Chevrolet is looking at two ways to "sport up" General Motors' Delta compact platform. The more radical idea involves all new, "four-door coupe"-style sheetmetal on the same platform as the 2011 Chevy Cruze compact. The car would retain the Cruze's wheelbase, but with a more rakish roofline that would sacrifice some back seat space for a more expressive design.
The idea would be to get a higher profit-margin car out of a relatively humble platform. It's comparable to what Mercedes-Benz did with its CLS four-door coupe -- a car that essentially raised the retail price of an E-Class-based car to near S-Class levels. A Cruze-based four-door coupe would theoretically serve as a step up toward the Camaro.
The idea would be to get a higher profit-margin car out of a relatively humble platform. It's comparable to what Mercedes-Benz did with its CLS four-door coupe -- a car that essentially raised the retail price of an E-Class-based car to near S-Class levels. A Cruze-based four-door coupe would theoretically serve as a step up toward the Camaro.
The more practical solution would be a Super Sport version of the Cruze. That entails suspension mods, of course, plus requisite trim upgrades and a high-pressure version of the 2.0-liter turbo along the lines of the 260-horsepower unit that powered the Pontiac Solstice GXP/Saturn Sky Redline and the coming 255-horsepower Buick Regal GS.
Both the four-door coupe and the Cruze SS could take the larger Epsilon platform's all-wheel-drive system to mitigate torque steer. We're not likely to see the SS earlier than the '13 model year; the four-door coupe would take even longer. But of course, before either of them hits Chevy dealers, the priority is to do a high fuel-mileage Cruze XFE.
Both the four-door coupe and the Cruze SS could take the larger Epsilon platform's all-wheel-drive system to mitigate torque steer. We're not likely to see the SS earlier than the '13 model year; the four-door coupe would take even longer. But of course, before either of them hits Chevy dealers, the priority is to do a high fuel-mileage Cruze XFE.
