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General Motors discontinued the Chevrolet Camaro after the 2002 model year which had been in production since 1967. After a six year hiatus, GM will begin production of the fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro for the 2009 model year.
The return of the Camaro name has been anticipated by enthusiasts since fourth generation production ended in 2002. In January of 2006, the first official word regarding a fifth generation Camaro from General Motors came at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, where the 2006 Camaro Concept was
released. AutoWeek editors unanimously awarded the Camaro Concept "Best In Show." The concept is based on the new GM Zeta platform. Road & Track offered an exclusive first look at the car which had photos as well as a short video on the day the concept was
released.
The concept car features the same formula the Camaro has also stuck with; 2-doors, 4-passenger, rear-wheel drive, coupe. The wheelbase is 110.5 in (2806 mm), which is 9 in (230 mm) longer than the previous generation, but an overall length of just 186.2 in (4730 mm), 7 in (180 mm) shorter. The Camaro Concept is powered by a 400 hp (298 kw) 6.0 L LS2 V8 with Active Fuel Management and is equipped with the T-56 six-speed manual transmission. Other features include a four-wheel independent suspension system, four-wheel disc brakes with 14 in rotors and four-piston calipers, and 21 in front / 22 in rear wheels covered in huge 275/30R21 front / 305/30R22 rear
tires.
There are three known 2006 Camaro Concept cars in circulation; a fully functional silver vehicle with complete interior, a non-functional silver fiberglass shell currently touring the auto show circuit in Australia and the far east, and a non-functional red fiberglass shell like the silver one, but is in circulation on the North American auto show circuit.
The 2007 Camaro Convertible Concept was announced 6 January 2007 at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. Early speculation by many automotive
publications proved to be true when early embargo was broken on 4 January,
2007.
“ For some of us, an emotional bond was formed when we introduced the Camaro coupe last year. It is magnificent. But now this year, if this Camaro convertible doesn't make your heart beat faster, you should see either your optometrist or your cardiologist, because you have a
problem.”
At a glance it would seem that the only difference between the coupe and convertible concepts would be the roof and Hugger Orange pearl tri-coat paint job with a pair of dark gray racing stripes, but this is not the
case. Besides the obvious convertible top, there are subtle changes to the exterior as well. Every surface was changed from the door-cut back. The rear fenderlines drop off from the horizontal surface to the verticle surface a couple of inches farther out than on the coupe to keep proportions good and the rear spoiler was reshaped. The 21 inch front and 22 inch rear wheels were also redesigned and a thin orange line was applied to the outer edge, a nod to redwalls available circa 1969.
There are many interior changes that were incorporated into the new concept. The retro houndstooth-pattern seats of the coupe were replaced with leather moderne and orange stitching. The metal finishes, accept panel finishes, and seats are all different colors. The rear seats are 6 inches closer together to make room for the tonneau cover. The clarity of the circular gauges in square frames were improved by making the faces white with black chrome numbers and a red anodized needle. The deep-dish three-spoke steering wheel and four-pack gauge cluster carryover over from the coupe concept. Chrome seatbelt buckles are designed to look like the iconic belts buckles in late 1960s GM cars. This reworked interior of the Camaro Convertible Concept is now a very close representation of what will be seen in the production version of the Camaro.
Although the fifth-generation Camaro is not yet being produced, nor has a production version even been shown publicly, the new muscle car is already appearing in different mediums. In the live-action Transformers movie due in 2007, the Bumblebee character will be portrayed as a yellow mid-70s Camaro that gets
destroyed and rebuilt into a pre-production version of the Camaro. The movie prop cars were built by Saleen using molds of the actual concept car provided by General Motors.
The movie prop cars are heavily modified Pontiac GTOs with the Camaro Concept's exterior and
interior. Saleen did not have enough time to create wheels which accurately reflected the Camaro Concept so they were forced to use standard steel wheels with wheel covers resembling the concept car's wheels. These wheel covers also include faux brake rotors, but noticeably, the brake calipers are absent.
The concept car has also appeared in Speed Channel's reality show Forza Motorsport Showdown, as well as a music video for the song Top Back by rapper T.I., and is a playable bonus car in the video game Need for Speed: Carbon.
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