[Doc]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeROC

Just another thought. How would it look if you roughly doubled the height of the heat extractor vents on the sides and brought a body line from the top of those back along the sides of the body?

I could but if I did that, it would put the top line even with the top of the wheel well opening, and that style is from the '69 Camaro. I've been conscientiously avoiding that year as that was the inspiration for the 5th gen.

Originally Posted by DC5

The rear fascia and taillight treatment looks awesome---it shouts muscle car and, perhaps most importantly, is easily identifiable as a Camaro. I'm still not in love with the front fascia, but I commend your efforts!

Thank you! I think that's the first "awesome" I've gotten for one of these exercises.

Trying to come up with a good looking front is far more difficult than it seems it should be. I think I've finally found a good one though. I've been trying to come up with a body style that evokes the '67 Camaro, and even though the front of the '67 didn't look like this, for some reason this has the feel of a modern '67 to me. If you saw this on the road there wouldn't be any mistake as to what it is. No one would come up and ask "What is it?"






I still want to do some more work on the hood, but overall I think this outside is about as good as I'm going to come up with. I'll see if I can come up with some decent aero pieces for it; at least a rear and/or front spoiler. Then it's on to finish the interior.

[CoolbreezeNJ]

I'm actually fine with it. I think one thing that Chevy forgot about is it's roots. If you look way back at the Mustang until now it didn't depart from it's basic style except for a few years. Chevy drastically departed and if you ask me those early 2000 models were ugly and too soft of an image.

So I say good job to you to keep the actualy Muscle Car image and the Camaro's original roots in it.

Go for a SS version with more grill upfront a bit like they look now. They still need to catch a lot of air to keep things cool for track use.

I wonder in the current design if they brought the engine center of gravity back behind the front wheels for more balance and handling which of course gave you that squished rear seat. I never sat in a Mustang but they say the seat has a tad more leg room.

[Red Chief]

Just make it look like a truck and guys will buy it.

Seriously it just needs to look like a muscle car again. People are buying big vehicles.

[CCG Garnet Red]

I know there have been grips about the visibility (no problem here), but it looks like you broke it where the rear quarter meets the height of the door. Love the front and rear. Just put a 69 Camaro or 70 - 72 Chevelle SS Cowl Induction hood on it and it will naturally scream muscle.

[Doc]

Originally Posted by CoolbreezeNJ

I'm actually fine with it. I think one thing that Chevy forgot about is it's roots. If you look way back at the Mustang until now it didn't depart from it's basic style except for a few years. Chevy drastically departed and if you ask me those early 2000 models were ugly and too soft of an image.

So I say good job to you to keep the actualy Muscle Car image and the Camaro's original roots in it.

Go for a SS version with more grill upfront a bit like they look now. They still need to catch a lot of air to keep things cool for track use.

I wonder in the current design if they brought the engine center of gravity back behind the front wheels for more balance and handling which of course gave you that squished rear seat. I never sat in a Mustang but they say the seat has a tad more leg room.

Thank you! I think the upper grille opening would be adequate, as most of the air is going to come from the lower grille area. The SS mods are already in the works (see below).

They really compressed the car to save weight, but I think the sacrifices weren't necessarily worth it. As Al said, you have to remove 250 lbs to make a half second difference in the quarter mile. Personally I think they'd have done better keeping it a bit bigger, and spending that money on a carbon fiber driveshaft, lighter 2-piece brake rotors and lighter wheels. That would have achieved the same benefits without losing interior space.

Originally Posted by Red Chief

Just make it look like a truck and guys will buy it.

Seriously it just needs to look like a muscle car again. People are buying big vehicles.

No kidding, right? However this concept is intentionally designed to also appeal to the female customer, which is a substantial market that I think doesn't get the proper attention. They like sporty cars too, they just don't want to drive something that looks too over-the-top or is hard to get in and out of. Visibility is also an issue for the non-enthusiast.

Originally Posted by CCG Garnet Red

I know there have been grips about the visibility (no problem here), but it looks like you broke it where the rear quarter meets the height of the door. Love the front and rear. Just put a 69 Camaro or 70 - 72 Chevelle SS Cowl Induction hood on it and it will naturally scream muscle.

