It's easy to get lost in the shuffle of the bizarro alternate universe that is SEMA, so Chevrolet is counting on numbers to keep the bow-tie brand in in the limelight. When the show starts, Chevy will have no fewer than 39 tricked and tweaked cars and trucks on the floor. While the deets on the majority of the SEMA specials are under wraps until showtime, we got a sneak peek at the Sonic lineup that will be leading the assault.
Ricky Carmichael All-Activity Sonic
For those of you out of the loop, Ricky Carmichael is pretty much the biggest thing to hit a motocross track since Roger De Coster. Known as "The Goat," which is an acronym for "the greatest of all time," Carmichael spent three years in NASCAR's Nationwide and Camping World Truck series piloting Chevrolets, so it was only a matter of time until his name appeared on some sort of production-based model not destined for a racetrack.
The Ricky Carmichael All-Activity Sonic is powered by the same 1.4-liter turbo four found in other Sonics, but it gets a number of mods from Chevrolet Performance, as does the rest of the car. A stage kit adds a high-flow exhaust and cold-air induction, a performance suspension kit that lowers ride height, a brake package with Wilwood front calipers, and an 18-inch tire-and-wheel package are bolted on. The interior gets an extension of the Monster Energy—Ricky's personal sponsor—theme that's so prevalent on the exterior, upholstered in boardshort materials from Fox Racing (another one of RC's personal sponsors), as well as leather trim and a flat-bottom steering wheel.
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Chevrolet Performance Sonic RS Concept
Chevrolet says the Sonic RS reimagines the legacy of its high-performance vehicles for a new generation. We say that new generation better like yellow. In addition to the Lemon Peel Yellow and contrasting blue featured on exterior graphics and the 18-inch wheels, the Performance Sonic RS gets most of the same performance kit as does the Ricky Carmichael car. Chevy points out that the Performance Sonic RS's upgrades were designed to be installed by your local Chevy dealer, but as most of this garb is bolted on the All-Activity Sonic, we'd like to point out that this feature isn't terribly unique either.
from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com
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