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Originally Posted by Rocky918
So basically only some parts may come from other models? No brake calipers from zo6/zr1 and no FI... no magnetic ride control and much less weight .... suspension will be based off grand am?
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The Boss 302 IS the Grand Am car. Last year in Grand Am GS, Multimatic ran the only Boss 302 and was had Ford factory support. The Boss didn't do good at all last year, it never broke down.. it had some electrical problems. Much like the 1969 Boss 302, it ran but the entire field other than the factory backed car was still running the 289ci Mustangs in that class (The heavier class was running the big block but that class went away). This year, the Boss covers the entire field with the exception of a few GT's still running. The NEW Grand Am rules state that the vehicle must be a production model and there is a limit to how old the model and engine can be. This is the reason Ford doesn't run the FR500C "Boy Racer" anymore (the FR500S and FR500GT4 are ineligible). The FR500C production is basically limited to the teams that are still running them now so they can continue to run until the production rule is in full effect.
That means the Camaro GS WILL have to be replaced very soon by either an SS or something of another caliper (PUN POINTS!!!). The Camaro is the only entry right now that doesn't use a factory nameplate. This might be why we see a 4SS coming this year because the Camaro is struggling and most of that has to do with the suspension setup (and some other things, but it is not the drivetrain). If I remember correctly, there was no 2010 FR500C, S or GT4 so that means season '10 and season '11 so far has been run with the FR500C and these are usually teams that are independent and are always strapped for cash. Grand Am may make an exception for these teams because it would shrink the field down to a very small amount of cars. If anyone here remembers the 2007 ALMS GT1 class that had two Dodge Vipers and two Corvettes that ran the class. In 2008 the GT1 class had two Corvettes (team mates) that remained in the class and Corvettes won the championship, in 2009 they dropped down to GT2. Grand Am, now controlled by NASCAR, is insuring that bleeding teams of their money to conform to quickly changing rule book doesn't happen.
I would predict the 2012 Camaro 4SS will be the stand in model until the Z28 is ready. I will be watching the races closely and try to dig up info month by month as the FE4 SS see production in these coming months to see if any changes are made. We can continue to watch Grand Am GS to see if the announcers make any mistakes like they did with the Boss 302 waaaaay back before it was officially made public, 29 July, 2010.. check it out: