With performance sedans, like the Ford Taurus SHO and the Dodge Charger R/T, having some success in the U.S., General Motors had little choice than to call upon its Australian division -- Holden -- for a car that could tap into this market and succeed. That's exactly how the Chevrolet SS became a reality

Both the Taurus SHO and the Charger R/T have plenty of options, and the Charger even has a slew of new performance options, like the upcoming Scat Packages. All this while, GM has started shipping Chevrolet SS units into the U.S. from Down Under, resulting in only a few basic options and no real driveline options to speak of.

In Australia, the Holden Commodore->ke1480 -- the model that the SS is based on -- has 455- and 580-horsepower variants available from Holden Special Vehicles (HSV)->ke4668. This raised some red flags with performance nuts.

Automotive Magazine brought this to the attention of Chevrolet Performance Cars Marketing Manager, John Fitzpatrick, and he provided some positive feedback. When asked about future plans for the Chevrolet SS, he revealed that a more powerful version of the Chevrolet SS could possibly makes its way to the U.S., including a manual transmission.

Fitzpatrick said that GM is planning on selling 2,000 to 3,000 SS models per year, and if these numbers are met, GM will start further exploring importing the aforementioned HSV variants. He made it clear that the limited options and lack of higher-performance models is purely to keep the model profitable, while GM gauges customer demand in the SS.

Needless to say, this is pretty promising to hear, and may relieve the concerns among Chevy fans.

Click past the jump for more on the Chevrolet SS

2014 Chevrolet SS Performance

As we know, the Chevrolet SS is based on the Holden Commodore, which is sold exclusively in Australia. In the Land Down Under, Holden offers a range of engines on the Commodore starting with a 3.6-liter with 185 kW (248 horsepower) to a hot HSV Gen-F model that cranks out 385 kW (516 horsepower).

The 6.2 liter, V-8 in the American Chevrolet SS is good for 415 horsepower and an equal number of torque, which leaves aficionados wanting for more. Also, the only transmission being an auto box does not help them cheer in any way.

The 'SS' badge needs to be backed up with pure, unadulterated power and that's what Chevrolet is planning to do soon. Folks could soon get increased performance from their four-door muscle car and this time with a proper manual shift.