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.
The pony car wranglers at Steeda are preparing for the next stampede of blue oval enthusiasts looking to modify their 2010 Ford Mustang GTs with one of the aftermarket manufacturer’s immediate injection of power and agility for the V8 powered muscle car.
Steeda’s plan is to transform the vehicle with a few low key exterior touches, some proven performance parts and a very serious amount of attention paid to the suspension. There is an option wide black stripe on the hood and the company’s signature “S” side stripes. A few extra horsepower are freed up by the high flow air filter and parasitic drag reducing under drive pulleys.
Everyone knows that in order to go fast you need to be able to carry speed through a turn. So Steeda didn’t skimp on the hardware. Aside from the standard Steeda Sport Springs, the American tuner goes so far as to use a set of Steeda Billet Lower Control Arms. Now that is a racing part. There’s no sense in going fast if you don’t look good soing it, so the Mustung sits on Steeda Spyder Wheels dipped in chrome and sized 20x9.9 inches up front and 20x11 inches in the rear. Just like an Olympic sprinter, the Steeda Mustang needs high performance rubber under their feet, so sparing no expense the company includes a set of Nitto NT05 High Performance Tires. All this can be your for only $8995, not a bad price to pay for a few seconds at the track.
Hurst has unveiled a new package for the 2009 Dodge Challenger. Called Competition/Plus, the new package will soon go on sale and prices will be announced at a later date.
The Competition/Plus package includes: an Eibach suspension system, Magnaflow exhaust system, Hurst 20-inch alloy wheels, color-matched leather inserts and stitching for the interior, matte black exterior accents, and, of course, a Competition/Plus short throw shifter with the classic white ball.
The car is painted in either B5 Blue, Hemi Orange, TorRed or any other.
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.
The tuners at KW have just finished working on a complete muscle car makeover for the Dodge Challenger. The hot rod tuners will only build a few examples of this Mopar masterpiece, so collector’s status is guaranteed.
To allow the 6.1 Liter Hemi to breathe easier and improve the engine’s performance, KW added a K&N sport air filter and an all new free flowing exhaust system. The Challenger is being equipped with a set of HRE 995R forged alloy wheels finished in brushed aluminum. To top it all off, KW went a step further with Lamborghini style doors.
The Automotive Icon Carroll Shelby is playing with fire, he is preparing the GT500 Super Snake package for the all new even better looking Ford Mustang and will unleash them onto the road in limited numbers starting in August. Customers can choose from either a 630 HP option, or the ridiculously powerful 725 HP version, priced at $29,495 or $33,495. That is after you buy the GT 500 that wears his name as well
The Super Snake transformation consists of adjustable shocks matched with a set of lowering springs and sport tuned stabilizer bars along with a front strut tower brace, just like on the original Shelby Mustangs. Power upgrades are handled by a Ford Racing Supercharger kit that pumps out over 630 HP and 590 lb-ft of torque and for the big boys, a Shelby/Ford Racing or Shelby/Kenne Bell supercharger kit that produces an insane 725 HP from the 5.4 Liter engine.
The boys at 5th Gear learned a thing or two about American muscle when they took a new Hemi powered Dodge Challenger SRT-8 out for a ride. The SRT-8 is set apart from standard Challengers by its 6.1 Liter V8 with hemispherical combustion chambers that allow the modern muscle car to make 426 HP and go from 0 to 60 MPH in only 5.5 seconds.
Back in the 70’s when America was in the middle of a love affair with the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro, the other member of the Detroit 3 – Dodge – had to come up with their own muscle car or risk becoming just an afterthought to what has become a ‘vehicular arms race’ between Ford and Chevy.
Dodge did release its own muscle car – the Dodge Challenger – and to this day, it is universally recognized as one of America’s true muscle cars.
The Challenger’s design was done by Carl Cameron, the same man who was responsible for the design of the 1966 Dodge Charger. Although the Challenger took off in the eyes of the public at the start – 76,935 cars were produced for the 1970 model year – the changing times and the waning interest in the pony car segment meant that the Challenger didn’t live a long life and was out of production in 1974. Ironically, as a result of its short shelf-lif,e not a lot of Challenger models lived to see the turn of the millennium – especially the 440 R/T version, which only had 163 models built. As a result, those who did have the specific-modeled car ended up owning a priceless piece of American muscle-car history.
Ford gearing up for summer! The American automaker has revealed a few details about the 2010 Mustang Glass Roof and Mustang GT Convertible. Both models are now on sale.
The Glass Roof is being available on both V-6 model and the GT at a price of $1,995. The 2010 Ford Glass Roof Mustang offers consumers convertible-like driving without the need for sunscreen, because its factory-installed panoramic glass roof filters 90% of the sun’s heat-generating infrared (IR) rays and 96% of burn-causing ultraviolet (UV) rays.
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.
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