plus, a rear spoiler, a power sunroof, and multiple driving modes. And it has just over 82,500 miles on the clock.
To be fair, this SS isn’t perfect. The trunk lid has a dent, and there are a few exterior scrapes and underbody rust. Also, the passenger side-view mirror, right rear shock, fender liner, right rear wheel and tire, and exhaust heat shield have been replaced due to debris and ice damage. And the windshield had a rock chip that was repaired. However, it’s a one-owner vehicle that comes with extensive service records; the most recent service included an oil change, differential service, and battery replacement.
A 2015 Chevy SS with a manual is a rare muscle sedan throwback that’s worth the reasonable price of entry
As of this writing, this 2015 Chevrolet SS is listed on Cars & Bids for $30,420 with three days left in the auction. A good-condition manual SS like this can easily cost $10,000 more, Hagerty reports. And when it was new, the SS started at roughly $47,000. As such, this sedan is a true performance bargain.
It’s also a rare one. Chevrolet made fewer than 13,000 SS sedans, and as noted, only 273 examples share this color. Plus, you can’t get a new 300 or Charger with a manual transmission; the M5 doesn’t offer one, either. This 2015 SS, then, is a chance to get those otherwise unavailable stick-shift V8 thrills at an affordable price.
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