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Chevrolet Cruze SS Concept Teased Ahead Of Brazilian Debut

Chevrolet has teased a new Cruze SS concept car ahead of its Brazilian debut at the 2018 São Paulo International Motor Show, providing a partial answer to the question: What if General Motors built something to contend with the Honda Civic Type R?

Modifications to the factory Chevrolet Cruze – or “Sport6”, as the hatchback is known in Brazil – are plentiful, and include a high-performance engine package that take peak output of the factory 1.4-liter turbo I4 Ecotec LE2 engine up to 300 horsepower. To help put the power down, the Cruze SS concept features a unique set of 20-inch wheels wrapped in 235-section rubber, a rear wing, and a more performance-optimized suspension.

The interior of the Cruze SS concept has received a makeover, too, gaining front bucket seats, sporty pedals, a sporty steering wheel, and some flashier-looking seat belts, along with a few accessories that are already available to Cruze owners, like a premium sound system from JBL.

Want to know more? We would, too. Unfortunately, Chevrolet has yet to reveal a photo, sketch, or rendering of the full car, and the information contained within the official press release is pretty limited in scope. But there is this gem of a sentence (translated from Portuguese):

Concept cars have different purposes, either to evaluate the receptivity of the public to new solutions or technologies, or to get the attention of amateurs by customization, for example.

This makes it sound as though Chevrolet might be considering the Cruze SS for production, or at least offering some of its modifications for sale as performance accessories, depending on the public’s response upon seeing the concept in-the-flesh at São Paulo. Of course, whether GM elects to do that in the North American market as well as Brazil is another matter.

Along with the new Chevrolet Cruze SS concept, GM will also use November’s São Paulo International Motor Show to publicly introduce the refreshed, 2019 Chevrolet Camaro to the market for the first time.

Check back here on GM Authority regularly for all the latest Chevrolet Cruze news.

Aaron Brzozowski is a writer and motoring enthusiast from Detroit with an affinity for '80s German steel. He is not active on the Twitter these days, but you may send him a courier pigeon.

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Comments

  1. Production 1.4L turbo with 300hp? Yup that’s purely concept

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    1. its allready been done at ZZP

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  2. The sad part as neat as an SS would be it would still not fix the fundamental issues with the. Cruze and the problems in the small car segment in the N American market.

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  3. This SS package would be better in the Sonic. It’s much smaller proportioned, and has a sportier aesthetic than the cruze. The Cruze looks boring in comparison. 300hp in a 2.8k lb sedan or hatchback? ? it would be just as fast as the Golf R. But chevy would have to implement a new transmission, and other things to cope with that much power

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    1. I agree, the Sonic Hatch RS package looks great but is all bark.
      I wonder how well the front drivetrain would handle the extra power…

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      1. As the owner of a 2015 Sonic RS I can honestly say that the drivetrain, other than some torque steer, handles 200whp pretty well. So not really Golf R numbers but could probably do nice against a GTI

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        1. More like the Polo GTI.

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          1. Why the down votes? Sonic competes size wize to the Polo GTI. And at 200 HP, would have almost the same power.

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  4. What happened to the Malibu and Monte Carlo SS concepts? I saw a few in car shows but never any follow up.

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  5. One can dream of a Chevrolet Cruze SS powered by the new Chevrolet L3B 2.7L DOHC-4v 4-cyl turbo that makes 310 horsepower and 348 lb-ft of torque which would give the Cruze SS enough grunt to match the performance capability of a Type R.

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  6. Ah , everyone is a master mechanic!

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  7. 2.0 turbo would be nice, should have been in the first one. Never understood why they put it in the Buick Verano, but not the Cruze. I’m sure it would have out sold the diesel.

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  8. Don’t get my hopes up! I’ve been wanting a Cruze SS for so long. I think they are missing out by not having a Cruze SS. I think the first gen Cruze would’ve look really good as an SS. The current generation would too though. I really miss the days when GM used to make SS versions of most of their vehicles. I especially liked the Cobalt SS, Malibu SS and Trailblazer SS. I wish GM would do the same with their current Chevy lineup. Even if they don’t want to call it SS. Call it something else but give us a more powerful engine, sporty looks, etc. like an SS would have. I own a Cruze and if Chevy was offering an SS version when I bought mine I would’ve bought the SS. My Cruze is almost paid off and I’m super excited about that BUT if Chevy came out with a Cruze SS I would have to buy it!

