The Chevelle was one of the most impressive models offered by Chevrolet in the 1964 through 1977 model years, and although there have been rumors circulating about a possible revival, nothing ever really happened to encourage that rumor to be more. That is, until now. According to Jalopnik, Chevrolet will be offering a "surprise concept" next week at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show that will preview the return of the historic Chevelle.
According to their source, Jalopnik says that this concept will be a "retro-styled compact-ish car" translated into a concept that is "smaller than a mid-size sedan but bigger than a toaster." Great, we’re glad they cleared that up. It also seems as though Chevrolet has trademarked the "Chicane" name so it is very possible that the concept will come bearing that name when it lands in the Motor City.
Let’s just hope this rumor does hold water because after two years of Chevelle revival nonsense, we’re about due for some concrete information, and maybe we’ll get just that next week in Detroit. Stay tuned!
The Hagerty Fantasy Bid has catapulted since its inception in 2005, with bids coming in at 10 times the amount of the original game, and its latest offering illustrates this popularity. At the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Scottsdale Auction, Speed TV will be on hand to give away a special edition Ford Racing Champions Shelby GT500. All you have to do is make a bid during the Hagerty Fantasy Bid Game and you will be automatically entered into the drawing. The winner will be chosen by random drawing from the Fantasy Bid players.
But let’s get back to the actual car that’s up for grabs. The Ford Racing Champions Shelby GT500 Special Edition Mustang was given a few exterior aerodynamic and stylish upgrades, but it still features the standard 5.4-liter V8 engine. The engine, however, has been souped up with a Ford Racing Supercharger kit to take the standard 550 HP all the way up to 750 HP. This engine is then combined with a six-speed manual transmission that succeeds in sending the power to the rear wheels and a new, intense-environment C&R Racing cooling system and a 3.5-inch aluminum drive shaft.
The handling of power is achieved through a high-performance handling pack with Dynamic Suspension’s front-and-rear adjustable shocks, lowering springs, and stabilizer bars in the front and rear. Additionbally, stopping power will be acquired through the use of an upgraded Wilwood brakes package featuring 14-inch drilled, slotted rotors and six-piston forged billet calipers on the front, and 12-inch rotors and four-piston forged billet calipers at the rear.
Details on how to enter your bid during the Hagerty Fantasy Bid Game can be found after the jump.
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It seems that this year’s Barrett-Jackson Scottdale auction will see lots of one-of models offered for auction. Earlier we were reporting about a special Ford Racing Champions Shelby GT500, and now is time for the Mustang’s competitor to enter the front line. Steve Saleen and Bob Bondurant will be offering a one-of 620 Camaro for auction with all the proceeds going to Make-a-Wish Foundation of Arizona and Cox Charities.
This special Camaro is powered by a 6.2 liter V8 engine equipped with a SMS supercharged that will increase the total output to an impressive 620 HP and 525ft/lb of torque (hence the name). The engine will be mated to a six-speed manual transmission and a Borla exhaust system.
Painted in a very cool yellow, this special Camaro 620 will also get a "Red Butterfly" hood, Eibach S suspension and a special set of 20" custom wheels. And of course that the buyer will also get the autographs of both Saleen and Bondurant on the dash.
The car will be auctioned at approximately 8pm Thursday January 19, 2012.
The Chevrolet Camaro is a relative newbie in the world of GT3 racing, but ever since the fifth-generation model was revealed a few years ago, a lot of racing teams have gone to battle with the American muscle car.
With the new year still on the horizon, a lot of teams have begun their preparations leading up to the 2012 season. One in particular, German-based YACO Racing, is hard-at-work preparing their version of the Camaro GT3 race cars that were built by Sareni United.
With the Sareni-built Camaro GT3, YACO Racing is preparing their race cars to compete in a number of GT3 race series in the coming year, including that of the German ADAC GT Master series and GT3 European Championship. Since the car is being prepped for racing, the overall set-up has been completely modified for the occasion. One look at the Camaro and you’ll notice a number of changes being made, including the use of a new front bumper design, an enormous rear spoiler, and a refurbished interior, complete with all the necessary elements - race seats, roll cage, etc. - for a GT3 race car.
