Today has been a day of automotive sensory overload. The info is coming in so fast it's hard to process it all.

Curiously, after seeing many of the production cars and concepts unveiled today...the question in my mind has been "How does this affect Camaro?"

MUSTANG

This one is easy. Camaro and Mustang have had the "bullseye" on each other since seemingly the beginning of time.

Today, we've officially seen Mustang's bread and butter models...the V6 coupe and the GT coupe. Maybe everyone here doesn't love them...but let me assure you...if you cruise the Ford sites, Mustang is a home run. Camaro will have to impress US as much as Mustang impresses it's faithful. I think Mustang will be a big hit.......and the best models are yet to come. Camaro will hopefully not stumble.

KAPPA

I'm actually alittle surprised by the level of sophistication of Kappa's components. I certainly wasn't expecting it's front suspension to be an SLA design with coil overs and aluminum control arms. We'll see how it actually performs...but it looks impressive.

If a $19+K car can have a chassis like that.....I will not accept "COST" as the reason that the 5th gen Camaro might need to have front McPherson struts.

CORVETTE

Lot's here. But shouldn't a 5th gen Z/28 perform at least as well as a C6 Z51 coupe...maybe even better?

SELBY COBRA

This sort of re-aligns the performance automotive landscape. It throws a kink into alot of our forecasting. Can a $100,000, 650 hp Corvette, really compete with a $60-$70,000 650 hp Shelby Cobra. And what of a $60,000 Z06....where does it fall in all this? Will it compete with a 500+ hp $40,000 SVT Cobra? Wouldn't the Z06 be a more natural competitor to the Shelby Cobra?

Where does Camaro fit in here......will Camaro need to confront SVT Mustang?


What do you guys think?

 

Mustang will be a big hit, that's for sure.The stang faithfuls love it. As far as the general public, we'll have to wait and see but i get the feeling that it'll remain popular.

I agree. From the pics i've seen, they've packed a lot into this little car. Very impressive. I expect that and more in a $25+k camaro.

I don't know about that. That's asking a lot don't you think???? That is assuming the c6 Z51 will perform as well as the 2004 z06. We don't even know if z28 will become the "top performance model" or whether that privilage will belong to the SS. Having said that, i don't expect a 5th gen Z28 to perform as well as a C6 Z51 or in comparison to something already in production..a 2004 z06. A heavy car like the z28 would need atleast 450+, not to mention a really good suspension, etc..

Where'd you get the 60-70k figure for the Shelby Cobra???

As far as the SVT Cobra having 500hp, i expect a camaro model (be it z28, ss, or special limited edition ZL1) to bring 500+hp or whatever it takes to the game. Fall short of that, and you've just handed the performance crown over to Ford.

SVT plans to take the Cobra upscale in terms of craftsmanship, performance, etc.... Will GM follow suite with the top camaro?

 

I'm not sure what this all means from a Camaro perspective but I know if the Shelby car is built for around $70,000 they better re-think the $100,000 pricetag for the Blue Devil.

 

If the Shelby Cobra actually has 650 hp then I think the real question is, what does that mean for the Ford GT? Who the hell is going to pay almost 150k for this car that doesn't perform nearly as well as the Shelby(if it does make it to production)? I think to speculate on the Shelby model at this point, and how it will compete, is a bit premature. I frankly just don't see Ford doing something better than the Corvette for the price..............I just don't know if it can be done.

The more news and pics that I see about all the other cars that GM is starting to put out is really boosting my confidence about the 5th gen. I am waiting to see the performance numbers on the C6 because I bet the 5th gen will only be a few ticks slower and maybe the "top dog" will even be faster than the base C6. Everyday, things seem to be brighter.

 

Call it a hunch, a guess, premonition or just plain optimism.....

But I fully expect a 5th gen Z/28 to run with a C5 Z06 or C6 Z51.

 

I'm way on the otherside. I think that's damn near impossible. Not without some serious hp, and a host of go fast and turn quick goodies. I mean, i have serious doubts on whether a 2006 Cobra (assuming it has 500hp and a good modern suspension/chassis) will be good enough to run with a 2004 z06 too.

No easy task.

 

OMG. ROFLOL. A B S O L U T E L Y m u s t r e s i s t t h e u r g e t o c o m m e n t f u r t h e r

[myself]shutup, Robert[/myself]


(Z284ever....not pointed at you at all. Thanks for posting. )

 

Anything the M*stang does, the Camaro has to do better. If a real limited ZL1 model is needed than so be it. I'd rather see a Z28 take care of it though. Let the Corvette handle everything else.

 

Well if we're talking straight line acceleration, the current Cobra at 425hp is only about 3-4 tenths of a second behind the current Z06. Even assuming that a 500hp '06 Cobra is not underrated that's still a jump of 75hp which is plenty to overtake that gap.

Here's how I see the future performance ladder.

'05 Z06 > '06 Cobra > '05 C6 = current Z06 > current Cobra



What does smoked blue devil taste like?

 

Forget about what Chevy might do, this is the real issue that Ford needs to deal with.

 

And Camaro?

 

Assuming the GT will end production in 06 or 07, then that won't be an issue. The Cobra could probably carry on from there. By then, all the GT's would have been sold or spoken for. It'll only be made for what? 2 years with only a couple of thousand units?

 

The Shelby Cobra is not going to go for $70,000, especially with a $40,000 engine in its compartment. Hell, the Shelby GT with 320hp sold for over $150,000.

Now unless Shelby has one a bunch of his BS lawsuits, it will probably sell for $200,000.

 

Believe me. I WISH there was no stupid corvette rule. I have no problem with 500+hp Z/28 Camaro going along with the Mustang Cobra right over the performance of the base C6.

Looks to me like the Z/28 gets the base 400hp LS2 which should put it in proper Mustang GT *** kicking mode.

Let's try this again

'05 Z06 > '06 Cobra > '06 C6 = current Z06 > '07 Z/28 = current Cobra > '05 Mustang GT = '05 GTO = Camaro 5.3 RS

 

I'll just reiterate the point that GM will never let the Camaro compete with the Corvette. They will put a bullet in their heads before you do that