Perhaps the worst part of General Motors’ re-retirement of the Camaro nameplate is the lingering feeling of unfinished business that long-time fans are left with. In another dimension, just being the best-driving car in the segment might have been enough to earn the Sixth-Generation adequate sales, therefore building a solid financial foundation for an encore to arrive in 2025. Chevy’s Pony Car took massive strides as a driving machine between its fifth and sixth generations, but we can’t help but feel like Al O and Co. were stopped just short of delivering the perfected version of this country’s most bitchin’ four-wheeled icon.
The ho-hum launch of the re-skinned – and newly solo in the niche that it founded in 1964 ½ – S650 Mustang has only deepened this hole in our collective psyche. Judging by how well their nearly-decade-old work still stacks up, we can’t help but believe the disbanded and reassigned Camaro team would have absolutely waxed the floor with the most recent ‘Stang had they been allowed to craft the internal combustion swan song that the Camaro disserved.
Setting the Stage for a Comeback
It’s been a little over a year since the Camaro line went dark, but for long-time fans of the Corvette’s little brother who likes to party, it’s felt like an eternity. They’ve been forced to watch from the sideline as their bitter rival class-jumped into $300k territory and claimed not only the muscle/pony car Nürburgring record that was the sole domain of Camaros since 2012 but also the overall mark for any vehicle from an American manufacturer. To add further insult to injury, the only Camaro notes to hit the news cycle in 2024 had GM talking about making the Camaro a four-door electric golf cart – a move that would go over like a wasabi enema with the nameplate’s loyal following.
But things are suddenly vastly different in the first quarter of 2025. The nation’s idealistic, unattainable, and wildly unpopular EV mandates have been kicked to the curb – a change that isn’t likely to end in the US as intenders in Europe are already positioning themselves to follow as they jockey for political position after overseas plug-in vehicle demand cratered in ’24. And with a gaping sub-$70k hole in its performance lineup, murmurs of a true Camaro revival at Chevrolet have already begun circulating.
What could such a car look like, what would be under the hood? Just the thought is enough for your author to finally work the word “titillating” into an article; it has like-minded people all ready to run through a wall with excitement!
The Seventh-Gen Camaro
As we take things a step further and pin our hopes to paper, we’ll leave styling to each individual reader’s imagination, but we’re personally picturing something forward-looking, in the vein of the second and fourth Camaros, perhaps even a treatment that picks up where the front-engine Corvette left off, and maybe, just maybe, after 14 years of gripes, the Seventh-Gen Cam could do something about the concept car trunk and poor outward visibility of its predecessors – what could the detractors possibly say about it then?
Moving on, we’ll concentrate on mechanical highlights of the lust-worthy V8 portions of the lineup. Even though its current management has a proven willingness to light massive sums of money on fire, we’ll also be looking to save General Motors a few dollars on this niche performance product, so we’ll be taking an S650 approach to this exercise. That starts with recycling the Sixth-Gen’s Alpha II platform that still underpins the excellent – but in need of sales reinforcements – Cadillac Blackwing twins because, really, why mess with perfection? Now, as Russell Wilson was briefly fond of saying, “Let’s Ride!”
SS: 6.2L LT2 V8 – 490 Horsepower, 465 lb-ft
We’ll start with the SS and stick with convention by mixing in a dash of base Corvette powerplant. As was the case in the ’16-’24 Sixth-Gen, our SS is getting the ‘Vette motor in its non-Z51 tune, spotting the two-seater a five-horse big brother tax. This still puts the entry-level V8 Camaro within spitting distance of the $60K top of the naturally aspirated Mustang pyramid for $15 or so grand less while piling on nearly 50 extra lb-ft of torque! Fun twist: under the code name “glue factory,” we bet GM engineers could coax an even 500 ponies out of the LT2 as part of an updated ‘Stang slaying 1LE package with the usual upgrades like MagRide, eLSD, Recaros, and a smattering of matte black.
Z/28: 5.5L LT6 V8 – 670 Horsepower, 460 lb-ft
It’s hard not to get romantic when you hear this combination: 670 naturally aspirated HP, 8,600 RPM, manual transmission, Alpha coupe. That fantasy recipe was reportedly under consideration at the RenCen before Camaro sales headed south. A Seventh-Gen could be Oppenheiser’s shot at realizing his (and our) American GT3 dreams by marrying the Z06’s record-breaking flat-plane V8 to the Camaro’s renowned – and three-pedal/DSSV infused – chassis; talk about a hole-in-one!
ZL1: 6.2L Supercharged LT5 V8: 755 Horsepower, 715 lb-ft
Using the boosted V8 from the contemporary top-dog ‘Vette is a staple of modern ZL1s, but by taking our Seventh-Gen halo model back to 2019 with the previous ZR1’s blown LT5, our achievements will be four-fold:
- A supercharged LT5 helps us avoid too much overlap with the C8 Corvette.
- Keeps the 1,000-horse LT7 exclusive to GM’s Halo car while expanding the scope of the criminally short-lived and under-appreciated LT5.