Another thing about this particular Camaro GT3 race car is the involvement of SaReni United, which is owned by Reiter Engineering and who introduced their own version of a Camaro GT3 racer about a year ago that YACO Racing will be using for the 2012 season.
Performance details on the Sareni Camaro GT3 center around a 7.9-liter Katech V8 engine rated at up to 650 horsepower and 627 lb/ft of torque with lap times similar to the Gallardo LP600+ GT3, which incidentally, is another one of Reiter Engineering’s creations. This engine is mated to a newly designed HOLINGER gear box with paddle shifters located on the steering wheel.
UPDATE 03/19/12: Sareni United’s Chevrolet Camaro GT3 is getting ready for its racing debut and we have a new batch of photos of the American muscle-turned-race car in the gallery. Check it out, peeps!
Last year at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction Ford has managed to sell a Grabber Blue Boss 302 Laguna Seca for an impressive $450,000. At this year’s event the company will once again come with a special 2013 Shelby GT500 and they hope to raise the same amount of money. All the proceeds will go to the JDRF.
Its true Ford did not revealed any details just yet on this "special" Shelby GT500, but as no unit has been sold just yet we expect this to be the first production 2013 Shelby GT500. We will have the official confirmation in the upcoming weeks.
However, under the hood you will see the same 5.8 liters V8 engine that delivers an impressive 600 HP.
The auction will be held at approximately 8:30 PM January 21, 2012, so if you are interested you have to mark this date. But until then we expect the GT500 Convertible at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show.
Fans of the Ford Mustang itching to get their hands on the latest special edition version of the muscle car will be delighted to know that Galpin Auto Sports, together with SPX Corporation, is building one exclusively for the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona in January.
The proceeds of the sale will benefit the St. Jude Children’s Hospital so at the very least, your bids will go to a very worthy cause. But what should really get you going about this special edition Mustang is the number of improvements Galpin did to turn it into an even more powerful piece of muscle.
Inspired by the legendary Mustang Boss 429, this particular Mustang will carry a 5.0-liter V8 engine that has been taken to a whole new level thanks to upgrades that include a Ford Racing supercharger, Comp Cams camshafts, and a Bassani exhaust system. All that has taken the output of the Galpin Mustang to a staggering 700 horsepower.
On top of the massive engine upgrade, the Galpin Mustang will also carry aesthetic improvements, including a Candy Apple Red Pearl PPG paint scheme, a Roush billet aluminum grille, the original 1969 Boss 429 hood, a Boss 302 Laguna Seca rear spoiler, and a set of 21" and 22" Forgiato wheels wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero tires.
The car is interesting enough on its own merit to have active bidders when it goes under the hammer at Barrett-Jackson, but if you add that all your bids will end up being for a good cause, then you should have no problem shooting for the moon when bidding.
UPDATE 10/20/11: We’ve just learned that the 700-horsepower Mustang by Galpin Auto Sports will be making its world debut at the 2011 SEMA Auto Show ahead of its auction date at Barrett-Jackson next January. Be sure to check out this completely modded Mustang before a lucky bidder drives home with it next year.
UPDATE 12/29/11: After being announced as a prototype back in August, the Mustang SPX is finally ready and waiting for its new customer. For those interested, this car will be available at the Barrett-Jackson auction in January 2011. All proceeds will go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: "Cancer affects so many families across America and we’re very excited at the opportunity to utilize our talents to help raise money to fight this terrible disease," said GAS President Beau Boeckmann. "We’re honored SPX chose us as the shop to build this vehicle. Once completed, this car has tremendous potential to raise a lot of money for an organization that benefits a great cause."
Idiocy comes in many shapes and forms, some more ridiculous than others. For the owner of this Ford Mustang V6, a clear disregard of the limits of your muscle car certainly counts as an act of plain lunacy.
Determined to show-off his new Mustang V6, the driver decided to bring his muscle car into an isolated road to stretch its proverbial legs. What started as a leisurely joy ride slowly turned into a pretty ill-advised attempt at showing off.
