Chevrolet SSR

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Chevrolet
Chevrolet SSR yellow.jpg
SSR
Production period: 2003-2006
Class : Utilities
Body versions : Pick up
Engines:
Petrol engines : 5.3–6.0 liters
(224–298 kW)
Length: 4862-4864 mm
Width: 1996 mm
Height: 1621-1631 mm
Wheelbase : 2946 mm
Empty weight : 2159 kg
Chevrolet 3100 from the Advanced Design range, model year 1952
Rear view with the top down
Rear view with the roof closed

The Chevrolet SSR ( Super Sport Roadster ) is a pick-up - convertible with an electrically retractable steel roof that was produced from 2003 to 2006 by the US car manufacturer General Motors under the Chevrolet brand .

Model history

The model is based on the SuperSport Roadster concept car , first shown at the Detroit Auto Show in 2000 , and based on a modified Chevrolet S-10 chassis. In the fall of the same year it was presented at the Woodward Dream Cruise and directed by then GM CEO Rick Wagoner . For the Chevrolet brand, it should act as a vehicle that, through its presence, should have a positive effect on sales of the other models ("halo vehicle", "dream car"). At the same event in 2001, a near-series vehicle was driven by GM's chairman for the first time, with Chevrolet managing director Kurt Ritter as a co-driver.

While in 2001 series production in the Lansing Craft Center was expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2002, the market launch was postponed until autumn 2003 due to several delays. However, between December 2002 and May 2003 vehicles of the Signature Series were already being produced. The first vehicle ready for delivery was completed on July 29, 2003.

In 2004, the SSR fell short of the 13,000 originally expected with 9,648 units sold (just under US $ 42,000 each). On November 21, 2005, General Motors announced the closure of the Lansing Craft Center , where the SSR was produced. The last of a total of approximately 24 150 to 24 180 SSRs produced, a black and silver-colored model, was produced on March 17, 2006.

development

In 1999, the design director at GM, Wayne Cherry , formed the first ideas for a pickup in retro design (Heritage Design). Ed Welburn , who was then head of the body-on-frame design department and responsible for the design of the vehicle, decided with his team, after considering four modernized versions of old Chevrolet designs, the appearance of the Chevrolet SSR to be based on the Chevrolet Advanced Design range of model years 1947 to 1952. The vehicle was developed by GM in collaboration with ASC . Karmann was also involved in the development of the convertible top . ASC was responsible for 70% of the development work and construction. In the final phase before the market launch, there were delays because GM wanted to guarantee the high quality of the vehicles. According to a source from the industry, the folding roof mechanism, in which the individually movable panels of the roof are placed vertically behind the driver and front passenger, and the exhibited steel fenders of better quality, which required a special pressing process with several passes, presented challenges for GM out. Autoweek reports that the development of the roof system took four months and the development team discovered that the electric motor of the convertible top interfered with the compass integrated in the rearview mirror and was therefore omitted.

Signature Series

The first 25 series vehicles built are part of the Signature Series. For each of the vehicles, the GM representatives, who accompanied it to high-profile events in 2003, created an individual scrapbook and an individually designed metal “pedigree” box (“ancestor” box) in which all memorabilia relating to the vehicle, e.g. B. Photos or media mentions were collected. The equipment differs from vehicles from series production by a numbered chrome badge in the interior on the footbridge between the seat backrests on which there are signatures of at least two team members from GM or a supplier who were directly connected to the Chevrolet SSR project, a paint job in the blue-violet metallic color that GM called "ultra violet", additional SSR logos on the vehicle, additional chrome strips and additional painted parts. The vehicle with chassis number 1 went into GM's vehicle collection and has the signatures of four people on the sticker in the interior. In 2003, 23 Signature Series vehicles were auctioned on behalf of Chevrolet, 18 of them by the auction house Kruse International . The vehicle with the chassis number 2 was donated by GM to the SAE Foundation ( Foundation of the Society of Automotive Engineers ), which auctioned it for the benefit of the fundraising for the " Heinz C. Prechter Scholarship for Automotive Excellence" with proceeds of 137,850 US- Dollar scored.

technology

body

The technical basis is the GMT370 platform , which was also used in the first-generation Chevrolet TrailBlazer . With the variant with a long wheelbase, the TrailBlazer EXT, the frame has the width, the width and the hydroformed steel tubes for the ladder frame in common. In the model years 2003 to 2005 the vehicle had an external length of 4862 mm, a width of 1996 mm and a height of 1631 mm; In the 2006 model year, the vehicle height decreased by 10 mm and the length increased by 2 mm. The wheelbase is 2946 mm across all model years. With a weight distribution of 52%: 48% (front axle: rear axle) the curb weight is 2159 kg. The capacity of the fuel tank is approx. 95 l. The folding top needs an average of 18 s to open and 22 s to close. GM recommends that the vehicle's engine be running, otherwise the battery voltage could drop too far.

