2015 chevrolet ss vs. 2003 bmw m5

8/9/2019 2015 CHEVROLET SS vs. 2003 BMW M5

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T H E C O M P A R I S O N

2 1 5 C H E V R O L E T

SS

2 3

B M W M 5

C TEGORY FIVE

WITH

V-8

REAR-WHEEL DRIVE AND STICK SHIFT THE CHEVY SS

IS THROWBACK

TO THE

THIRD-GEN BMW

MS.

BUT IS

IT

AS GOOD?

B Y M A X P R I N C E P H O T O G R A P Y B Y D E A N S M I T H


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5/10

WHY HAVE WE BROUGHT THESE CARS TOGETHER,

and what

makes them so special? Understand thatthe E39 MS, produced

between

1998

and

2003,

comes from a high-water period

for

BMvV r

oad

cars. During

that

era, the Bavarians were turn

ing out a specific flavor of automobile: outwardly,

status

sym

bols with

mass

-

market

appeal; at heart, driver-focused

and

dynami

cally impeccable.

The E39

is

that id

eology

incarnate,

Yet for all

that

voodoo between its fenders, the E39

MS

is

a fundamentally simple creature. Its brilliance boils down to

an

engine (eight cylinders,

non

-turbo), bolted

to

a transmission

(

manual

),

running

back

to th

e r

ear

wheels, delivered

in

sensible

packaging (four-door sedan). It's a shame the next

Ms,

a self

shifting V-10 monstrosity, burned

the blueprint

so spectacu

larly

when it

arrived

in the

U.S.

in

200S.

sleeker, meaner, and more capable than

any

sport

sedan prior. So when the folks at

BMW

M

tuned

one,

they didn t

just

throw

down

the fast-four-door gau ntlet. They

spiked it through the earth's core and out

the other side.

WHEN PONTIAC

Robert A. Lutz, however, knows an arche

type when he sees one. Before he became

an

ReJT

columnist,

he

was

charged with right

ing

the

ship at Pontiac. The GM exec, a.k.a.

Maximum Bob, ordered

up

t

he

screwball

Pontiac GS GXP, which paired a

Co

rvette

engine

and

gearbox

with

suspension geom

etry

and

dimensions eerily reminiscent

of

a

S-series. These similarities were not coinci

dental.

The

G was a rebadged Australian-

Of

course,

there

was plenty

of

hoopla over

the

engine. The MS's calling

card had

long

been a megapotent, 24-valve

stra

ight-six,

derived from BMW's homologation-special

Ml, that scared the

living sauerkraut out

of

911 drivers on the autobahn. For the E39,

BIT

THE

BULLET,

WE WERE

STARVED

OF A SPORT SEDAN

MADE IN

THE

E39

MS S IMAGE. THEN

THE

CHEVROLET

SS

SHOWED UP.

market Holden Commodore, developed

entirely in Melbourne, where GM directed

said six was replaced

by

a mighty quad-cam V-8,

at the time

the most

advanced roadgoing example

of

its

ki

nd.

The

4.9-liter

used independent variable valve timing for each of the four

camshafts (a feature also found in

the

McLaren Fl's V-12 and

its top rear-drive engineers to evaluate the

car

against BMW

sedans

. Also along for

the

ride were a

handful of

eggheads

who

had helped develop the E39, as well as Holden's chassis tuner,

Peter Hanenberger, a man known for

be

n

chma

rking

the

Com

modore against-you guessed i

t

n

eq

uivale

nt

S-series . Alas,

n electromagnetic, lateral-g-force-activated,

se

midry-

sump

oiling system

involving

no

fewer

than

tlu·ee

pumps.

Subsequent output, a tidy

394

hp, matched

that

of the Ferrari 36

Modena.

The

enthusiast

media

soiled its collective Unterhose

46 ROADANDTRACK.COM MARCH/APRIL 2

5

ABOVE: BM W

s

nterio

r

is

Ferrar

i -gra

de.

RIGHT:

The SS

lacks cockpit

panache

but delivers

he

goods

wh

e

re

it counts.

the

GXP hit dealerships just months before Pon

tiac bit

the

bullet

in 2009. And

we were once again

starvedof

a

sport

sedan made in the

E39 MS's image.

Until the Chevrolet SSshowed up .