- The car’s character would remain true to what ZL1 – and all modern muscle – customers have come to expect since the GT500 hit the scene in 2007.
- It finally gives a legion of Bow-Tie faithful the 700+ Hellcat-killer that they’ve been waiting on since Dodge unleashed the demonic kitty in 2015.
We are well aware of the LT5’s discontinuation, but our whole premise hinges on rebirth and a “what we’d do if we were in charge at the General” line of thinking, so reigniting the LT5 line like the Great Forge of Erebor, it is! Offering such a Camaro for around $85,000 plus options (like its own big-winged 1LE package) would also make Ford’s “Secretary Car” – that in its current rendition requires over $300k or an outside company if you’re interested one of the big dog trims – look silly in more ways than one, and isn’t that the purpose of the Camaro existing in the first place?
Related:
Chevrolet Offers First Cash Rebate for 2024 Corvette Stingray, But You Must Own This Chevy Model
GM Says the Camaro ‘Could’ Return as an EV. We Say, No Thanks.
Chevrolet is Officially Out of the Attainable Performance Car Game
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Present a business case like the corvette team successfully did for C6,7,8 that the board can see makes money and covers development costs over the next 10 years. That’s what you need to do.
Apparently the guys that tried failed. The guys that succeeded with the C generations were let go.
That said, in the current political environment If I was chair of the board I would not be risking any new money. The wizard behind the curtain is totally unpredictable.
Mike, I would have agreed with you about 10 years ago, but, as linked above, GM just washed its hands of a recent $10 billion robotaxi investment. It’s also on the hook to replace nearly 1,000,000 truck/suv 6.2L V8s that it ruined with cylinder deactivation (Thank the lord that rumors of that pos “tech” making its way into the LT7 were false!) AND is still losing money on the EV pipedream that it sank over $35 bill into. That’s without mentioning the firing of a beloved member of the team responsible for one of the only good things GM still makes while the higherups responsible for the very public/wasteful/embarassing blunders I mentioned get off scot-free.
Our Camaro7 project is more about re-establishing some goodwill with real customers when it’s needed most. The fact that our formula would involve comparatively miniscule overhead is a bonus, but even if it lost money, it would still be valuable to the company from an image standpoint.
Instead of a Camaro it would be so cool if GM could somehow bring back an all new radical modern version of the Firebird Trans Am with some classic Trans Am styling cues and an LT2 or LT6 engine. They could sell it as a one off car through Chevrolet or maybe even one of their other divisions. It would be a clean sheet design and not be like those 5th and 6th Gen Camaro based aftermarket Trans Ams we’ve all seen.
Until GM fires Mary Barra probably won’t happen. She probably was the one who wanted it a 4 door ev… She’s got to gooooooo…..
If it happens no EVs or bubble top soccer ⚽ mom SUVs.
Plan on seeing a “sporty” Camaro SUV in your future.
Alex Sommers…I would love to see a new Camaro. My dad, who worked for Chevy for 50 years – 1937 – 87 – and I took a 1969 Z28 Indy pace car Camaro out to Bridgehampton and a 1971 Z28 to Lime Rock for Trans Am races. I totaled a Camaro company car of his – he somehow swept it under the rug and kept his job. I was raised on the Camaro.
He complained about the bean counters all the time. The business case wins the day; always has. The balance between stakeholders and customers. How many real customers are out there for a new gen Camaro? The last gen did not move me. Its not that I am against small, hard to see in/out of or get in/out of cars. I had a C7 and now a C8.
There’s definitely a case to be made. But it has to start with going barebones.
-Move the beltline 6″ lower or more; eliminate the need to rely on the backup camera
-Remove every frill and feature that isn’t mandated by law; off them for upcharge only
-Base model should offer fleet-truck quality double-din head unit to save cost
-Base model has to sell for under 30k
-LT2 is for M/R only. So the standard V8 will have to be an LT1 or L87
-Manual makes sense; offer it for V6, LT1, LT4 and LT5
-LT6 does not make sense for F/R; GM has no incentive to retrofit it for F/R
-Go back to offering fastback/hatchback on coupes; Gen3 and Gen4 are calling
-Offer Firebird or T/A, GTO, and Chevelle packages; people will pay 10k+ just for the cosmetic changes
I think the Camaro is just dead. And, though I’m not a fan of Mary Barra, she has done “better” than some other automotive CEOs. Since her appointment as CEO (late 2013), GM stock is up 25%. That’s not so hot compared to the S&P 500 but better than Ford. I doubt if any auto manufacturer will do well simply because of overall uncertainty.
I think having a business plan that can make GM money and make the Camaro a comeback.The comeback has to be a huge success and a cost effective build that satisfies everyone.You start with a design similar to the gen 6 but mesh it with the C8 in some design features. I would offer three different trim options.Definitely a 6 speed manual as the base and the automatic for the extra money. I could go on but I know I could come up with an idea that will be beneficial for GM and the Camaro generation out there and marketing is a must they failed with the Camaro with marketing.No tv commercials no billboards.We shall see what we can do
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