Chevrolet SS: The Last of Its Kind—and a Performance Bargain
One could argue that two of the best “if you know, you know” cars of the 2010s were products of General Motors. Interestingly, these ultimate sleepers were fashioned in rapid succession by the final remnants of “Old GM” and the new guard of “current GM.” After retiring what’s arguably Bob Lutz’ greatest hit, the Cadillac CTS-V Wagon, a 556-horse Nürburgring slayer that has since become a cult classic, the fresh-faced brass of The Renaissance Center wasted no time in taking a page out of the Maximum Bob playbook to cook up its own under-the-radar jewel, what later became the Chevrolet SS.
In a mid-aughts last-ditch effort to revitalize Pontiac, Lutz spurred GM to start importing and rebadging rear-wheel-drive Australian muscle cars. Unfortunately, the economic downturn that closed out the decade with a gut punch to the automotive sector cut those plans short. Pontiac was shuttered in 2009, and along with it, the greatest of these wild Australian tire-shredding “Pontiacs,” the VE-generation Holden Commodore-based, LS3-powered G8 GXP, was lost to the North American market after one short model year.
Almost immediately after the big GXP’s demise, the gossip mill started churning out rumors of its return, though this time it was to wear a Bow Tie in place of its native Lion or briefly adopted Pontiac “Dart.” The rumors were right: It’d take some time, but the Chevrolet SS was on its way.
Post-bankruptcy, a more financially sorted General was ready to make good, this time using the updated 2014 “VF” Commodore. The Zeta platform that underpinned the VE was revamped for this next generation, becoming both lighter and stiffer in the process.
Chevy debuted the somewhat confusingly named SS at the 2013 Daytona 500, and announced that the nameplate would take the baton from the Impala for Chevy’s NASCAR efforts. The association with NASCAR made sense—in the SS, Chevy once again had a thumping big, rear-wheel drive, V-8-powered sedan.
The 2014 model year saw the SS and its 415-horse 6.2-liter engine arrive in showrooms. Its Australian lineage was apparent in the overall design, but a lot had changed since the G8. Electronics and interior materials were thoroughly upgraded, and an impressive list of standard equipment filled the one fully loaded trim level. The spec sheet included a color head-up display, heated and ventilated 10-way power-adjustable sport seats, reverse camera, and parking sensors. The only options were a full-size spare and a sunroof.
Conspicuously absent from the 2014 cars, though, was the ability to row your own gears. That was cured the next model year with the addition of a six-speed manual as a no-cost option. That wasn’t the only thing Chevy’s engineers added to the list—Brembo calipers and GM’s excellent Magnetorheological dampers were now available as well. Continued tinkering brought dual-mode exhaust, LED running lights, a set of de-chromed wheels, and functional hood vents to the party in 2016. The SS’ final year, 2017, added several new colors.
Other than “outstanding to drive” (so much so that it earned numerous favorable in-period comparisons to the all-time sport sedan benchmark BMW E39 M5), and perhaps “difficult to differentiate from a Hertz-spec Malibu,” the expression most closely associated with the four-door SS was “value.” The only family-friendly car available with the holy grail naturally aspirated V-8, three-pedal, rear-wheel drive combination started life around $45,000 in 2014 and never wandered north of $50k before falling casualty to Detroit’s retreat from Down Under in 2017.
When the sun set on the SS after gifting the U.S. with an improved four-year do-over of that sweet GXP goodness, nobody called the 12,924-unit run a sales success—Dodge moved 374,285 Chargers in the same window. But for those in the know, the Australian-American Q-ship was as irreplaceable as the smile it plastered on their respective faces while going undetected by law enforcement.
Resale values immediately reflected the SS’ cult status, too. Early on, drivers could put a healthy dose of mileage on one without taking a penny off of its MSRP on the secondhand market. During the boom of 2021, when other recently-retired low-production analog domestic heroes were setting records, an under-enjoyed SS Sedan sold for more than $64K, but by and large, they’ve been the model of consistency, hovering between 40 grand and around 55 “boxes of ziti” for an exceptional specimen.
Hagerty valuation data for the SS bear this out. Given the car’s limited production, stellar reputation, and small but ardent following, it’s tough to find a “cheap” SS. Cars that are solid drivers but need a little care (#4 “good” condition) are valued in the mid-20K range, but the SS is an instance where most owners actually do know what they’ve got, and therefore keep their cars in better-than-good condition.