6/10


7/10

Like the

G

before it, the SSborrows its

Zeta

chassis architec

ture from the Commodore, sized between the

current

Camaro

and

Chevy's Caprice police cruiser. Stashed

under the

hood is

a 6.2-liter LS3 V-8, producing

415

hp

and 415

lb-ft of torque

.

Curb weight is 3935 pounds,

and

a clutch-type limited-slip dif

ferential is

standard.

For 2015, the SS swaps nonadjustable shocks for Magnetic

Ride Control (see: magnetorheological suspension, like that

in the

Corvette Stingray Z51). GM's close-ratio Tremec six

speed manual

transmission, complete

with

a 3.70:1 axle ratio,

becomes a no-cost option. (As in, you payno monies and receive

a manual gearbox.

The

best things in life, right?) Ofcourse, you

can still spec last year's six-speed paddle-shi ft automatic and

taller 3.27:1 final drive, butyou'd be missing the point entirely.

Because

the

Chevy SS

is now the

only

three

-pedal, rear-drive

sedan with room for five

and

enough naturally aspirated V-8

grunt to give every passenger a

hernia

. Which raises the ques

tion: Could

this

be a

rightful heir to the

E39's

throne?

•

THE MOMENT HE HITS

THE

IGNITION BUTTON Cammisa's

impulse is to do a burnout. Mine, too. A massive burnout some

thing

a SWAT

team

could use

to

disperse unruly protestors.

We're all beasts of

condition, big, slobbering Pavlovian dogs,

and

when

the

SS shimmies

and

snarls at start-up, it's ringing

the Gen

IV small-block bell.

Everybody likes a bit of rashy, Cammisa admits.

Even so, he's having t rouble

wa

rming up to the SS. It's like a

raked 4x4 limousine next to the M5, and neither of

us

loves

the

Chevy's chrome body trinkets. But

the

broad, generic nose jibes

with the sleeper-car motif,

and

the tail is all wide haunches

and

meaty275-section rubber and cool duckbill trunkspoiler. Viewed

dead-on

at

the rear from 10 paces, it looks the absolute business.

Still, that means zilch once you're peering down the hood

bulge

and pounding

on California blacktop.

The

seating posi

tion is higher

than

in the BMvV more upright, and the SS tram

ples the road instead of massaging it . Those new magnetorheo

logical dampers? They

might as

well be filled

with granite


8/10

One plunge in to the th rottle, though, and the ca

romin

g sus

pension is forgiven: This 6.2-liter lump delivers on every sin

ful crate-engine-catalog fantasy you've ever had . The noise is

somewhere between ays of hunder and the end of days. Max

engine speed is a thrashy 66 rpm, but there's no use swing

ing the

ach

needle north of59 Torqueis everywhere, always.

The

entire experience is a singular, blunt,

pushrod

onslaught

broken onlyby hang

in

g moments ofclutch engagement.

And,

God, are

those

moments sweet. The heavy

pedal

and

solid, resonating driveline

thunk

of

his

six-speed fit

the

Chevy's

personality perfectly.It makes you want to play

around

with the

car, actually get down and drive instead of ust vigorously aim

ing the

th in

g

f

you're

int

ent on hooning,

the

SS will hammer

around a

nd

make raucous sounds and powerslide out of ha ir

pins. It'll do

that

every day,

half

-trying, for the rest of eternity,

until cockroaches die off and Tw

in

kies expire. You can do all

the

Cam

ara stuff, and Camarastuff s neat. Butwhen you're

read

y to

ante

up

to

do M5 work, the SS reallyhits its stride.

Bend

afte

r

bend,

nearing h ighway speed, we're approching

the limit.

The

Chevy's much bigger

than

the BMW and

just

as

controlled- when it comes to braking and steering accu

racy, it's better.

But you've got to

be

deliberate

and trust

the

car We pour into a succession of

third-gear

esses that'd

se

nd

some well-honed coupes tank-slapping toward a ditch. Instead,

the

SS politely steps out, asks for a bit

of stee

r

ing and

throttle,

then

gets in

line

and back to wasting

asphalt

. It's as capable

and composed

as

hairy-chested four-doors get, two tons of

blue-collar killer. Even Cammisa, who

has

serious reservations

about the ride quality, has to offer props: Brutallyfast and

fan

tastically Am

erica

n. Or Australian. Whatever. But, man, is this

thing brilliant on a back road.

