When it comes to the Chevrolet Camaro, there are plenty of tuning shops out there that are ready to wrench away at the 21st century muscle car in order to apply their own customization program. However there is one group of grease monkeys that stand head and shoulder above the competition, those two are Chris Fessler and Jon Moss. They duo are currently offering three distinct tuning packages for the bowtie wearing pony car.
The first package is called the Fessler-Moss 2010 Camaro Enhancement Package and is priced at $55,000 (including the vehicle) or $15,000 if you were lucky enough to have snatched one up from a dealership. It includes an adjustable suspension, high performance air filter, a set of 22 inch wheels, choice of carbon fiber bezels and black light tail lamps. If it is power that you’re after, Fessler and Moss offer options like swapping in an LS7 or LS9 power plant. If that is not enough, the American tuners will install a supercharger, high flow exhaust system and dyno tune the entire package. In order to compensate for the added straight line performance, they are also offering a brake upgrade and a new set of sway bars to keep the Camaro on the road.
Despite hearing from some GM insiders that that Chevrolet has their finger on the trigger ready to release a high performance version of the Camaro pony car whenever the economic climate seems just right. Back in June, Top Speed reported that the Z-28 was still being considered as the halo version of the mighty Camaro, aimed at competing directly with other modern American muscle cars like the Dodge Challenger SRT-8 and the Shelby GT500 based on the Ford Mustang.
Despite the return of the ground pounders, General Motor’s new vice-chairman, Bob Lutz, has come out of retirement to announce that the Z-28 Camaro will not go into production. The high output pony car was supposed to be powered by the same supercharged small block chevy motor that is found under the hood of the high performance Cadillac CTS-V. "Any fears that the days of high-performance General Motors cars may be numbered or totally over can be allayed," said Lutz. Instead he focused on the future of fun to drive sports cars.
Mr. Lutz proclaimed that "There is no pressure at all to get off the high-performance thing," and pointed towards Chevrolet’s current offerings for the Camaro, like the 29 MPG, 304 HP six cylinder model. “I think the V6 Camaro is probably a very good model for the future of the high-performance car in America,” Lutz said, adding that “the Solstice coupe with the 2.0-liter turbo engine is another good expression of the future of the high-performance car, which is smaller, lighter, more fuel-efficient, and probably with lower displacement, but with a turbocharger.” This is a sad day for those automotive enthusiasts who believe that there is no replacement for displacement.
Chevrolet’s 2010 Camaro is on top of the pony car sales charts outpacing Ford’s reworked Mustang and the last of the modern day muscle cars, the Dodge Challenger is trailing far behind. It appears that all the hype General Motors has been generating about the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro is paying off, just last June the General sold 9,320 bowties with 10,000 more sales to fill; while the blue oval only moved 7,632 Mustangs and the Pentastar brand has only managed to find homes for 1,369 Challengers.
Ford offers more variety with the Mustang, but it looks like the General is offering what the people want with only two models. The RS being a 300 HP V6 that gets 29 MPG on the highway and the SS featuring the familiar small block V8 that Chevrolet fans have come to adore since the 1950. This is the same 6.2 Liter LS3 power plant that can be found under the forward opening hood of the Corvette.
While Ford offers a variety of power packages led by the Shelby GT500 that are available as both convertibles and hard tops, there is even an optional plexiglass roof panel. Perhaps by flooding the market with too many variations of the Mustang the American automaker has overwhelmed consumers. Perhaps Chevrolet has been able to sell more units by offering a less complicated buying experience and producing a much more desirable pony car. Either way this is only the beginning of the second chapter of the classic American rivalry, it looks like the muscle car days are making a comeback.
Chevrolet recently offered Top Speed the opportunity meet the man responsible for the sculpted shoulders you see in the side mirrors when sitting behind the wheel of the 2010 Camaro. One would think that the lead exterior designer for the rebirth of and American icon would be wearing blue jeans, cowboy boots and a straw hat. However, that was not the case with our new friend Luciano Nakamura, and to be honest it was a very similar case with the for the rest of the Camaro’s design team, made up of quite a multicultural group of talented engineers. Luciano tuned out to be a very cool fellow, but at first there was a sudden sense that we should feel intimidated by this all powerful General Motors representative. When we first met, the Camaro’s lead exterior designer stretched out his arm to greet us through his creation’s narrow window opening, all you could make out was a mysterious figure accessorized by the rings on his outstretched fingers and the silhouette of a cap and the glare of sunglasses. The person we got to know turned out to be a humble artist full of smiles who was much more eager to speak to us than the camera.
