According to Motor Trend, The General is looking to put more “sport” into its Delta 2 platform and is debating two different approaches. The first approach involves an all-new model – a four-door coupe based on the Cruze’s Delta 2 architecture. Rumor has it that it will retain the wheelbase of the Cruze but include “a more rakish roofline” (which will forgo backseat room for a more spirited design). Such a model, if green-lit for production, would command a premium price compared to the Cruze and earn GM higher margins on the Delta platform. The strategy is similar to Mercedes and its CLS four-door coupe, which rides on the E-Class platform but sells for S-Class prices.

The second approach being considered by GM is more practical and involves a Super Sport version of the Cruze as we know it today. In fact, this model is rumored to have a fan or two inside GM’s own offices. Expect suspension mods, a high-pressure version of the 260hp 2.0-liter Ecotec turbo (LNF) from the Pontiac Solstice GXP/Saturn Sky Redline and upcoming Buick Regal GS (concept). That output is nearly equal to that of the Mazdaspeed 3 and puts the Honda Civic Si and Scion Tc numbers to shame. To manage torque steer, the Delta II platform could be fitted with the larger Epsilon’s all-wheel-drive system, but this may add a few extra zeroes to the price tag.

It’s unlikely that we’ll see a Cruze SS any sooner than 2013. And if the Delta 2-based four-door-coupe is built, it’d most likely take even longer to make its way to dealer showrooms. But it would be interesting to see how GM goes about its earlier goals of becoming more selective with the SS badge. Nevertheless, we welcome any and all infusions of “sport” into the Chevy line. But as Motor Trend’s Todd Lassa (my latest Facebook friend) so eloquently points out, GM’s “priority is to do a high fuel-mileage Cruze XFE.” We agree with that too.

[Source: Motor Trend]

In fact, with the sporty Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice (along with their respective Redline and GXP performance variants) having been sent to the automotive graveyard, GM’s portfolio of small, sporty, tuner-friendly vehicles has shrunk to a point that the only compact performance model that still remains is the HHR SS sport wagon.

Engine & Transmission

The supposed Cruze SS could inherit the 260 horsepower turbocharged and direct injected 2.0 liter four-cylinder Ecotec along with the six-speed manual gearbox from the SS versions of the HHR and the axed Cobalt. We expect the awesome Launch Control and No-Lift Shift technology to make their way over as well.

Weakest Link

On the down side, the Cruze inherits the Cobalt’s rear torsion bar suspension – which may limit the the handling ability of the Cruze SS by a bit. A redesign of the rear suspenders would most likely be cost-prohibitive for a low-volume SS model.

Chevy To Become More Selective With The SS Badge?

This news comes after Mark Reuss, the newly-appointed president of GM North America, revealed that going forward, Chevy will be more selective when it comes to what vehicles get to wear the SS badge.

At the present, there aren’t any official plans for a Cruze SS. If it does come – don’t expect it before the Cruze’s mid-cycle refresh sometime around 2014. Nevertheless, we look forward to a 260-horsepower six-speed manual Cruze that just may end up achieving 35 or more mpg on the highway… not that the performance community would care much about that number.

The GM Authority Take

If you ask us, the Cruze SS is definitely coming. We think Chevy is testing the waters here: gauging consumer response to the Cruze and the enthusiast community’s reaction to the proposed SS model.

[Source: MotorAuthority]

Today, however, the SS program (and nomenclature) seems to have lost its way. Case in point: the last-gen Malibu and current-gen Impala had/have SS versions but neither goes as far as the 1960′s and 1970′s Impala and Chevelle SS in terms of “sportifying” the car. Needless to say, the Malibu and Impala SS are not vehicles that deserve to wear the SS badge proudly. To its credit, Chevrolet did introduce the turbocharged Cobalt and HHR SS (which were considerably more “SS material” than the Malibu or Impala), but many still felt that there was room for improvement. To us, the only vehicle in production today that truly deserves to wear the SS emblem proudly is the new Camaro.

The Good News

Mark Reuss, GM vice president of global engineering, recently told AutoWeek that the SS program is alive and well but going forward, GM will be more selective as to what vehicles get to wear the badge. To us this means that just because a vehicle’s engine produces more horsepower, it doesn’t get to be an “SS” automatically.

But here is where it gets really interesting: Reuss worked in Australia as chairman and managing director of Holden – the same GM division that developed the awesome RWD Zeta architecture that underpins the new Camaro as well as the Holden Commodore and Statesman vehicle lines (and their Chevy- and Buick-badged brethren in Arabia and elsewhere). We hope that Reuss will work to convince fellow GM execs to mate the Zeta platform with an SS badge. To throw more fire into the rumormill, this report comes after rumors of a Zeta-based Chevy SS model coming in 2012.

Obviously, the sooner Mr. Reuss embarks on the convincing, the better: many GM fans would love to see something along the lines of a four-door Camaro on U.S. shores (and around the world).

Counter argument

We’ve received some interesting feedback before publishing this post. Namely, some have let us know that while they didn’t themselves purchase a Malibu or Impala SS, those models would be the only models these readers would consider because they were top of the line of their respective models. One loyal GM Authority reader and listener even let us know that he thought the Malibu SS model was “cool,” making us wonder that the SS program shouldn’t go away entirely on lesser models.

[Source: Automotive News subs required]