THE

CHEVY CAN'T

TAKE THE MS'S

CROWN, but not

for a lack of

thrills. Adjusting for inflation,

the

SS's sticker price is nearly

half that of the M5's: In terms of overall build quality, a sub

50,000 sedan today simply can't

stand up to

the flagship


9/10

shrine

of

a great brand s greatest era. For everything the M5

offers

in

finesse, though, the SS answers in sheer cojones. Both

are

absolute dynamite.

The

commonality

he

re is a rounded competence,

proof

that

cars can still feel elemental even through two tons of leather

and

electronics.

Par

t of hat is

the

healthy, all-motor V-8. Part is

the rear

-drive layout

and

Q-car wrapper.

The crux

is a

manual

gearbox. Whether it s more impressive that BMW perfected

this

formula or that Chevrolet continues to deliver it in a

time

when

nobody else will,

I m not

sure.

To that point, the SS is only here because GM executive vice

honcho at Buick, pulled a similar stunt deliver ing the Grand

National

GNX on the

coattails of GM s turbo V-6 Indy engine

program.) Production

numb

ers will be low,

about 2500

annu

ally,

and whe

n Holden

disappea

rs

in

a few year

s, the

SS will

likely

die with

it. BMW sold

mo

re

th a

n

20,000

examp

les

of

the

E39

M5

worldwide.

From

volume play

to

niche dweller, 12

yea

rs represents an incredible

paradigm

shift. Also an

alarm

ing one.

People may not

buy

cars like this anymore, but they still seep

into yo

ur

soul. Drive one,

and

you ll know a

fast

se

da

n from a

sedan that is fast. It s the difference between a manifestpurpose

president

Mark

Re

us

s, a dyed-in-the-wool

car

guy, leveraged NASCAR

marketing

tie-

in

s

to make it so. (His dad, Lloyd, a former head

Great

c

ha

ssis

balance meets

415

b ft

of o rque and opposite ock.

and a latent function. And when the mountain

road is foggy,

out

for blood, it s

the

difference

between a snake charmer and a mouse. •esults on disp lay.

50

ROADANDTRACK.COM

MARCH/APRIL

15


10/10

~

~ T

OFFICI L PERFORM NCE TEST

REPORT

3CALE· ID IN. DIVISIONS

ILLlr.:.•RATIONBY IM BARKER

qo,,

TR Cl HEARSTMAGAZINES

2 0 0 3 BMW

MS

2 0

15

CHEVROLET

SS

PRICE

BA SE

AS

TE S

TED

ENGINE

CONFIGURATION

LA

YOUT

MATERIAL

DISPLACEMENT

BORExSTROKE

COMPRESS ION RATIO

REDLINE

FUEL DELIVERY

TRANSMISSION

DRIVEN WHEELS

TY PE

FINAL·

DR

I

VE RATIO

S P E C I F I C A T I O N S

BMW

MS

69 ,900

(2002)

$ 7 2 ,6 4 5 (2002)

DOHC

3 2 -

valve

V-8

front,

longitud inal

a luminum b lock

and

heads

4 9 41 cc

9 4 .0 x 8 9.0 mm

1 1.0:1

7 0 0 0 r p m

por t inj

ect

ion

rear

6 -s pe ea

manua

l

3.15:1, im ited-s lip d ifferent ial

CHEVROLET SS

$ 4 6 ,740

4 6 ,7 4 0

pushrod

1 6 -va lve

V-

8

f ront , longitud i

nal

a luminum

block and heads

6 1 6 2 cc

1 0 3 .3 x 92 .0 mm

1 0 .7:1

6 0 0 0

rp m

po rt inject ion

rear

6 -s peed

manua

l

3.70:1, im i

te

d

-s

l ip different ial

BMW

MS

0 -7000RP M

CHEVROLET SS

0 7 0 0 0 RPt-<

3 9 4

PEAK HP (SAE)

@6600RPM

36 8

LB T

PE

AK

TO R

QU

E

@3800RPM

415

PEAKHP(SAE)

@5900RPM

415 L

·

FT

PEAK TORQU E

@ 4

6 00

RP

M

TES T

RE S U L T S

BMW

CHEVROLET

GEAR RATIO CALC MAX (RPM) GEAR RATIO CALC MAX (RPM)