Participating in the creation of something like the new Camaro is every automotive enthusiasts dream, but for Luciano it was more like destiny. Named after the taxi driver that brought his Japanese missionary parents to the hospital so that they could bring little Luciano into the world, it was his fate from birth to bring the 21st century pony car to life. Mr. Nakamura then attended a technical high school with a focus on engineering in his native and at the age of 17 he received an internship with his native General Motors of Brazil where he was given the opportunity to learn about what it takes to make a car from the best place possible. While in Brazil, Luciano submitted some designs for a compact concept car that eventually came to life. Eventually he was brought to the U.S. where he was put to work with a team as diverse as Nakamura-san was, consisting of Russians, Canadians, Australians and many more nationalities to create the modern American muscle car.
In our time with Lucaino he was very eager to point out the Camaro’s sinister front end accented by a set of HID headlamps that come standard on the SS but V6 equipped cars can still get them with the RS pack. The lead exterior designer was also a big fan of the stylish 20 inch five spoke wheels that fill the negative space underneath the fenders very effectively. He was also keen on the sculpted creases that give the modern Camaro its classic coke bottle shape and powerful presence when viewed from behind. Speaking of the back end, the new pony car carries over the classic double round taillights from the Corvette and features a tasteful rear wing, standard on the SS and also available with the RS. The GM representative made sure to let us know that this is not the reinvention of the 1967 Camaro, but a 21st century performance machine that was inspired by classic Chevy.
After having endured so much in the past months, it was about time that General Motors caught a break.
And it seems fitting that the Camaro - one of GM’s most popular brands under Chevrolet – would be the one to break them out of their doldrums.
Despite the state of the economy these days, car buyers are still ordering the Camaro in droves so much so that GM is apparently having trouble meeting the skyrocketing demand for the American car icon. It’s a welcome breath of fresh air for General Motors after having to endure a year that has seen them teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
The demand for the 2010 Camaro has also given its dealers reason to smile considering that orders are continuously being punched like lotto tickets despite selling the cars for $500 to $2,500 above its SRP (standard retail price)
It was quite a let down when General Motors announced that they were going to cancel2010 Camaro. The act was understandable at the time, the General was facing bankruptcy and cost cutting was priority one, that left no extra cash to develop a fire breathing super Camaro. Although a high cost limited production car would not make much sense from a sales standpoint, it would definitely serve as a halo car for the brand, getting customers into the showrooms and inspiring them to think about a V6 Camaro or even a Cobalt.
It looks like the once ill-fated Camaro Z28 is back in some way shape or form. This rendering shows a Camaro with a redesigned front bumper with a unique grill treatment and a larger rear wing than the standard issue vehicle. Z28 emblems come stock. Perhaps the Z28 could differentiate itself from lesser Camaros with something as simple as new front and rear fascia and a new set of lightweight rollers. And of course, badges.
Chevrolet is left out in the cold when it comes to real modern muscle car competition. The Camaro SS is a strong fighter, but just quite can’t compete with full-blown factory hot rods like the Shelby GT-500 and Challenger SRT-8. The Z28 would solve all that, initial rumors suggested that the bowtie brand’s big dog will get a high output version of the small black V8 with a roots super charger pumping out somewhere around 550 HP. No matter which version of the LS motor that General Motors decides to put in the Z28 Camaro, we just hope that they will hurry up and push the button and send this car into production.
Over the past few days we here at Top Speed has had the pleasure of getting to know Luciano Nakamura, Lead Exterior Designer for the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. This up and coming designer started his career with the General at age 17 where he began an internship working for GM of Brazil. With a job that every boy dreams of, Luciano is very happy with his position at General Motors but most of all is proud to have penned the Camaro. In a brief design exercise, he let us watch him do some work.
If you thought the 700 HP Mustang from Reed Speed was impressive, wait until you see what Hennessey has cooking under the hood of their HPE700 Camaro. The American tuners will keep production limited, only 24 will be sold for $109,000 each. The HPE tuned LS9 V8 makes an astonishing 705 HP and a maximum output of 717 lb-ft of torque. This modified LS9 comes straight from GM’s super car, the Corvette ZR-1. This supercharged push rod V8 makes this pony car gallop from 0 to 60 MPH in just 3.7 seconds and hit a top speed of 201 MPH.
The history of American sports car racing has seen its fair share of world-class vehicles and those also-rans that failed to live up to any sort of expectations. The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Trans-Am Race car is one of those that has not only lived up to the hype, but has far exceeded it.
Judging from the documents surrounding this particular ’69 Z28 Camaro, which includes HMSA and SCCA log books, the car’s racing resume shows that this was one of the fastest, most developed first generation racing Camaros to race in America. The lofty tag placed on the car is indicative of the sheer dominance it exhibited in the American racing scene back then.
Hennessey is now offering the 562 hp 2010 HPE550 Camaro. Powered by a 6,2 liter V8 engine, the HPE550 Camaro 562 bhp and 557 lb-ft torque and sprints from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds and the quarter mile flies by at an impressive 12.1 seconds @ 119 mph.
The HPE550 Camaro also features a set of light weight 20-inch wheels, an adjustable coilover suspension system, HPE550 embroidered seat headrests, a Hennessey graphics package and premium floor mats. It will be limited to up to 500 units.
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