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2014 Chevrolet SS vs. 2013 Dodge Charger SRT8 392

Rain Supreme: SS meets SRT8 in a precipitous battle of modern-day muscle.

• BY MIKE SUTTON
• PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL BYRNE

From the January 2014 Issue of Car and Driver
TESTED
Chevrolet laid its groundwork for the new SS with a profile body for the 2013 NASCAR circuit. The racing Chevy SS and the racing Dodge Charger would have each been that rarest of things: a V-8 rear-drive Sprint Cup competitor modeled after a V-8 rear-drive production car. But the SS arrived just as Dodge quit the series, so fans were cheated.
Instead, the speedway rivalry that never was has simply moved out to the parking lot. The production SS squares off here, on a rainy weekend, against the Dodge Charger SRT8. The latter has strutted alone in Detroit’s arena of civilian rear-wheel-drive muscle sedans since 2009, when GM pulled Pontiac’s plug and with it the SS’s excellent predecessor, the G8. While both the Charger and SS are more sensible than their two-door siblings, the Challenger and the Camaro, these old-school tire smokers cement their relevance by not really giving a damn about it.
Still, Chevrolet wants you to know that its new halo sedan is the brand’s first rear-drive four-door V-8 in nearly 20 years. The SS is as American as can be for a Euro-inspired car built in Elizabeth, South Australia, which is absolutely nowhere near Sydney or any place with a working telephone. Known as the Holden Commodore SS in its home market, the Chevy SS is GM’s third attempt to domesticate one of its Australian ­models—afterthe ill-fated Pontiac GTO coupe and G8 sedan.




Thus equipped, the Dodge is up 55 horses, 55 pound-feet, and about 10 grand versus the Chevy. But it’s the SS that feels $10,000 dearer.
The Commodore’s current VF chassis (so named for the ­Aussie fashion of giving each new version of a model its own two-letter code) has been updated from the VE structure that we loved in the G8, but it’s still similar to what’s underneath the stubbier Chevrolet Camaro and the stretched Caprice PPV police cruiser. Additional aluminum in the suspension, subframes, hood, and trunklid helps the SS shed more than 100 pounds from a comparable G8. GM paid special attention to overall refinement and noise insulation, while a new electrical system ­supports all of the company’s latest safety and entertainment gear, including the feared switch to electric power steering.
A low-volume unicorn for the brand, the handful of SSs to be imported will all be pretty much fully equipped and ready to boogie for $45,770, including a $1300 gas-guzzler fee slapped on the sole engine—a 415-hp, 6.2-liter LS3 V-8. GM’s six-speed 6L80 automatic is sadly the only transmission offered. Although a power sunroof ($900) and a spare tire ($500) are optional, the sporty suspension, Brembo front brakes, and 19-inch wheels with performance tires are all standard.
The Charger SRT8 was last updated in 2012. It’s now a thoroughly modern muscle car, with a sinister mien, a 470-hp 6.4-liter Hemi V-8, driver-adjustable adaptive suspension, and even larger Brembo brakes all around. The Charger also is automatic-only, with just an old five-speed unit until ZF’s ubiquitous eight-speed enters service.
Although budget Super Bee versions of the 2014 SRT start at $45,380 (including $1000 in guzzler tax), the regular SRT is $3000 more and closer to 50 grand when equipped like the Chevrolet. Our test car was a 2013 model mechanically identical to the 2014 SRT; it blossomed from its $47,475 base price to $55,150 with the 2013-only 392 Edition appearance package ($2495), as well as a Harman/Kardon audio system ($1995) and Laguna leather seats ($1495), plus summer performance rubber and a few electronic watchdogs and gizmos that are standard on the SS.
As chest-thumping totems for their respective makes, these cars are here to claim bragging rights. So, after the obligatory burnouts, we headed for the last vestiges of fall color in rain-soaked northern Michigan to see which car best re-imagines the great American performance sedan.Continued...

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PHOTOS (32)
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I like them both. When I hit the lottery I'll buy one of each LOL

 

Hi `Greg, I'd like to test drive both of them, but for the price, I'd rather have a new Corvette > 4-Sure

Yes, I need to win a Big Lotto or keep working hard + saving

Wish you good luck on playing the lotto & playing in `Life

 

I'm not a huge fan of either, but it would not feel shameful to drive one. I would drive and enjoy both. But I suppose I'd rather have the Chevy. I hate the name but I like a NASCAR.

 

I'd take the Dodge if was "well off"LOL! I have a dodge 318 and I'v put it through the ringer! It's seen the valves float more than twice this week!LOL I had her shooting flames out the tale pipes a couple times! Dodge can build them!

 

I'd probably have to actually drive both of them before making a true decision. But I am a fan of the Charger, I like the yellow bumble bee version they had out

 

I'm a Mopar nut so dodge would be my go to. However not with the charger. I like the new charger body style but at the same time I don't. If this was a choice between the SS and the Challenger SRT8 I would choose the Challenger all day long. Bet I think it would be a tough decision between the Charger and SS. However I think I would still end up going with the Charger, simply because nothing sounds like a Hemi. I think LS engines just don't sound deep enough. The Mustang engine gets close but is still not what a hemi can sound like.

It's tough to beat this sound

 

OK I like the Challenger also.

 

Space:

Nice call on this article.

I have a Charger SRT-8 and this by FAR is the best car I have ever owned. I drove the Caprice and the SS and they are below par at best. The SRT turns ever head everywhere I go every time. You would not look twice at an SS if it drove by. I even have a deposit waiting for the new Supercharged HellCat version next year with the 8-Speed. his car is so fast with the 475 HP I can only imagine it with 550+.

GM lost my business after they failed to make a real Impala SS after the 1996 was made. Maybe the new CEO will fix GM.