Chevy has poured some serious octane into its high-performance vehicle lineup of late, and the Bowtie Brand came to SEMA with all guns blazing. Nine high-performance concepts hit the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as some all-new, more powerful production cars as well.
The new SS performance sedan got a bit of input from NASCAR star driver Jeff Gordon, who will pilot the racing version on the track. The Jeff Gordon SS is uprated with No. 24 graphics, custom wheels and a carbon fiber spoiler. The suspension has been lowered, and high-performance brakes installed.
Chevy also brought three modified Corvette Stingrays, influenced by the East Coast, the West Coast and the world of the Gran Turismo video game.
The Stingray Gran Turismo Concept is a real-life version of the car that appears in the game, featuring custom paint, yellow-tinted headlamps, a carbon fiber wing and restyled hood, and a custom grille. Inside, the driver and passenger get racing harnesses and Competition Sport seats.
Skip over to the Stingray Convertible Atlantic and Chevrolet’s decked the car out like a private jet, perhaps as a nod to Wall Street. The silver Corvette looks like a private jet, and shows off official Chevrolet accessories. The West-Coast version, the Stingray Coupe Pacific, is a Torch Red hardtop (strange, since there’s generally more sun in Southern California than in coastal New England) that features a Z51 rear spoiler and other upgrade-catalog parts.
Speaking of catalog upgrades, Chevrolet announced that the factory hot-rod COPO Camaro program would be returning for 2014. Updated along with the rest of the Camaro line, the COPO racers are fitted with NHRA-legal roll cages and safety equipment from the factory. A racing suspension and solid rear axle (instead of the production car’s independent rear suspension) are also included. Supercharged 350 V8 and naturally-aspirated 359, 396 and 427 V8s are offered.
Chevy brought some production cars as well. The new Camaro Z/28 made an appearance on Chevy’s show stand, along with three more Camaro concepts. The Chevrolet Performance Garage Camaro borrows track parts from the Z/28 and the Camaro ZL1, combining everything into a single vehicle. Chevy accessories include the ground effects, spoiler, grille and wheels. A short-throw shifter comes from the Camaro ZL1. The Z/28 contributes short exhaust headers, suspension links and control arms, upgraded stabilizer bars, racing shocks and brake-cooling ducts.
More unique are the Chevrolet Performance Camaro V8 and V6 concepts, which show off a range of Chevrolet accessories, from wheels and ground effects to sound systems, door sill plates, auxiliary gauges and Recaro seats.