If you mean "broke it" as lowered the window line at that point, yes I did compared to previous versions. If you mean "broke it" as the rendering shows a weird looking dark area, I've noticed that too but there's nothing in the panel mesh that's wrong. I think it's a reflection off the window since it doesn't show up at all angles, only a few particular ones.

I'll look at those hoods; maybe I can come up with a version that's not too retro and would work with this concept.

- - -

OKAY...... so here's the latest. Got a front and rear spoiler put together. Neither of them are retro style; they're modern in styling which I think fits the updated body style. The rear spoiler isn't a quarter mile, NASCAR, track spoiler; think of it more as a 'consumer' spoiler. The front spoiler is definitely more of a track spoiler. It improves the flow of air both to the radiator and front brake ducts.

You can see the rear spoiler in this shot; it extends upward and outward, but not too much.



I put the spoiler in black on this shot so it would be more visible. It could also be in carbon fiber if that look was desired.



This shot is of the standard front (I put the lower half of the car in yellow-gold so the differences would stand out more).



This shot has the extended front spoiler on it. It's a separate piece that can fit in place of the standard bottom front.



Here's another shot that shows how aggressive the side profile of the front spoiler is.



Next I'll come up with something for side skirts.

[JamesNoBrakes]

I'm drinking scotch and this thread STILL looks bad.

[Doc]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

I'm drinking scotch and this thread STILL looks bad.

You need to upgrade to a better brand of Scotch.

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by Doc

They really compressed the car to save weight, but I think the sacrifices weren't necessarily worth it. As Al said, you have to remove 250 lbs to make a half second difference in the quarter mile.

Even at its 'compressed' 110"-ish wheelbase, the 6th gen is still a bit on the 'big' side for a 2+2 sporty coupe. I suspect that crash protection requirements drive weight up (down) somewhat faster than wheelbase length grows (shrinks), assuming that most else remains reasonably proportional.

Personally I think they'd have done better keeping it a bit bigger, and spending that money on a carbon fiber driveshaft, lighter 2-piece brake rotors and lighter wheels. That would have achieved the same benefits without losing interior space.

We as enthusiasts understand those things far better than the average consumer. I'm afraid they'd see those changes as needless for their purposes and present simply to justify higher prices.


Norm

[90503]

I like the looks...but....I know it may be too late to consider, but I still feel the 5th and 6thGen cars are too big overall. They tried to make the 6th smaller, it did lose weight and performs better but it is still too big. IMO the solution is to bite the bullet and get rid of the back seat like the AMX did in the '60s. It was still considered a muscle car and gave it it's unique styling. The only way I see for any real revolutionary styling is to ditch the rear seat go with a larger more useful trunk and/or a hatchback. The Camaro for the 7thGen can't get any smaller and lighter or less expensive being a four seater.

This size car, AMX or even the older Novas, I think would be a good styling change for the 7thGen. Just a thought. Good luck.

[cellsafemode]

they're damned if they do and damned if they dont. Nobody is buying these cars anymore because they're not "big enough". The people who do buy them wont if they dont make them smaller and faster. The laws being passed everywhere are making it less and less convenient to utilize any of the power or speed.

I think the future of pony cars will be in the used market and third party customization shops ...for as long as that stuff will be legal. Car makers will have to stop selling them ...they'll have performance cars ..for sure..but they'll be electric and out of the price range of the traditional pony car market. That is until the robot driving cars take over.

[RenegadeXR]

I keep seeing 90's design elements pop out pretty hard in the mockups, even when one aspect of the car gets replaced by another. Now I am seeing some 90's corvette in the proportions of the rear. Doc, were you a car designer from that era, or is that just coincidence? :P

This kind of looks like a 5th gen if GM decided to come out with it 15 years earlier.

[redcoats1976]

i like it,but im quite happy with my 5th gen.wouldnt really want anything solstice-sized as i had one and traded it on the camaro.

[CCG Garnet Red]

You have to be able to distinguish a SS from a base Camaro. The Gen 4 Z28 could only be told apart by the emblems and the exhaust until the Z28/SS, which became the SS, reappeared in 1996. Big mistake by Chevy.

[17rsvert]

Originally Posted by 90503

I like the looks...but....I know it may be too late...The only way I see for any real revolutionary styling is to ditch the rear seat ...

With sports car sales, and car sales in general, in decline with people gravitating towards SUVs and crossovers, there is no way GM would create another platform to compete with the Corvette.