IVER Convertible - first drive

[Mr. Wyndham]

Camaro Convertible - The First Drive

Thursday was a much-anticipated day. I had the opportunity to drive our IVER convertible prototype for the first time, along with our Global Chief Engineer, Doug Houlihan.

The experience was extraordinary. We began at dawn at our Lang Lang Proving Ground near Melbourne and took the whole morning to form our first impressions of the car. At the risk of sounding predictable, this car is going to be a classic. The quality of execution of these prototype vehicles is even higher than the coupe vehicles that came along before them.
After some photographs and video filming, we drove the vehicle on the ride-and-handling road and on the high-speed loop. The results were surprising. Even at this early stage, the Camaro Convertible is a very polished vehicle.

The usual issues that tend to exist with convertible vehicles relate mainly to noise and vibration. Some that spring to mind are the need for general isolation from wind and exterior noises, driveline noises and body sealing noises, all of which relate to the reduced stiffness of the body structure compared with the coupe version. At this point, I am pleased to say that we seem to have a very good starting point. This vehicle is not showing any significant flaws; it's a testimony to the excellent work done by our engineering groups in the virtual world prior to committing to the hardware commencement.

Stop-Go-Turn
Initially, we spent some time on the ride-and-handling evaluation circuit. What this showed me was how solid this vehicle is. The car is retaining its characteristic sports car feel, which is very important. The Camaro is a vehicle that is designed around the notion of "Stop-Go-Turn." The perceived loss of these characteristics by our customers would be considered a failure on our part. Let me categorically state that we have lost none of these characteristics with the convertible. This car feels sharp...and fast.

The ride quality of the vehicle is very good indeed. As I have previously noted on the coupe, the ride of this car is exceeding my expectations despite the fact that it is a sports car. This is a difficult proposition to achieve — and it appears that we have lost none of the ride-and-handling balance with the convertible.

The second part of the drive was evaluation of the vehicle on a smooth road surface at various speeds. I am pleased to confirm that this car is solid and stable at speeds up to 110 mph, the maximum speed allowed on the Lang Lang Proving Ground speed loop without special precautions. Needless to say, the Camaro Convertible will be capable of significantly higher speeds than this and will be tested at those higher speeds as we progress through our development program.

Top This
Obviously, the largest part of any convertible program is the structure and operation of the roof. Anyone who has not looked in detail at a convertible roof should do so. The complexity of the mechanisms and craftsmanship required in the fabric cover are extraordinary.

In the case of the Camaro, we have been blessed with an extremely talented and experienced supplier. The general execution of this roof has, thus far, turned out very well indeed. The look, feel, and operation of this roof are "all class."

I am really pleased with the convertible IVER prototypes. The program will now move into overdrive as the validation testing begins in earnest.

— Andrew D. Holmes

[seventy7camaro]

What is IVER? What's the odds that this car will be offered in Hugger Orange? We saw the Hugger Orange convertible with white interior in Carlisle in 2007 at the GM and Camaro Nationals and fell in love with it.

[Chewy]

Integration Vehicle Engineering Release.

and if there is enough noise made and demand for hugger orange - than there is good chance it will be offered. GM has been very attentive to our requests and almost all the time give us what we've wanted/asked for

[bobscogin]

I am really pleased with the convertible IVER prototypes. The program will now move into overdrive as the validation testing begins in earnest.
— Andrew D. Holmes


I like the sound of that. Does anyone else think that this may signal the convertibles arrival before Summer 2010

Bob

[radz28]

Sounds like they're moving along at a good rate. With any luck, it will be on-time too

[TAG UR IT]

Excellent news!

Hey Mindz, I hope you end up getting yours sooner than you expected!

[TheCaptain]

Good news for us convertible people!

[RSPARKS5]

Oh Yeah! that's the ticket...(insert big smile

[Camaro68]

Love the Vert, thanks for the news post!

[z28collection]

awesome info i cant wait to order mine.

[fbodfather]

Originally Posted by seventy7camaro

What is IVER? What's the odds that this car will be offered in Hugger Orange? We saw the Hugger Orange convertible with white interior in Carlisle in 2007 at the GM and Camaro Nationals and fell in love with it.

Actually, the concept convertible is not Hugger orange -- The original Hugger Orange had no metallic in it -- the concept has metallic and pearl in the paint.....

We will offer Inferno Orange - which isn't quite what the concept convertible orange is - on the other hand, we can actually paint Inferno Orange in an assembly plant -- can't say the same for the paint on the concept.....

[Grape Ape]

I sure hope they get the packaging right. I rented a Sebring last month and putting the top down ate like 80% of the trunk space.

[NSCRFN3]

Thanks for the post! Great information! I'm feeling a little jelous of the coupe people......It's going to be another year or so before us vert people have something to look forward to.

[Design1stCode2nd]

True. If nothing else at least some of the bugs will be worked out.