2006 Chevrolet SSR Is Our Bring a Trailer Auction Pick of the Day

• The Chevrolet SSR convertible V-8 pickup truck is one of the highlights from an era obsessed with retro styling.

• In typical GM fashion at the time, the first SSR looked good but had tepid performance. This later version has a 6.0-liter LS2 V-8 pumping out 390 horsepower and a six-speed Tremec manual to stir up those horses.

• With four days to go, bidding for the online auction sits at just $16,000.

When automotive archaeologists pen the chapter on the early 2000s, they'll wonder if there was some kind of rift in the space-time continuum. All of a sudden, the roads were full of pseudo-1930s, '40s, and '50s machinery, from the Chrysler PT Cruiser to the Ford Thunderbird to the Plymouth Prowler. Few of these throwbacks were actually good, but they were at least fun. And when it came to reimagining a 1950s hot-rod pickup for the 2000s, General Motors (eventually) got it right. Today's pick from the Bring a Trailer auction site—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—is this low-mileage Chevrolet SSR, in the ideal specification.

Chevrolet first showed the SSR as a concept at the Detroit auto show in 2000. It was styled by GM's Andre Hudson and the go-ahead to build a working prototype was given by Ed Welburn, later GM's global head of design. SSR stood for Super Sport Roadster, and the vehicle brought some much-needed excitement to the show. At the time, the Camaro was just two model years from a long pause, and bow-tie enthusiasts wondered what would replace it.