Powertrain

Found in the models 2003 and 2004 from General Motors produced V8 gasoline engine with the label Vortec 5300, the motor code LM4, 5326 cc displacement, resulting from a cylinder bore mm by 96 and a piston stroke of 92 mm shows a made of aluminum Engine block and a maximum power of 224 kW (300 hp) use; the engine output is via a four step automatic transmission having the type designation HydraMatic 4L60E and a 3.73: 1 translated Torsen - axle differential to transmit rear wheels .

The SSR model released in 2005 used a V8 petrol engine with engine code LS2 and a displacement of 5967 cm³, which results from a cylinder bore of 101.6 mm and a piston stroke of 92 mm, with a maximum output of 291 kW ( 390 hp) in connection with a manual six-speed manual transmission of the type Tremec  T56 M10, which was offered for the first time, as an additional option, the automatic transmission was replaced by one with the type designation Hydramatic 4L65E.

For the 2006 model year, the maximum output was increased to 295 kW (395 hp) for vehicles with automatic transmission and to 298 kW (400 hp) for vehicles with manual transmission.

The vehicle has a catalytic converter and exhaust gas recirculation for exhaust aftertreatment .

landing gear

The vehicle has tires with the dimensions 255/45 R19 at the front and 295/40 R20 at the rear, which are mounted on wheels with the dimensions 8 ″ × 19 ″ at the front and 10 ″ × 20 ″ at the rear. It is equipped with disc brakes on all four wheels. The front brake discs have a diameter of 305 mm and a thickness of 29 mm; the rear ones are internally ventilated, the diameter is 329 mm and the thickness 20 mm. The chassis is largely similar to that of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, but has been adapted to the SSR to achieve a different driving behavior. Compared to the TrailBlazer with standard wheelbase, the front track increased to 1628 mm and the rear track to 1648 mm. The front axle is a double wishbone axle and the rear axle is a rigid axle with four trailing arms and one wishbone .

safety

In terms of safety equipment , the vehicle has two-stage front airbags , side airbags, an anti-lock braking system and vehicle dynamics control .

Pace car use

An early model of the SSR was used as the "Official Pace Vehicle" or safety car for the Indianapolis 500 car race in 2003 . GM built between three and five vehicles into a pace car, one of which came from the Signature Series and has the vehicle identification number 4, the other two to four are replicas. After the originally planned replica vehicle with the number 2 was not ready for use on race day, the vehicle from the Signature Series was sent out on the track. In the following years, the Chevrolet SSR was used as a pace car at other racing events.

Others

In Spring in the US state of Texas, a suburb of Houston , there was a vehicle dealer who bought and sold a volume of 447 Chevrolet SSRs by 2015, 402 of which were different, which corresponds to around 2% of the total production volume.

Engines

Motor data
engine Motor type Engine type Engine code Displacement Max. power Max. Torque Gearbox, series Gearbox, option construction time source
5.3 Gasoline engine V8 LM4 5327 cc 224 kW (300 hp) at 5200 min -1 449 Nm at 4000 min -1 4-speed automatic transmission - 2003-2004
6.0 LS2 5967 cc 291 kW (390 hp) at 5400 min -1 549 Nm at 4400 min -1 6-speed manual transmission 2004-2005
6.0 295 kW (395 hp) at 5700 min -1 542 Nm at 4000 min -1 - 2005-2006
6.0 298 kW (400 hp) at 6000 min -1 - 6-speed manual transmission 2005-2006

