Scott Settlemire (Manager of Chevrolet Shows, and the Camaro marketing team) describes the Chevrolet Camaro concept car, and its heritage.The Camaro is driven around the Milford Proving Grounds (sounds wicked).
Jay Leno Drives Chevy Camaro ConceptJay Leno makes an appearance with the Chevrolet Camaro Concept in Burbank, California.Retro design, when it's done right, leaves an unmistakable impression of a beloved icon with a simple glance, instantly conjuring memories of simpler, often happier, times. With automobiles, retro design is a fountain of youth rendered in sheetmetal and horsepower, a chance to own brand new what we coveted decades ago, but with the benefit of modern engineering and safety advancements. And so it is with the Chevrolet Camaro Concept, which debuted at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. A glance brings the late 1960s flooding back, but with details that clearly speak the design vocabulary of the 21st century. Those 1967-69 first-generation Chevrolet Camaros took the country by storm and kicked off a so-called "pony car war" that lasted until the fourth-generation Camaro bit the dust shortly after the turn of the century. Chevy sold hundreds of thousands of Camaros in each of the last three years of the Sixties, took them racing and won two Trans-Am titles, and gave the Ford Mustang a run for its money on the track and in the showroom. It is this icon that Chevrolet looked to for inspiration while designing the Chevy Camaro Concept.Performance and value are Camaro hallmarks, and while this automobile is strictly a concept for now because GM hasn't decided whether to build it, the company's global product guru, Bob Lutz, admitted that "astonishing value" was a goal in creating the Camaro Concept.Under the Chevrolet Camaro Concept's long hood, which is shaped to mimic the old cowl-induction hood of Chevys past, is a Corvette-sourced 6.0-liter V8 engine making 400 horsepower. It's hooked to a six-speed manual transmission that drives the rear wheels, and includes Active Fuel Management technology to shut down four of the motor's eight cylinders when cruising on the highway. Chevrolet says that this car could get as much as 30 miles per gallon on the open road.Unlike the Ford Mustang even the Shelby GT500 the Chevrolet Camaro Concept gets a four-wheel independent suspension, MacPherson struts in front with a multilink rear setup, equipped with progressive rate coil springs and gas shocks. Massive 21-inch front wheels and 22-inch rear rims front ventilated 14-inch discs with four-piston calipers. The cast aluminum wheels are a sharp-edged five-spoke design with a bright silver finish, and wear 275/30 tires in front and 305/30 rubber in back.The Chevy Camaro Concept has room inside for four, but like that first-generation car after which it's patterned, the small back seats are best used only for short trips. Anyone familiar with the original Camaro will find themselves right at home in this concept vehicle, thanks to deeply hooded twin gauges residing in squared-off binnacles and viewed through a three-spoke steering wheel. Instrumentation is an exercise in minimalism, and the Camaro Concept's dominant color is black. Silver and orange accents add visual interest without making the cabin gaudy.Thanks to its triangular rear quarter windows, broad creased shoulders, Coke-bottle waistline, and hooded headlamps, this Chevy concept car is instantly recognizable as a first-generation Camaro. Add to that quad taillights and sexy dual exhaust outlets, and you've got the look of the original front to back and side to side. But mixed with the classic design elements is a sharp-edged muscularity that is increasingly common in modern sporting machines, balancing the retro theme with a healthy dose of contemporary style.When the first Camaro debuted, Baby Boomers were teenagers. Today, they're retiring with more wealth than any preceding generation. Will Chevrolet build the Camaro? We'd say it's all but a done deal, especially with the Dodge Challenger Concept widely rumored to be hitting the road by the end of this decade.Let the pony car wars begin!
http://www.edmunds.com/insidel ne/do/GeneralFuture/articleId=125513It was only a matter of time before the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro hit the Nürburgring test track. GM has been using the German road course to fine-tune nearly all of its performance cars as of late, so the appearance of the Camaro alongside the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 didn't surprise our spy shooters.Unlike some of the earlier Camaro prototypes we've seen, this particular test mule has a set of Brembo brakes and a more aggressive wheel-and-tire package. The obvious conclusion? This is a Camaro Super Sport model. But not so fast, because when you consider that previous Camaro test mules have featured very tame-look brakes, this upgrade could indicate nothing more than the Chevrolet Camaro Z28.Then consider the sound of this Camaro test mule. It's all motor, yet it doesn't have the same sonic signature as GM's supercharged LSA V8 that speculation indicates will be the centerpiece of the top-of-the-line Camaro SS. With 525 horsepower, the supercharged engine would give the SS a big advantage over both the Dodge Challenger SRT8 and the Ford Shelby GT500. But this prototype sounds like it probably has a normally aspirated V8, most likely a detuned LS3 V8 with somewhere around 400 hp.Judging from the looks of this Camaro at speed, the suspension is already well dialed in. Roll, dive and squat are all pretty minimal for a car that's expected to have a curb weight in the range of 3,600-3,800 pounds. With the start of production for the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro still a year away, the engineers at Chevrolet still have plenty of time to fine-tune this car, so these Nürburgring tests are just the beginning.
Go to MYRIDE.COM for more car videos.Jay Leno makes an appearance with the Chevrolet Camaro Concept in Burbank, California. Retro design, when it's done right, leaves an unmistakable impression of a beloved icon with a simple glance, instantly conjuring memories of simpler, often happier, times. With automobiles, retro design is a fountain of youth rendered in sheetmetal and horsepower, a chance to own brand new what we coveted decades ago, but with the benefit of modern engineering and safety advancements. And so it is with the Chevrolet Camaro Concept, which debuted at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. A glance brings the late 1960s flooding back, but with details that clearly speak the design vocabulary of the 21st century.
Episode 119: Chevrolet Camaro: A quick hit from the 70's, a burnout to last the ages, the quickest car in the middle east and an LT1 kills an LS7.Visit www.VODCARS.com for the Camaro Music Video
Standing next to the Chevy Camaro convertible concept I ask, loud enough so everyone can hear, if I might rev the car's engine to 4,000 rpm, then drop the clutch hard to see what it can do.I'm joking, of course. A little levity to break the tension. But the 6-foot-6, 265-pound GM employee charged with guarding this expensive baby isn't in the mood."Only if you want to be picking up teeth," he glowers, baring his pearly whites. I have no desire to follow up and ask him if he means rear-axle gear teeth or my teeth. So we meekly climb behind the wheel of the bright Hugger Orange Camaro convertible concept and drive off carefully at the event-prescribed speed limit of 25 mph....
