American ‘muscle cars’ are making a comeback, it seems.
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Hot on the heels of Chrysler’s announcement it would build a new Dodge Challenger, and Ford’s move to add two hot new Shelby-fettled Mustangs to its line, GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner on Thursday confirmed on Thursday (10 August) that GM will build a new version of the Chevrolet Camaro sport coupe based on the acclaimed concept shown at the Detroit motor show last January.
The company said the concept had prompted potential customers to start petition drives and send in certified cheques in hopes of placing early deposits.
Although the Camaro concept has not yet been shown in Europe, the Chevrolet unit over here is considering importing and selling the vehicle.
“We are carefully evaluating its market potential,” said executive director Wayne Brannon. “The all-new Camaro is a vehicle relevant to younger buyers while retaining its appeal to current fans. The best Camaros have always been beautiful to look at with performance that rivals expensive European GTs. Yet they were practical enough to drive every day and priced within the reach of many new-car buyers. We are working on a business case for and hope that this outstanding vehicle will form part of our European portfolio in the future.”
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By GlobalDataThe new Camaro will go into production at the end of 2008 and reach US dealers in the first quarter of 2009.
“The new Camaro will be almost identical to the concept, a thoroughly modern interpretation of the 1969 model, considered by many to be the best design of the car’s first generation,” said Ed Welburn, GM’s global vice president of design, who owns a 1969 SS model.
The front-engine, rear-wheel drive sport coupe will feature an independent rear suspension, and will be offered in a variety of models with the choice of manual and automatic transmissions and V6 and V8 engines – making it once again a key competitor for cross-town Detroit rival Ford’s acclaimed, and successful retro-look Mustang, fully redesigned (and greatly enlarged) for the 2005 model year.
Consumer website The Car Connection cited Wagoner saying that estimates that GM can sell 100,000 Camaros a year are correct. He reportedly wouldn’t, however, say that a Pontiac muscle car will be built off the same rear-drive platform but GM insiders say that is under way because GM ‘product czar’ Bob Lutz is transforming Pontiac over time to a rear-drive division, made up entirely of rear-drive cars, with some having all-wheel-drive options.
TCC added that Wagoner the Camaro will be built in North America, though the car is being developed in Australia.
GM, some time ago, confirmed it would develop all future rear-drive cars at the Holden unit there, which has a 60-year history of developing such models. Pontiac’s short-term ‘muscle car’, the GTO, was derived from Holden’s V8-powered, rear-drive Monaro sports coupe and built in Australia. GM has nixed the idea of further Pontiac (or other US GM models) being built ‘down under’ but said some would be developed there.
Ford recently added a sporty, more powerful Shelby GT500 version to the Mustang line and this week announced it would also built a production version of the Ford Racing-prepared Shelby GT-H previously built exclusively for rental car company Hertz. The production car will be called the Shelby GT and slot between the ‘standard’ Mustang GT and GT500 versions.
As well as confirming a revived and redesigned Dodge Challenger for production a few weeks ago, Chrysler has had some success in the US with its sporty SRT line, and is launching the 6.1-litre V8-powered 300C SRT-8 sedan in right-hand drive here in Britain this month. LHD versions have already been sold to ‘VIP’ customers here, including football stars.
Chevrolet general manager Ed Peper said the new Chevy Camaro would appeal to both men and women and unite customers with fond memories of previous Camaros with those who first experienced the nameplate when the concept was unveiled in January.
The core team reporting to the lead designer ranges in age from 27-35 and come from all over the world, and they all share a love for American performance cars.
“Their concept redefines the Camaro for both existing and new generations of fans in a contemporary way with responsive performance and modern technology,” GM said.
Dumped from the Chevrolet catalogue after the 2002 model year, the Camaro sold almost 4.8m vehicles between launch in 1967 – as GM’s response to the runaway success of the original Mustang launched by Lee Iaccoca in 1964 – and 2002. More than 1,000 Camaro clubs exist world-wide, and thousands of web sites pay homage to the sports coupe.
A recent report on America Online’s top searches of 2005 placed the model in the top 10 car searches for the year, GM claimed.
Graeme Roberts