Not content with the Mustang V6’s electronically limited top speed of 115 mph, the driver decided to extract a little more juice from his muscle car, flooring the car to well over 140 mph - it would have been fine if he had the 5.0-liter V8 Mustang - which is pretty much all the way north of what the car is capable.
The result, as the last few seconds of the video will show you, is what happens when common sense flies right out the window. Not only did the driver completely destroy the Mustang’s drive shaft - it ripped into the floor pan! - but he also managed to break the transmission and severely damage the muffler AND the exhaust system.
There’s a reason why the Mustang V6 has a speed limiter. This dude, apparently, didn’t get the memo and his car paid a pretty steep price for his utter idiocy.
Check out the entire debacle in the video above!
Other than the first generation which was produced from 1967-1969, Chevrolet has kept its Camaro generations to spans of around 10 years, but it looks like the fifth generation is getting nipped a bit early. Chevrolet insiders have released news that the sixth generation Camaro will be debuting in 2015 for the 2016 model year, leaving the fifth generation model with only five years under its belt.
Along with the confirmation of the new generation, GM insiders also revealed that the 422 HP 6.2 liter V8 engine from the fifth generation will make its way into the next Camaro SS as well, except it will come with improved power figures and better fuel economy. Coincidentally, this is the same engine that will be used in the seventh generation Corvette where it is said to get 440 HP, leaving the new generation Camaro SS with an 18 HP improvement.
The engine will probably be the main focus for the next Camaro, especially with the Ford Mustang getting all kinds of power attention, but we expect Chevrolet will also work on the look of the vehicle, as well as improve on it’s visibility.
Now that the cat’s out of the bag, more details will undoubtedly follow, so stay tuned!
Note: Fifth generation Camaro pictured.
Ford tossed out a bone at the 2011 SEMA Auto Show in the form of a body shell for the 1965 Mustang Convertible, undoubtedly gauging interest for such a product. Turns out, the response was just what Ford wanted. Capitalizing on the avid interest, Ford has revealed yet another body shell for their favored muscle car, but this time, it’s for the 1967 Mustang Convertible. The price for the beginning part of someone’s 1967 Mustang rebuild project stands at $15,995.
The ’67 Convertible body shell was manufactured by Dynacorn International who worked not only to replicate the original ’67 convertible, but make it better. For this, the body panels were made from modern automotive-grade virgin steel and, for better strength, the panels were assembled using modern welding techniques. There are also newly engineered reinforcements in known stress areas to add strength and rigidity to the body.
"These days, the chances are fairly slim of finding a restorable, rust-free ’67 Mustang that has never been wrecked,’ said Dennis Mondrach, Ford Restoration Parts licensing manager. "As the value of classic Mustangs has increased over the years, garages, barns and scrapyards have been picked clean.’
German tuning company, Geiger Cars, specializes in American vehicles, which is confusing considering that they have many a German cars in their own backyard. Nevertheless, we still consider these guys as one of the best tuners in Germany and their latest program for the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible only adds to their growing reputation as one of the finest in the industry.
Comprising of an extensive program that includes visual and technical modifications, Geiger Cars certainly did their homework on the new Camaro Convertible. The aerodynamic kit fitted into the muscle car features plenty of new elements, including a new front spoiler, side skirts, a rear diffuser, a new set of 22" Geiger wheels, an adjustable sport suspension with stabilizers, a new Geiger sport exhaust system, and a custom metallic paint finish that adds a flavor of edginess and aggression to an already intimidating muscle car.
Under the hood of the Camaro Convertible, Geiger Cars went and smacked some modifications on the car’s 6.2-liter V8 engine, courtesy of the company’s very own Kompressort Kit. The result is a significant increase in output from the standard 430 horsepower and 430 lb/ft of torque figures all the way up to an impressive 568 horsepower and 575 lb/ft of torque.
Should you be interested in this fine piece of German tuning craftsmanship, Geiger Cars has given a price for the whole program, car included, at €84,900, which is around $111,350 based on current exchange rates.