0-60MPH,

SECONDS 4 8

13 3

4 7

13 1

STEERING

ASSIST

RATIO

TURNS

,

LOCK-

T

O-LOCK

TURNING CIRCLE

SUSPENSION

FRONT, REAR

BRAKES

&

TIRES

F

RONT

REAR

TIRES

SIZE

BODY

& CHASSIS

STRUCTURE

LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIG

HT

WHEELB

ASE

TRACK, FRONT/REAR

DOORS

/S

EATS

EPACL

ASS

CAR GO CAPACITY

DRAG COEFFIC IENT

x F

RONTA

L

AREA

WEIGHT

CURB

WEIGHT

DIST RIBUTION F/R

WEIGHT-TO· POWER RATIO

F UEL

EPA

CITY/HWY

FUEL CA PACITY

FUEL

RANGE

RECOMMEND

ED FUEL

1

2

3

4

5

6

4 .23

:1

4 0 mph

(7000)

2.53:1 6 7 mph

(7000)

1 .67 :1 1 0 1 mph (7 0 0 0 )

1 .2

3 :

1 1 37 mph (7 0 0 0 )

1 .00

:1 1 5 5 m ph (6425)

0 .8 3 :1 1 5 5 mph

(5325)

hydraulic

14.7

:1

3 .0

38 .1

ft

strut

-

type,

mult i i

nk

1 3 .6

-i

n

ve n

t ed rotors,

1- piston sl iding ca lipers

12 .9

-i r· ro tors,

1-

piston sl

ic i

ng

ca l

ipers

Mi

chelin Pi lo t 5po r t

F 245/40R·18, R

275 / 35R·

18

steel un ibo dy

1 8 8

.3 x 7 0.9 x 56 .6 n

111 .4 n

59 .6 /60

.1 n

4 / 5

compact

1 1 .1

ft

3

0 .3 1 x 2 3.4 (e st )

ft

3 9 7 6

1b

52 / 48%

10.11b/hp

1 2 /1 9

mpg

1

8.Sgal

352mi

pr e

mi

u m

1

2

3

4

5

6

3 .0

1 :1 4 3 mp h

(6000)

2 .07 :1 6 2 mp h (6000)

1 .43:1 9 0 mp h (6000)

1 . 00 : 1

1 28 m ph (6000)

0.71:1 1 7 5 mp

h

(5825)

0 .57 :1 1 7 5 mph (4675)

e lectric

16 .4

:1

2.8

3 7.4

ft

s t

r

ut-type,

m

ulti

li

nk

14 .0-i

n vented rotors,

4 -

piston

fixed ca l ipers

1

4.2-

in ve n t ed

rotors,

4-p

is t

o n

f ixed

ca lip e rs

B r

idgestone Potenza RE050A

F 24 5/40R·19, R

275 / 35R·

19

stee

l un ibo dy

1 9 5.5 x

7 4

.7 x

57.9

in

114 .8 in

62 .6 /62 .4 in

4 / 5

l

arge

ca rs

1 6.4

ft

3

0 .3 4 (est) x 27 . l (est)

ft

39351b

5 2 / 4 8 %

9.51b/hp

1 5 / 2 1

m pg

1 8 .8ga l

395m i

prem i

um

0 1 4 M I L E

SECONDS

@M P

H @108 .0

{ . , ' t . ~ SPEED, 155

@ 109.2

175

~ g ~ g ; N G G

0 9 0 0 97

ACCE LERA

Tl

ON

1FOOT

(ROLLOUT)

- s e c

0.3sec

ROLLING START,

S- 60MPH 5 .0 5 .3

0 -10MPH 0 .4

0- 20 1.2

0 - 30 1 .9 1 .8

0- 40

2 .9 2 .6

0- 50

3 .7

3.6

0 -60 4 .8

4 .7

0 - 70 6 .2 6 .0

0 - 80 7 .6

7 .4

0 -

90

9.2 9 .0

0 - 100 11 .3

11 .2

0 - 110 13 .7 13 .3

0-120

16 .3 16 .0

0-130

19 .5 19 .1

TOP

SP

EED

155mph

1 7 5 m p h

(ELEC

LTD,

MFR) (DRAG-LTD, MFR)

BRAKING

6 0 - 0 MPH

8 0 - 0 MPH

FADE

HANDLING

1 1 6 f t

2 0 3 f t

none

ROADHOLDING

0 .9 0 g

BALANCE

TEST NOTE

moderate

unde

rsteer

1 1 4 f t

2 0 2 f t

non

0 .9 7 g

m i ld

understeer

MS test r sults omprevious test

~ _ . _ _ _

2015 chevrolet ss vs. 2003 bmw m5

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