Chevrolet SSR Indy 500 Pace Vehicle

Chevrolet SSR

The Chevrolet SSR is a convertible pickup truck produced from 2003 through 2006. The truck is based on the large Chevrolet TrailBlazer's platform but features "retro" styling and a steel convertible top designed by ASC. The production model is based on the SuperSport Roadster concept car shown at the 2000 Detroit Auto Show. An early-production SSR was the pace car for the 2003 Indianapolis 500 auto race.

The 2004 model sold below expectations with under 9,000 sales at US$42,000 each. Citing a 301-day supply of SSRs, General Motors in December of that year announced five weeks of layoffs at Lansing Craft Centre, the factory that makes the SSR. On November 21, 2005, GM announced that it would close the Craft Centre in mid-2006, spelling the end for the SSR. The final SSR, a unique black-on-silver model, was built on March 17, 2006. Analysts estimate that 24,150 SSRs were produced in total.

The model includes General Motors' Vortec 5300 engine, a 5.3 L 300 hp V8. Performance, while impressive, was not spectacular at 7.7 s to 60 mph with a 15.9 s/86.4 mph quarter mile run. The 2005 SSR used the 390 hp LS2 V8 also found in the Corvette and Pontiac GTO, and also offered a manual transmission (the six-speed Tremec) for the first time, as an option. For the 2006 model year, the LS2 engine featured minor modifications that boosed its output to 400 hp (automatic transmission) and 405 hp (manual transmission), respectively.

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