Behold: The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro in all its full-on production glory.
What? Well yes, it looks like that Camaro Concept we saw more than two and a half years ago at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. And it looks exactly as you knew it would from two years of spy shots of the car under development. And it will look exactly like this when it goes on sale next year. You expected what? That it would look like a Corsica or a Mark VIII?
Enthusiasts would no more forgive Chevrolet for watering down the stunning 2006 Camaro concept than they would forgive General Motors if it decided a year from now to cancel the Volt program. The concept, with its steely, all-business color, dark-tinted glass, pavement-skimming raked stance and fang-shaped side mirrors, looked like a 1969 Camaro designed by the Lockheed Skunk Works.
Of course, the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro production-specification cars pictured here ? V6 models with 20-inch wheels that come as part of the RS trim package ? don't get the slammed stance, chopped roof and black windows of the concept. Nor do they have the 22-inch rear and 21-inch front wheels of the concept.
The V8 model of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro ? called the SS ? won't have that showcar ornamentation either. Chevy is holding back on revealing the SS for reasons that make sense only within the confines of GM's headquarters at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, even though it looks very nearly identical to the V6 model with the RS package. (In case you were wondering, the SS will have the concept car's little mail-slot opening on the top of the front fascia. This particular aperture has no historical precedent in the world of Camaro and owes more to the Corvette Z06 or the Mini Cooper S.)
But we're still happy.
Power to the People (Who Can Afford the Gas)
Anyway, did we mention yet that the production vehicle will actually make more horsepower than the concept vehicle was claimed to make? We should have, because at an estimated 420 hp, the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro will arrive with a stonking amount of power. This comes courtesy of the 6.2-liter LS3 V8 that will power SS models ? those that are equipped with a manual transmission, anyway.
If GM's recent practice of slightly underestimating the output of its engines before certification holds, the 6.3-liter small-block should make about 425 hp. That would be, not coincidentally, a little less power than the motor is capable of in the base Corvette but is essentially identical to the output of Dodge's meanest Challenger, the SRT8. Oh, and it will mercilessly stomp the relatively small V8 that sits in the Mustang GT.
Further, Chevy estimates that the Camaro-specification LS3 should also crank out about 408 pound-feet of torque and gulp premium fuel at a rate of a gallon for every 15 miles in the city and one for every 23 miles on the highway. These figures are essentially identical to those returned by the Challenger R/T's 375-hp 5.7-liter Hemi V8.
Staggering
The LS3's Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual is the same basic unit fitted to just about all rear-drive American performance cars including the Corvette, Viper and Challenger. GM has equipped it with the 1-4 skip-shift programming, familiar from various Camaro, Corvette and GTO applications over the years. Under certain light-throttle acceleration situations, the system locks out access to 2nd gear and forces a shift into 4th.
It's a silly little thing that basically games the EPA test and actually encourages drivers to accelerate harder. But it helps keep the Camaro SS from being branded (and taxed) as a gas-guzzler. That's not something that can be said of the bigger, heavier Challenger SRT8. Skip shift is also easily defeated with an inexpensive aftermarket piece. (Al Oppenheiser, chief engineer for rear-wheel-drive vehicles at GM, acknowledges this and notes that the standard stability control can be turned off completely, too. We think we might like the guy.)
Power is routed back to a limited-slip differential (standard on all SS models and on V6 cars equipped with manual transmissions) and sent left and right through asymmetrical or staggered half-shafts. Say what? This is the same trick employed by GM on the Corvette ZR1 and Cadillac CTS-V. One half-shaft is significantly larger in diameter than the other. This, says GM, quells axle hop on hard launches. It's a neat trick that we're eager to test. The manual SS carries a 3.45:1 final-drive ratio.
Every Camaro comes with the staggered half-shafts, even for those of you who might choose to have your SS equipped with an automatic. In this case, the automatic is a six-speed unit (6L80 in GM Powertrain parlance) that features shift paddles on the steering wheel. Each downshift will be accompanied by a rev-matching throttle blip.
The Camaro SS automatic is somewhat less powerful, as the 6.2-liter small-block V8 is designated the L99 and should make right around 400 hp (based on Chevy's estimate of 395 hp) and 395 lb-ft of torque. The L99 incorporates an active fuel management system that shuts down four cylinders in light throttle load conditions to improve economy. The combination of the L99 and a taller 3.27:1 final-drive ratio should mean noticeably less intense acceleration. Still, we reckon it'll be right around 5.0 seconds to 60 mph.
The Joy of Six?
You might reasonably have expected that Chevy would be able to crank out the muscle side of the muscle-car picture ? it makes a mean V8, after all.
And yet although Chevy expects the Camaro SS V8 will comprise the bulk of sales at first, some 60-65 percent of the model mix will be the RS V6. "We know that the performance car enthusiast will always be there," says Camaro Product Manager Cheryl Pilcher. "But the buyer to attract is the one that isn't as overt an enthusiast. In years past, Mustang was perhaps a more livable car for non-hard-core buyers."
It's not too far a stretch to believe that this non-hard-core buyer will be even more mindful of fuel costs than a habitually wasteful muscle-car maven. Oppenheiser estimates that the V6 Camaro will be able to return 18 mpg city/27 mpg highway. If these numbers hold up in EPA testing, they'll beat the Challenger SE's 18 mpg city/25 mpg highway even though the Chevy V8 makes 50 hp more than the Mopar motor.
The Camaro's V6 should get better economy than the Mustang's V6's 17 mpg city/26 mpg highway, even though the Mustang 4.0-liter V6 generates only a pitiful 210 horsepower, some 90 hp less than Chevy's.