Web links

Commons : Chevrolet SSR  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 2000 Detroit Auto Show I (page 3). In: thecarconnection.com. January 10, 2000, p. 3 , accessed on December 23, 2018 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c Bob Gritzinger, Roger Hart: What a Concept: Chevy's SSR is more than just a new truck for GM | Autoweek. In: autoweek.com. August 3, 2003, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  3. ^ Marty Padgett: 2000 Dream Cruise Day Two. In: thecarconnection.com. August 20, 2000, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  4. ↑ michael frank: What Good Is a Halo Car Anyway? In: popularmechanics.com. August 31, 2012, Retrieved December 24, 2018 (American English).
  5. ^ Mark Phelan: 2001 Dream Cruise Photo Gallery. In: thecarconnection.com. August 21, 2000, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  6. ^ Chevrolet SSR To Begin Production At The Lansing Craft Center In 2002. In: autointell.com. January 24, 2001, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  7. ↑ a b Dave Guilford: Production problems slow Chevy SSR introduction. In: autonews.com. October 13, 2003, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  8. ↑ a b SSR Signature Series Rolling. In: theautochannel.com. Retrieved December 23, 2018 .
  9. ↑ model 2003 - Chevy SSR Germany. In: chevy-ssr.de. Retrieved December 24, 2018 .
  10. ^ A b André Idzikowski: Chevrolet SSR. In: caranddriver.com. April 2005, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Jeremy W. Peters: Mix of Shock and Resignation on GM Shop Floors Set to Close - The New York Times. In: nytimes.com. November 22, 2005, accessed December 24, 2018 .
  12. ^ John Neff: Chevy SSR production comes to an end - Autoblog. In: autoblog.com. March 21, 2006, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  13. ↑ a b Chris Paukert: How an oddball Chevy transformed a Houston dealership. In: autonews.com. April 18, 2015, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Barbara Wieland: Tearful workers say goodbye Last SSR rolls off the Craft Center line. In: lsj.com. Lansing State Journal, archived from the original on September 30, 2007 ; Retrieved March 20, 2006 .
  15. ^ Peter Passell: 2006 Chevrolet SSR: A Halo Truck Gets Its Wings - The New York Times. In: nytimes.com. February 19, 2006, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  16. ↑ a b c d e f Bob Hall: 2004 Chevrolet SSR (Chevy) Review, Ratings, Specs, Prices, and Photos - The Car Connection. In: thecarconnection.com. July 11, 2003, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  17. ^ Tom Murphy: ASC New Name is American Specialty Cars. In: wardsauto.com. January 4, 2004, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  18. ^ Auction Plans Announced For Chevy SSR 'Signature Series' Vehicles. In: autointell.com. August 25, 2003, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  19. ^ Matt Stone: First Drive: 2003 Chevrolet SSR - Motor Trend. In: motortrend.com. October 16, 2003, accessed December 23, 2018 (American English).
  20. ↑ David Zatz: The Chevy SSR's hydroformed frame | aCarPlace. In: acarplace.com. September 19, 2002. Retrieved December 23, 2018 (American English).
  21. ↑ a b c Tom Appel: Review Flashback! 2006 Chevrolet SSR | The Daily Drive | Consumer Guide® The Daily Drive | Consumer Guide®. In: blog.consumerguide.com. April 20, 2018, accessed December 24, 2018 .
  22. ↑ a b 2004-Chevrolet-SSR.pdf. (PDF; 7.8 MB) In: gmheritagecenter.com. P. 12 , accessed on December 23, 2018 (English, available source of technical data for model year 2004).
  23. ↑ a b c 2004-Chevrolet-SSR.pdf. (PDF; 7.8 MB) In: gmheritagecenter.com. P. 11 , accessed on December 23, 2018 (English, extensive source of technical data for model year 2004).
  24. ↑ a b David Zatz: The Chevy SSR engine, transmission, and TORSEN differential | aCarPlace. In: acarplace.com. September 9, 2003, Retrieved December 23, 2018 (American English).
  25. ↑ a b c 2005-Chevrolet-SSR.pdf. (PDF; 12.0 MB) In: gmheritagecenter.com. P. 13 , accessed on December 23, 2018 (English, extensive source of technical data for the 2005 model year).
  26. ↑ 800-1000hp_rated_LS_Fbody_T56.pdf. (PDF; 21.8 MB) In: eecis.udel.edu. ECE / CIS labs at the University of Delaware , 2010, p. 3 , accessed on December 23, 2018 (English, document without page numbers, page number based on the page number displayed by the program).
  27. ↑ 2003-06 Chevrolet SSR | Consumer Guide Auto. In: consumerguide.com. Retrieved December 23, 2018 (American English).
  28. ↑ Chevrolet SSR to serve as pace vehicle for 2003 Indy 500 | Autoweek. In: autoweek.com. April 24, 2003, accessed December 23, 2018 .
  29. ^ Howard Kirchenbauer: The Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Registry - Chevrolet SSR Tribute. In: pacecarregistry.com. Retrieved December 23, 2018 .
  30. ↑ Specs 2004 Chevrolet SSR (aut. 4). In: automobile-catalog.com. Retrieved December 23, 2018 .
  31. ↑ 2005 Chevrolet SSR 6-speed (since mid-year 2004 for North America US) specs review. In: automobile-catalog.com. Retrieved December 23, 2018 .