And then, of course, there is the top of the SS market. The 2015-17 cars are worth more because of their additional performance options, with the final model year coming in at the top of the heap. A 2017 SS in #1 (concours) condition is valued at $55,400 in the Hagerty Price Guide, but if you add the 15 percent premium that manual-equipped cars commmand, that number swells to $63,710.
A concours-quality car of any kind is a rarity—this rating represents better-than-new condition—so it’s not a regular occurrence (aside from superheated markets like the one we saw three year ago) that a car tests that value. But one recent listing of an SS caught our eye for that very reason—Monroe, Washington’s aptly named Speedway Chevrolet listed a final-year SS with just 945 miles for $62,995. A mere four days after posting, the car was no longer in their online inventory, so an SS afficiando may well have paid up to have one of the lowest-mile, cleanest examples in existence. We’re unable to verify the sales price of a private transaction so this won’t factor into Hagerty’s data, but it does stand as a noteworthy marker for the general health of the SS market.
This car’s highly desirable specification deserves an assist in the stat sheet. Out of the 2645 total manual SSs brought to our shores between ’15 and ’17 (that figure represents 20.5 percent of overall production; for the 2017 model year, 32.7 percent were manuals), this example was one of 735 (302 in ’17) painted Phantom Black. That put it in the enviable position of wearing the most popular color in its select group of enthusiast specials. Top it all off with the sunroof option that was selected by 87% of all SS customers, and you’ve got a rare but popularly specced—as opposed to the less boast-worthy “rare because nobody wanted one like it”—slice of the SS pie.
Speaking of popularity, the SS is an intergenerational hit. Millennials make up the largest share of SS buyers seeking qoutes from Hagerty at 37.5 percent, while Gen X and boomers follow with 29.5 percent and 21.9 percent, respectively. Interest from Gen Z is on the rise, too, up nearly eight percentage points in just two years.
It’s not particularly surprising to see stable prices in the meat of the SS market, along with healthy asking prices and sales of superior examples. Unless longshots happen, like GM giving the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing an LT2 V-8, Toyota granting the IS500 access to the Supra’s manual transmission, or the mythical Mustang sedan comes to fruition with a manual, Chevy’s SS will stand as the last of its most excellent breed.
At one time I considered purchasing one. I had (and still do) a 2012 CTS-V Coupe that only comes out if the roads weren’t wet and was/is stored in the winter. I was considering a Chevy SS as a daily driver. At the time (2016/17 IIRC) they were heavily discounted (often times up to $7K below MSRP) as no one was really looking at them because they didn’t really know what it was, as the article mentioned. GM did a terrible job marketing the vehicle. As a matter of fact, I think they hardly marketed at all.
Regrettably I decided against it. I live in Michigan and it would’ve required snow tires in the winter and it just didn’t make sense to purchase a car like that only to subject it to snow, salt and the potholes that appear in the spring.
In my retirement I work for a gentleman caring for his rather large collection that consists of a beautiful 2017 manual SS. I am often asked what are my favorites in the collection and the SS is always mentioned. Precisely for the reasons outlined in this article. It has a relatively nice interior for a car with a Chevy badge, it’s a manual and it’s a sleeper.
I often wish I would have pulled the trigger on an SS.
Not surprised these cars are on the upswing. If I recall correctly, I believe the CTS-V wagons also languished on dealer lots initially, and it didn’t take long before “Those who know, KNOW” began to drive the value up on them, like the SS.
As a veteran of the USAF I feel that placing a Thunderbird behind a car that I seriously doubt would turn one head is interesting as that Thunderbird could and would turn your head in a second. I serious doubt any of the offerings made today no matter how had they push will ever reach the prices nor the status of the past 50’s and 60’s and even a few of the 70’s and 80’s but not this Chevy.
Yeah, but that’s just you opinion. I don’t care at all about, nor would give a second glance to, a Thunderbird. We all have preferences, and thankfully they are not all the same.
But that’s kind of the point (of not turning heads). This car will blend in and no one will notice it until you pull away from a stop light and they hear the roar of that V8 while you row your own gears.
To your point, I’m sure a ’55 Bel Air and many other cars from the ’50s and ’60s that are now desired, looked like plain Jane grocery getters in their day.
The WINGNUT doesn’t understand sleeper.
