Home / Posts tagged 'Camaro'

• The Top 25 Homologation Specials of All Time

  In Featured / By Tom Anderson / 18 April 2013

  

  Purpose-built racing cars – be they single seat open wheelers, sports prototypes, dragsters or any other automobile whose sole reason for being is to compete – have always inspired awe and been capable of extraordinary performance. But when it comes to truly connecting with the fans in the stands, these thoroughbreds are no match for production-based (even if it’s just the shape of the body) machinery. The idea of watching a particular car win a race and then walking out to the parking lot and driving home in or driving to the local dealer to check out an identical (save for some safety and performance equipment and a whole heap-o-decals) car holds widespread (if not universal) appeal.

  Of course, to stand a better chance at winning on Sunday so they can sell on Monday, manufacturers load their showroom-bred competition models with go-fast bits. However, many sanctioning bodies used to require (though, sadly, very few still do) that those same upgrades to be fitted to a certain number of the street-legal models Joe Bloe can buy, meaning the factories have to sell what are known as homologation specials in order to race that model. The annals of automotive history are brimming with such four-wheeled entry forms, yet we’ve managed to pare that manifest down to the 25 fastest, coolest and most outrageous ones ever to wear a license plate.

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• The Top 10 Debuts of the 2013 New York Auto Show

  In Featured / By Tom Anderson / 28 March 2013

  

  For a town where most of the residents share cars, and those cars have their own dedicated tunnels with their own power supplies for their electric propulsion systems, New York’s annual international auto show sure has become one of the hottest expos on the calendar. For the 2013 New York Auto Show now underway, there’s a stellar cast of world debuts from both home and abroad on display. But which of those debuts are the ones that will be hard to fuggetabout? Our 10 picks to attain that status can be found – Where else? – after the jump.

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• 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is a Track Day Titan

  In Auto News / By Tom Anderson / 27 March 2013

  

  A couple years ago, when Chevrolet was fixing to introduce a supercharged, super-capable version of the hit fifth generation Camaro, many motoring pundits figured it would be called the Z28. After all, the “regular” V8 Camaro had already bogarted the SS moniker. But when the sheet finally came off, it turned out it was called the ZL1 (after the aluminum 427 cubic-inch V8 installed in a handful of extra-special order 1969 COPO Camaros). Sometime later, there was word a hardcore track package was in development. Would this be the Z28 revival? Negative, Ghostrider; it’s called the 1LE, an option group available for the manual-trans SS coupe and named for a conceptually similar package offered on late third-gen Z28 and IROC-Z coupes.

  So when word filtered out that Chevrolet would be rolling out the facelifted 2014 Camaro at the New York Auto Show this week, no one expected those three hallowed characters to make an appearance. But maybe that was Chevrolet’s plan all along, for at the end of the brand’s press conference this morning, it rolled out the 2014 Camaro Z/28 (note the old school slash in the name) to a cacophony of gasps, cheers and applause. And like the Z/28s of old, the new Z/28 is designed for attacking a road course with maximum fury.

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• Smile, You’re on Candid Camaro: Jeff Gordon and Pepsi Troll a Car Salesman [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 13 March 2013

  

  While it’s impossible for one to verify 100% the authenticity of a hidden camera prank (unless you’re on the receiving end of one, that is), there’s no denying that many of the situations into which subjects are put (and their reactions to them) are hilarious. It’s even more funny when celebrities are the ones pulling the prank. In those instances, the prankee doesn’t know what to be more flummoxed by: The fact that he’s been had, or the fact that he’s been had by a well-known figure.

  Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon certainly qualifies as a well-known figure, even outside motorsports circles (Seems like only yesterday he was dominating our Thursday evening TV viewing, administering beatdowns to his USAC Sprint and Midget car rivals while winning fans’ hearts with his gawky kid demeanor and mustachioed, bemulleted grooming. Yes, we are indeed that old.). So when the future NASCAR hall of famer and longtime sponsor Pepsi decided to have some fun at the expense of a used car salesman and an ’09 Chevrolet Camaro, you just knew the payoff was going to be good. And it is, all-but-certainly-staged-ness be damned.

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• 2013 “Turbo” Chevrolet Camaro Coupe is a Glorious 700+HP Hollywood Makeover

  In Tuning / By Ari Cox / 9 February 2013

  

  As part of a promotion for the new DreamWorks movie “Turbo” coming out on July 19th, Chevrolet used the Chicago Auto Show to introduce the 2013 “Turbo” Camaro Coupe. If the car looks like a Camaro ZL1 on steroids, that’s because it is based on this platform. The movie centers around a snail morphing into a speed-demon in order to make the cut at the Indy 500. Now, the ZL1 is no snail, but the mods definitely put this car in another class of its own.

  The fact that this car is something special hits you in the face with the Mad Max-style front splitter, a monster rear wing and 5 inch rear exhaust outlets. And let’s not forget the massive supercharger sticking out of the COPO Camaro hood, which allows the V8 engine to produce in excessive of 700hp. All of this power is connected to an automatic transmission.

