Since 1957, an “SS” badge on the side of a Chevrolet has meant something special. Short for Super Sport, SS models are Chevrolet’s shop-tuned enthusiast variants. The work of the internal Chevrolet Performance department, they don’t just get bigger engines. They get race-bred parts like reshaped cylinder heads and camshafts with a few ounces of weight trimmed off to spin half a heartbeat faster.
But, in the coming age of electric cars, performance means something different.
Where gasoline-powered cars need a little time (even if it’s measured in fractions of a second) to spin up to full power, electric cars have 100% of their torque available at all times.
That’s how the Tesla Model S Plaid can carry five adults in comfort and still promise a Formula-1-like 0-60 mph time of barely 2 seconds. It’s how Kia — Kia, of all companies — built a hatchback with the same 0-60 mph time as a Ferrari GTC4Lusso T.
Will the SS badge survive in the era of voltage?
If Chevy has anything to say about it, it will. Starting with an SUV.
Just a Tease for Now
The automaker today showed off the first glimpse of a vehicle it promised in January — the 2024 Chevy Blazer EV. But that glimpse had a surprise. We expected a practical family hauler with a bit of Camaro-derived styling, like the current Blazer, but battery-powered.
Instead, we got a Blazer SS.
We’d love to tell you more. But Chevy has provided almost nothing. Journalists got a brief video with about nine seconds of actual car footage, showing a hand removing a charging plug from a port and a wheel accelerating. So we know it has a charging port. And at least one wheel.
The news, then, is the badge. Accompanying the video was the sentence, “The all-electric Blazer SS will make its debut later this year and will be available in spring 2023.”
It isn’t much to go on. But it does suggest that Chevrolet will start taking advantage of the unique performance characteristics of battery power to create high-performance models. It’s probably a smart move.
America’s automakers know some car shoppers are excited about the prospect of going electric, but others are deeply skeptical. An electric SUV that can beat most of its peers in a drag race might go a long way toward winning some of them over.
Chevy also plans to reveal an electric version of its Equinox SUV later this year. Its next electric vehicle to come to market is the Silverado EV pickup.
