GM is set to introduce more EVs to its fleet, announcing this morning that it will be stuffing a Blazer full of electrons and putting it on sale next year. Touted as the “first Chevy EV to feature a performance SS model”, GM says the all-electric Blazer SS will make its debut later this year and will be available in spring 2023.
With this news, we’ll sit back and wait for the B&B to discuss GM’s continued propensity to apply the SS badge in weird and wonderful ways.
There’s every chance a fully-charged all-electric Blazer SS will out-accelerate anything from the muscle car era, given an EV’s ability to deploy all of its electrons the instant its driver mashes the go pedal. Still, some purists will surely be outraged at the inclusion of an SS badge on an EV despite the fact this thing will probably scoot from 0 – 60 mph in less than four seconds. And don’t forget – this isn’t the first SUV to earn an SS trim. That honor was bestowed on the 1st-gen Trailblazer 15 years ago when GM decided to stuff a 400-horsepower V8 between its front fenders. So equipped, owners could boast with some degree of accuracy that their SUV had a Corvette engine.
As for this latest SS, details are slim. A promotional video shows a typical charging port on this Blazer’s left flank, ready to hoover up electricity from Level 3 fast chargers. That port’s door is powered in the video, if that makes a difference to anyone reading this post. Its front fenders seem to be of a similar design to the existing gasoline-powered Blazer, a vehicle that received some mild styling and tech updates for the 2023 model year. Also shown in the teaser is an alloy wheel with the SS badge hammered into one of its spokes.
This isn’t the first time we’ve been tipped to the existence of a Blazer EV. Back in January, CEO Mary Barra made reference to such a rig during her (virtual) keynote at CES in Las Vegas, though this SS variant went unmentioned. Also on tap is an Equinox EV, said to be priced around $30,000. While all-electric trucks like the GMC Hummer EV and Silverado EV (the latter of which will eventually include a dune-busting Trail Boss trim) are ample amounts of fun, it will fall to high-volume SUVs – like the Equinox and, to a lesser extent, the Blazer – to keep the lights on at GM as its transition to a fully electric future.
Power numbers and battery details are all under wraps for now but it’s a safe bet Chevy will be using their Ultium platform to underpin this Blazer SS.
[Images: GM]
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