The early years of the 21st century brought a wave of nostalgia across America. The Big 3 automotive giants in Detroit all employed design teams who had the same idea: Go retro.
Along came the Chrysler PT Cruiser (2001), the Ford Thunderbird (2002), and the Chevrolet SSR (2003), among other vehicles with exterior design language that harkened back many decades prior. What was old became new again, or was it the other way around?
The Pick of the Day is a 2005 Chevrolet SSR roadster pickup with only 2,200 miles on it, listed by a Palm Desert, California, private seller on ClassicCars.com. The SSR, which stood for Super Sport Roadster, combined a truck, a muscle car and a roadster all into the same vehicle. It was produced for model years 2003 through 2006, and an estimated 24,000 were sold during that timeframe.
One of those trucks finished in two-tone silver and black, this SSR has traveled a mere 2,200 miles since its production 15 years ago. It “even smells new,” the seller says.
This SSR has been treated to some customization in the form of pinstriping, embroidered seats and red brake-caliper covers. The seller states that the Michelin tires are new.
The SSR for 2005 had the heart of a Corvette, in the form of a 6.0-liter 390-horsepower LS2 V8. Despite the pickup’s size, it was good for 0-60 numbers in the sub-six-second range. The SSR was tuned to be more of a muscle car than a true pickup, and could even be outfitted with a Tremec 6-speed manual transmission. This example sends power to the pavement via a four-speed automatic transmission.
One of the most interesting attributes of the SSR was a roof that’s power-retractable, automatically sliding in behind the seats to become a convertible.
The SSR was a vehicle in a class by itself. However, sales fell below expectations consistently throughout the model’s run, and the last SSR – coincidentally in the same color scheme as the 2005 featured here – rolled off the assembly line in March 2006.
It’s hard to say how many SSRs are still on the road a decade and a half later, let alone with fewer than 3,000 miles on them. As a future collectible, this SSR could be a nice way to haul cargo and haul butt at the same time.
The asking price for this well-preserved piece of nostalgia is $42,500.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
The post Pick of the Day: 2005 Chevrolet SSR retro hardtop-convertible pickup appeared first on ClassicCars.com Journal.