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• The Top 10 Modified Tuner Cars of 2012

  In Lists / By Tom Anderson / 31 December 2012

  

  Exactly 12 months ago, we assembled a list of the 10 tuner vehicles from 2011 that really floated our proverbial boat. Privately, we didn’t think that 2012’s crop of tuned and modified cars, trucks and SUVs could top that of 2011; however – and this is a rare New Year’s Eve treat for you, boys and girls – we are happy to admit that we were wrong. This past lap of the sun has seen the automotive aftermarket assemble some of the fastest, most powerful, and most visually striking machines to ever turn wheels.

  Thus, you can imagine how hard it was for us to narrow our selection down to 10. But that’s exactly what we’ve managed to do, and as you’ll see, the list covers a wide range of manufacturers, tuners, and vehicle types. Will 2013’s top tuner cars be even more amazing? We’re thinking yes. From all of us to all of you, have a happy and safe New Year.

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• Nelson Racing Engines 1969 Camaro Has Absolute Power, Corrupts Us Absolutely

  In Tuning / By Tom Anderson / 20 November 2012

  

  As classic muscle cars go, the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro is easily one of the most popular among collectors, restorers, customizers and enthusiasts. On the one hand, we’re happy that’s the case, because it’s such a great looking body style (Fun fact: Delays in the introduction of the second generation Camaro forced Chevrolet to continue building the 1969 body style into early 1970; hence, the initial second gens are commonly referred to as “1970½” models.) and there’s such an abundance of parts (including complete reproduction bodies) available. On the other hand, there are only so many ways to build such a ubiquitous car. Modern wheels and tires, LS-series engines and snazzy paintjobs have, alas, become like belly buttons.

  So how can anyone make a ’69 Camaro really stand out from the herd? Well, one good way is to give it a powerful engine. And when we say “powerful,” we mean “exponentially more horsepower than anyone could ever need.” And the murdered out, RS-grilled coupe built by Nelson Racing Engines you see here definitely qualifies in that regard.

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• Mecum Auctions Holds Its First Collector Car Sale in Anaheim

  In Featured / By Tom Anderson / 20 November 2012

  

  When we heard a few months ago that Mecum Auctions would be holding a collector car auction at the Anaheim Convention Center (located literally across the street from Disneyland), we were beyond stoked. Yes, we’ve been to a couple of Barrett-Jackson auctions before, and have watched countless Barrett-Jackson and Mecum auctions on TV, but we were curious to experience a Mecum sale in-person. Also: We rarely turn down the chance to check out hundreds of cool cars and trucks all in one place.

  So behind the Orange Curtain we ventured, and into the main hall we walked (The auction occupied three of the convention center’s four sprawling ground-floor halls.). Immediately, we saw row upon row of gleaming sheetmetal (and, in the case of the scores of Corvettes on offer, fiberglass). And much of the content of many of those rows was really high quality. The paint, panel fitment and other indicators of how much time, money and effort were spent on a restoration on dozens of cars was terrific.

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• Australian Coachbuilder Crafts a Gullwing Door Bumblebee Camaro Limo [w/ Videos]

  In Offbeat / By Tom Anderson / 29 October 2012

  

  When the production version of the fifth generation Chevrolet Camaro was first introduced, a handful of coachbuilders took to chopping the roof off the retro-sinister coupes to create convertibles. Naturally, the introduction of the Camaro Convertible eliminated the demand for aftermarket conversions. And since Chevrolet’s Mustang masher has only ever been offered to the public as a coupe and a convertible (We aren’t counting t-top coupes or the über-yummy second generation based Kammback shooting brake styling proposal.), there are no other obvious body styles for automotive body modifiers to create.

  Of course, some people would argue that creating a limousine out of the fifth gen Camaro would be an obvious choice. Sure, the whole lack-of-rear-doors thing is a definite hurdle, but the newest Bowtie pony car’s muscular styling, burbling V8 soundtrack and Transformers star status are hard to ignore. And one limo company in Perth, Australia, has not.

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• O.CT Tuning Gives the Bumblebee Camaro More Sting

  In Tuning / By Tom Anderson / 9 May 2012

  

   

  When Chevrolet was gearing up to re-launch the Camaro a few years ago, they made a deal with the makers of the Transformers movie to cast the concept version as the affable Autobot Bumblebee. To cash in on the flurry of interest brought on by the movie (and its two sequels), Chevrolet in turn released a special edition Bumblebee Camaro featuring yellow paint, black rally stripes and Autobot logo badges. As Transformers director (and noted pyrotechnics aficionado) Michael Bay says, "Awesome!"

   

  Of course, if you need more than 426hp (and let's be honest, who doesn't?), the Bumblebee Camaro falls short of awesome. Thankfully, there are plenty of companies who have made it their duty to do to the Camaro what seeing Mr. Bay's former squeeze Lauren Stoner does to our pulse: Make it faster. And one of those companies comes out of Switzerland and calls itself O.CT Tuning.

   

   

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