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  9. I’m interested! I’ve been gripping about the limited powertrains available in the Cruze line since they first hit the showroom. I agree that the Malibu and Impala need massaging as well. But my guess is that GM will never do it because they figure if you want performance they’d rather sell you a cramped overpriced Camaro instead.

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  10. GM, you have the LTG. You can easily dial it up to 300+ hp. Please slap that in there with a 6 speed manual.

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  11. Having been a past owner of a LNF with the Turbo upgrade the reality is this.

    You will not sell that many of these. The SS will not save the Cruze just as the hatch has failed to move the needle.

    Also 300 hp at the front wheels suck. I loved my SS but traction sucked and launch control just slowed you down more.,

    We had a Regal AWD that was discounted down to a real bargain and yet no one bought it.

    I would wager of all those here I am the only one who actually owned a Turbo SS here.

    Right now work on a replacement car. Fix what is wrong and add more power to it if you like.

    FYI the 2.7 may not fit or even be set up for FWD. you may want to investigate this before asking for it.

    About all models other than the GTI can not survive without the global market. GM needs to get this car to all markets not just a couple to produce the numbers needed to survive. The Honda is sold globally and is even built in England and exported here due to low numbers sold.

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    1. Nobody bought the Regal AWD because it was a Buick Regal. You can’t make a case for Chevrolet based off Buick. No doubt in my mind, a sporty AWD Chevrolet with increased hp would have sold in very respectable if not large numbers. Not only for the Cruze but for the Malibu and Impala as well. GM flat out dropped the ball on this one.

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      1. Matt my point is the Buick was a better car than the SS Cruze would ever be and yet no one bought it.

        To do a proper performance Cruze with AWD you will reach a price few will pay,

        You can cheap out and do FWD with less power but there again no none will buy it.

        Spend the money to fix the Cruze to were you can sell the standard model to about anyone then add a performance model.

        No matter how good the frosting is no one will eat the Cake if it sucks.

        The Cobalt was a very good sport coupe and sedan. But even they sold in small numbers. I wager you may have never even seen a Turbo sedan as they only sold in the hundreds.

        You can not fix a car assbackwards.

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        1. But at the same time you can’t use Camaro turbo 1LE to go against the hot hatches like Type R, RS, ST, or even N models as it just doesn’t make sense.

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  12. Come on GM, even Hyundai has the cajones to built a Veloster N and a Elantra Sport

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  13. They will never get 300 HP from the 1.4T and have it pass emissions/durability tests for production vehicles. I would bank more on a tuned 2.0T with around 275 plus HP. Lets hope this actually happens.

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  14. What a joke a SS in a Chevy Cruze?!?!? Chevy needs to bring back the Impala SS, I still have my 2007, would love to see Chevy bring it back. That’s what an SS goes in, or a corvette or camero, not a cruze?!?!?

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    1. Never ever get rid of your Impala I did regretfully I had a 2007 an
      then a 2009 drove both across USA 5 times! Was a pleasure to say the least sorely missed.

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      1. I probably won’t, I seriously thought about buying an SS a few years ago (but they don’t make those anymore either) I bought my Impala w/ 6 miles on it and it now has 260,000 I too have drove across the USA in it many times, still a great car! I had to have the transmission replaced when it hit 230,000 since then I’ve had to have some minor things replaced in it here and there. I love that V8!

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  15. LisaB: Is quite right IMPALA is the only way to go nothing finer than an SS Malibu sounds good in an SS version! Impalahas been the flag ship of Chevrolet for years who the hell wants to “cruze”in a canoe!!!

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    1. LOL! That’s funny “cruze” in a canoe I felt like I was in a canoe had to drive one as a loaner when my car was in the shop for an oil change.

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  16. Man, I’ve been wishing for one of these for years. I had the HHR SS as my first car. Honestly loved having the space to pack shit in and the power was great – even though it was a FWD. Now if they could put the Cruze on an AWD platform, I would instantly drop my GTI for that thing. We’ll see… Not getting my hopes up

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  17. Done properly, like a Civic Type R, it would run $35,000.

    They would probably cut some corners, use the 2.0T, and price it at $29,999. As long as it splits the difference in performance between an Si and an R, or a Focus ST and an RS, that might actually work as a business case!

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  18. If it has the same 1.4T engine then who cares. Drop in the 2.0T LTG or LSY and it will be a true SS.

    But honestly, does anyone think Chevy could develop anything nearly as good as a Civic Type R? The Cruze still uses a torsion beam rear end so it would be no match for the Honda’s multi-link rear and sophisticated front suspension that eliminates torque steer.

    Reply

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