2009 Chevrolet HHR SS Spied Shot -- 5 Pictures

2009 Chevrolet HHR SS spied shot by caranddriver.com, providing car reviewsand pictures. When the 2009 Chevrolet HHR was first introduced, Chevrolet swore up and down and all the hell around that its retro-styled HHR was not a copy of Chrysler's PT Cruiser.

Never mind that they were designed by the same guy, hearken to the same bygone era, and have interior dimensions within a fraction of an inch of each other, even though the HHR is eight inches longer and two inches wider and taller.

We doubt anyone bought the argument that the HHR is an ode to the 1949 Suburban, not the PT Cruiser, but people have bought the utility vehicle in surprising quantities, nevertheless.


No one should be surprised, then, that Chevroletis following Chrysler's lead in offering a turbocharged version of its throwback wagon, now that a couple of years have passed since its introduction. What's next? Let us guess―a convertible?


The hopped-up 2009 Chevrolet HHR will don Chevrolet's ubiquitous SS moniker, but unlike certain cars bearing those once-hallowed letters―namely, the nonsupercharged Cobalt SS and the outgoing Malibu SS―the HHR SS will mean it, powered as it will be by the 260-hp, 260-lb-ft, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder found in the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Red Line mated to a six-speed manual transmission.


Nice, but like the upcoming 300-hp Dodge Caliber SRT4, the HHR SS will be front-wheel drive only, meaning that unless David Copperfield has become the lead suspension engineer, the gutsy engine's turbocharged torque dump will probably be the undoing of whatever mods have made to sharpen the HHR's steering and handling.


Unlike the anonymously styled turbocharged, 230-hp PT Cruiser GT, the 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS will be easily recognizable as the more powerful brethren. Our spy shots reveal a modified front clip with a mesh grille insert matched by a lower air intake that's just as huge. The roof has been shaved of its rails, and the wheel wells are filled with 225/45-series Michelins wrapped around sexy polished 18-inch wheels designed in the same vein as those on the Audi S6. The rear end is finished off with a rear spoiler and a fat, shiny single exhaust tip.


For its part, Chevrolet is remaining tight-lipped about its newest power wagon. But we expect we'll have to wait to see the final version at the Los Angeles auto show in November unless another less-dressed HHR SS is caught testing in the meantime.


The crossover will probably commence production in December in advance of an early '09 launch, at which point it will claim from the discontinued Cobalt SS Supercharged the title of sportiest compact in the Chevrolet lineup.