Autoworld.com - Joey Ho - When you blend two of the auto industry’s hottest segments into one vehicle, you’re bound to have something special on your hands, and that’s just what Chevrolet has with the new SSR concept.

The SSR (Super Sport Roadster) seamlessly combines the function and utility of a pickup with the performance and open-air excitement of a sports roadster. And it does so by tapping into decades of Chevrolet heritage, evident in its stylish design and in the take-no-prisoners performance of its 6.0-liter V-8. This SSR may appear to be a very expressive pickup concept, albeit snazzier and sportier than most. But when a flip of a switch moves its power retractable hardtop into the open-roof position, the SSR is revealed to be like nothing that’s ever gone before. 

And it’s clearly a Chevrolet. It sports a full-width grille bar and proudly wears a Bow Tie up front, and has another full-width bar across its backside. Its form-fitting fender flares are distinctly Chevy — even if they’re slightly more outrageous than on any of the SSR’s predecessors. 

"The SSR will appeal to enthusiasts of all ages," said Kurt Ritter, Chevrolet general manager. "The design draws you in, and the performance keeps you there.

"The Chevrolet Bow Tie has long stood for spirited, functional cars and trucks," Ritter added. "The SSR brings the best of both worlds to the extreme.  A rear-drive roadster with a 6.0-liter V-8 is about as spirited as it gets, and what could be more functional than a roadster with a cargo bed?" 

V-8 Power, Open Air, and a Place For Your Stuff

"It’s a very different type of vehicle," said Ed Welburn, director of GM’s Corporate Brand Character Center.

How different? Well, it’s powerful, it’s rear-drive and it can go topless, for starters. It’s a true sports roadster, in a pickup package. It’s a two-passenger, open-air machine with room on the innovative front bench seat for a third passenger, or a child seat. 

"On one hand, it’s a roadster, but people who live with roadsters face hard challenges as far as having places to put things and carry any sort of cargo — not with the SSR," said Welburn. "On the other hand, it can carry things for you, but it’s not just about hauling things to an event. Driving it is an event in itself. It’s all about cruising, whether it’s on Woodward in Detroit, South Boulevard in Miami Beach or the autobahn in Germany."

At the heart of the SSR is its 6.0-liter, high-output V-8 engine. The longitudinally mounted engine powers the rear wheels only, offering true sports car performance and handling characteristics. Also enhancing the ride and handling and befitting a sports roadster are the five-spoke alloy sport wheels and performance tires-19-inch up front and 20-inch at the rear.

The SSR’s exterior design builds on Chevy styling cues, including the grille. "The front end design is unmistakable Chevrolet, drawing on its heritage of the early 1950s," Welburn said. "The strong fender forms, in side view, are very much a part of Chevy’s brand character, especially in that kind of line that spins off the wheel. Impalas and Monte Carlos have it in a subtle way, and future Chevrolets will have it.

"Also, the interior has a twin cockpit theme, which is a very strong Chevy brand character trait. Early Corvettes had it, and that theme travels through the interior to the seats and the headrests."

The interior plays off that twin cockpit theme and presents a clean, simple, comfortable environment. The storage area between the seats is multiconfigurable. It can stow away to provide seating for a third person or a child seat, or it can act as an armrest, with cupholders that slide out from inside it.

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To create the extra space on the bench seat, designers moved the automatic shifter from the floor to the steering wheel.  Inside a dash-mounted panel door are controls for the climate and stereo including Navigation system, weather access and Windows computer with internet/e-mail access. GM’s OnStar™ System is also featured in the interior. "It’s there when you need it," Welburn said, "otherwise the door is closed and the design is kept clean."

The SSR’s most exciting feature is the power-operated, retractable hardtop. The two-piece top stows vertically between the seat and the rear storage bed. It’s neatly tucked away, flush behind the passenger compartment. With the top down, and the sun shining in, the SSR becomes a truck like no other truck and a roadster like no other roadster.

The rear cargo area can carry a multitude of items for consumers on the go. It has a lockable storage area to protect the cargo inside. The tailgate can be operated remotely with a button on the key fob, or opened manually using the latch on the inside of the gate.

The Development Story: Virtually Amazing

Developed at GM’s Corporate Brand Character Center, the SSR was designed entirely in the computer. No clay models were ever built. It went from first sketch to full-size model in a seven-week period and no model was ever constructed until the full-size vehicle was built.

"For those concerned about computer-aided design, the fact that such an emotional design — a vehicle that has really connected with people emotionally — was absolutely created in the computer is significant," Welburn said. "There were never sculptors’ hands all over a model. In fact, the sculptors worked to develop the shapes in the computer. These are sculptors with background and training in the fine arts, working in the computer right alongside the engineers and chassis teams."

Most of GM’s concept cars are developed at the separate brand studios, but the SSR was developed at the Corporate Brand Center along with the Chevrolet Brand Center, giving it a broad view unique to GM’s concepts. 

The Corporate Brand Center and Chevy teams of designers, engineers, and sculptors worked in concert, under one roof, to create the stunning SSR.

"They intermingle and develop the project — that’s how we are able to work so quickly and efficiently," Welburn said. "We don’t have the designers on one side of the room and the sculptors on the other and the engineers down the hall. They all work together, side by side."

Putting Chevy’s Heritage on a Futuristic Road.

Although no decision has been made on the future of such a vehicle in Chevrolet’s portfolio, Welburn says that the SSR was designed from the very start as a production vehicle, "not just a concept car for an auto show."

With its eye-catching looks and obvious functional characteristics, the SSR is sure to garner more than its fair share of attention.

"It’s powerful, and it’s beautiful," Welburn said. "It has a lot of shape to it. And lots of appeal."

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