I think it is not for the head-turning ability of the SS, but rather, for the performance image that it shares with the F-16, for those of us who are both airshow and car enthusiasts.
Me LOVE my Chevrolet’s… but, a nice used Cadillac V-series is easier find.
Just wish GM would have kept the SS going, darn it !!!
Sadly, we will never see the likes of a sedan again.
I got the dreaded “You are posting comments too quickly. Slow down.” message. I haven’t posted anything since yesterday.
I was waiting to take delivery of a silver SS manual trans in late summer of 2016 when the dealer told me that there was a “stop sale” order against that model with no ETA on a fix. I was really disappointed because there was nothing else on the market that compared. I ended up buying something else but always regretted the bad timing. If only I had pulled the trigger a few weeks earlier….
I test drove a leftover new 2015 in early 2017, and wish I would have bought it. Then, when the final year cars were being sold at 20% off list (fall of 2017), I REALLY wish I had bought one! Now, the ask for those $40,000 (net) bargains is usually $50-60 thousand around here.
And yes, GM seemingly did a very poor job of marketing these.
I was informed enough to take a hard look at the last of Chevy SS’s when they were sold at 10% off of list price, but not smart enough to pull the trigger. Instead, I bought a previous model year CTS premium luxury car for 30% off of list price. The CTS only cost me $36k, but it is probably worth $10k now that it has 55k miles on it. The SS would have probably depreciated about $5k, so the Cadillac cost me more in the end. That said, the CTS is a great driver, has AWD and looks a lot better than an SS. Perhaps the money was well spent?
In Fall of 2020 I was fortunate enough to purchase a black, six speed manual with the sunroof and full size spare options. It only had 7,133 miles and now has about 17,800 miles. It’s the perfect car for when my wife and I take a road trip. Paid $44,500 for it and to me it was a bargain.
Rider- Love the F-16 but you’re kind of hoping they’ll make the switch to F-22s or F-35s. And the 60’s Wonderbread scheme on the Thunderbirds needs a refresh. The Blue Angels Super Hornets with the yellow on blue ( Penske Sunoco Camaro ) paint job is a bit more appealing.
I have a red 2017 SS badged as a Commodore SSV. Compared to my C7 Z06, the SS has gotten three or four times more comments from people wherever I park it. I’ve been approached over 200 times. It may be a sleeper but when it is rebadged, it drives people crazy trying to figure out what kind of car it is….
I have a 2016 SS, bought it new in Oct. 2016, so nearly 8 years old now. I used it as a daily for about 3 years and the last 5 have been as a 2nd/weekend car. Just under 40K on it and it’s been a very reliable car. Runs and drives just as well as it did brand new. I had a 2006 Trailblazer SS and by comparison it had many, many more issues. Not planning on letting go of this car, it’s a keeper!
The SS will always be a very misunderstood car. Why didn’t they call it an Impala? Or Chevelle? Why didn’t they promote it more? Why didn’t it sell better? Lots of questions, a few answers are: In Dec. 2013 (just as the first cars were hitting dealers) GM announced that the factory in Elizabeth (South Australia) would be closed after the 2017 MY. The fate/future of the car was already decided before it had a chance. Another huge factor is the shift to full size lifted trucks. The demographic that once bought these cars, now buys the “TrailBoss” instead. Many, many who did get an SS, let them go to get a lifted truck.
As a nine-year SS owner I can attest to the quality of the driving experience. This car is a lot of fun, and the occasional thumbs-up is always a pleasant surprise.
There is a downside to owning this car, and it’s only getting worse. Body parts are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Some are already virtually impossible to source in the States. Just something to keep in mind.
Don’t forget, 2016 also saw the addition of a tube piping intake noise to the cabin. It’s glorious.
We love ours, and it generates more interest than anything else I’ve driven. A highlight was bringing it to a local autocross and drifting the course with a car full of unsuspecting passengers :D.
A 4-door Impalla “SS”, a 4-door E “Mustang. There has to be a line of ‘Sport Sedan’ buyers that are clammering for 4-door Corvette or at the very least a Corvette SUV. I mean really, names aren’t special anymore so why not a Corvette pickup truck?
There would have been more interest if the car was called Chevelle SS instead. I asked one of Chevy’s leading marketers at the 2009 GM Product and Technology Event why Chevy didn’t use the Bel Air or Chevelle name on a new version. He could not even give me a reply.