If the 3.6-liter direct-injection V6 that serves as the Camaro's base motor seems familiar, it's because this is essentially the same engine as the optional Cadillac CTS V6. The direct-injection permits a high 11.3:1 compression ratio. Expect the V6 to make about 305 hp (based on Chevy's 300 hp estimate) and 270 lb-ft of torque on regular gas. Not to flog a dead horse, but that's more horsepower than is offered by the Mustang GT's V8.
The V6 cars will be available in two basic trim levels: the base LS steel-wheel car and the relatively well-equipped LT. The engine can be bolted to either an Aisin six-speed manual transmission or a Hydra-matic 6L50 six-speed automatic. Both carry 3.27:1 rear gears. Dodge offers only a four-speed automatic with its V6.
No Matter-Antimatter Engine Planned
The V6 and V8 are the only engines that Chevrolet is willing to talk about at the moment. Company blabbermouth Bob Lutz has hinted at the possibility of an optional turbocharged inline-4 for the car, although it's unclear to us that such an engine would be all that much more efficient than the V6. What is clear is that work is ongoing on such a piece.
The rumored 500-hp supercharged V8 planned for a future Z28 model remains a possibility. It would feature the same supercharged hardware featured by the Cadillac CTS-V and Corvette ZR1. It's hard to imagine how such a thing could avoid being branded with the politically noxious gas-guzzler label.
Also on the table is a version of the Camaro with the Corvette's self-adjusting dampers with Magnetic Ride Control.
It's Not a G8, OK?
For now the Camaro's suspension uses conventional twin-tube dampers. You'll recognize the basic configuration with front struts and a rear independent multilink setup from the Pontiac G8 sedan. But Oppenheiser cautions against calling it a G8 platform, noting that the Camaro is based on an updated version of the G8's so-called Zeta One structure with new front and rear cradles.
The SS models come with a stiffer FE3 setup that features front and rear antiroll bars that are almost an inch larger in diameter than those of the V6 base car. And the FE3 also comes with stiffer springs and more aggressive damping settings to not only deliver performance but also cope with the hefty V8 engine and the added grip of the 20-inch tires.
The V6 LS comes with 18-inch steel wheels as standard equipment. Various trim levels and options will get you 18-inch or 19-inch alloy wheels. Add the RS package and the V6 model is fitted with the 20-inch tires that come standard on the SS. Unlike the RS package of the first-generation Camaro, there will be no headlight covers. But the RS trim level (available for both V6 and SS cars) does include HID headlamps with a sassy and BMW-inspired halo of LED lights around the main element, plus dark taillight lenses and 20-inch tires and a little rear spoiler.
The SS carries sizable 14-inch brake rotors front and rear as well as Brembo four-piston aluminum calipers. The V6 cars carry 12.6-inch vented front rotors and 12.4-inch vented rear rotors with single-piston calipers. Since the Camaro's curb weight begins at an estimated 3,737 pounds for V6 models and then climbs to just 3,900 pounds for the SS, Oppenheiser is predicting class-leading braking performance. Every Camaro comes with ABS, traction control and stability control as standard equipment.
Suitable for People and Things
Naturally, GM's directive has been to engineer the new car to fit the visual profile set by the Camaro concept car, which was based on a modified Cadillac STS platform. As a result, the wheelbase of the Australian-engineered Zeta One platform has been shortened to 112.3 inches, about 2.5 less than that of the Pontiac G8. Nevertheless, this represents an increase of more than 2 inches compared to the wheelbase of the Camaro Concept, most of which was added between the front wheelwells and the base of the windshield.
The height of the roof had to be increased by almost an inch for production as well, although at 53.7 inches in overall height, the Camaro is still lower than competitors (by a whopping 4 inches compared to the massive Challenger).
Interior space is tight, especially in the rear, where Chevy has fitted two bucket seats in place of the Challenger's three-across bench. "This is a 2+2," says Oppenheiser. "Anyone that had to be chauffeured around in the back of a first-generation Camaro will be familiar with the concept."
We didn't even attempt to get into the back of the prototype we were looking at. We can say that the optional sunroof doesn't leave much room for the heads of 6-footers. Also, if you get the sunroof, you lose what designer Tom Peters calls the "reverse Mohawk" roof (the longitudinal channel that's stamped into the panel).
Yet anyway you cut it, this version of the Camaro appears to be easier to live with than the last Camaro with its subterranean seating position and hump over the catalytic converter right in the passenger footwell. One glaring concession to style is the small trunk with a capacity of 11.3 cubic feet with an exceptionally high liftover height. At least the rear seats fold down.
Unlike Dodge's resurrected pony car, the Camaro's interior has some retro style. The main gauges are circular units housed in rectangles, as anticipated by the concept. The four auxiliary gauges lie within four small rectangles mounted ahead of the stubby shift lever. That's supposed to echo an option from the first-gen car and generally looks pretty cool.
The dash and door panels will be available with backlighting to jazz up the inside a bit. And the trim will even be available in the orange color as seen on the concept. And the HVAC and audio controls manage to look like nothing else on the market, which we appreciate. So far, we like.
Just a Stop Along Camaro Lane
The wait is not yet over, though. We won't drive a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro for many months and you won't be able to buy one until next year. Figure another year after that for the inevitable convertible version.
The mechanical package has us believing that the Camaro won't suffer the same fate of other showcars-turned-reality, such as the Chevy SSR, Ford Thunderbird and Plymouth Prowler. But there's still time yet for something bad to happen.
Let us hope that by the time the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro finally goes on sale (for a price competitive with Mustang, says Chevy), it still feels fresh.
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car looks great! and who cares about the weight ? pull the ABS and AC out if you dont like heavy cars 
im glad they kept the single head lights instead of the smaller dual ones. even tho they looked pretty good. dont forget the build quality compaired to the mustang will be 10-1 the mustangs make you feel like a cookie. the new GTO's made you feel like your in a womb of manliness
