ok tell me if this seems a little off, but can GM deliver us a Performer at the camaro's noble 27k-33k pricetag and still have the HP to be what we come to expect from our camaros?

This is the way i see it, there is flag ship cars , then there is the sub-flagship names. The Flag ships HP usually wont be surpassed by a car 20,000 less (AkA sub-flagship car.).

But with things currently going as they are, can camaro be a True contender in 2007 without treading on the precious vette's terriroty? Dodge has set the bar extremely high by putting the Viper at 500HP, so they can push the bar without effecting there flagship sports car.

Let me break it down like this.

Dodge:
Viper: 500-550
New SRT-8: 425 ~
Dodge Ram SRT: 450-500

Ford: (difficult to determine which they want to be there flag)
GT-40: 550
Shelby (Pre-production??): 450
Cobra (06-07 release??): 400~
Mustang GT: 300HP

GM:
Corvette: 400
Z06: 505
GTO: 400 (under different name brand ofc)
Camaro: 375-400 (??)

I know it is still very early to speculate, but the past has shown us that atleast on paper Chevy wont allow the camaro (modern day) to surpass The Corvettes HP read out. What does this say in a world of 400HP daily driver road racing machines? If the vette sticks at the 400HP area the year of the Camaro Release we are looking at a pre-gimped HP rating. With Corbras and even 4 door DCX sedans handing us our ***'s.

Another thing i fear is this, maybe the camaro will be launched as a "Build to order" Automobile. As such i mean, kinda like vipers and other limited production , low order automobiles. Maybe with a 40,000 price tag and a 450HP output, built when ordered. In all honesty i would almost prefer this, if it kept the respective HP read out's high straight from the factory.

In a world getting more and more cluttered by reborn muscle car name plates, being able to beat the budget Mustang GT (15 second car...) isnt enough to be called a true contender anymore. Performance i hope is at the VERY top of GM's plans for the new camaro, after a 5 year hiatus (Maybe more) there just isnt any excuse to hand us a Sub-par 350HP performer.

Numbers sometimes speak louder then words, and are more appreciated then Good intentions.

 

Standard Vette by 2007 May hit a 425-450 (being very kind) HP mark. This is a statement im basing off past Corvette HP increases over a two year span. If it hit 450~ then we would be handed a 400HP camaro. I personally would like to see the camaro launched with a respectible 425HP, its the least GM can do for a 5 year hiatus.

I guess only time will tell.

 

HP Vette caps aside.

A 400hp Vette would hand a 400hp Camaro it's *** (probably even a 425hp Camaro).

So I wouldn't be too worried. Hopefully GM will see this. What they could do is offer the LS2 at around 425/450hp in the Base vette and market the SS Camaro (or Z28 not wanting to start this again) with the Vette engine.

Think about it, New Camaro SS with the Corvette Engine...??? Sounds good to me.

 

I think if tradition hold well,

that the new Camaro will share the current Gen (C6) Vettes motor, detuned as always ofc.

Maybe the Z06 motor in the SuperSport tho'! could you imagine a 35,000 performance package. (wishful thinking)

So many possibilitys and still 5 months until we see even the prototype.

 

Ah, the latest panic rumor.

Seriously, without styling or a single spec revealed, it is already a lame duck in performance?? 350-400hp isn't enough??

What would make you think GM will wimp out on delivering a high-performance Camaro (aside from implied Vette rule)?

 

I disagree with a lot. First the Cobra SHOULD be able to be a Camaro. A Camaro with a V8 should NOT cost 40k or be build to order. A mustang GT is sure as hell not a 15 second car!! Mid 13's.

 

The handbuilt z06 motor would put the price at a LOT more then 35k. Thats not even wishful thinking.........that's dreaming

 

In all honesty, nothing more then the vette's current HP and emerging Muscle car name plates respective HP in comparison to the Vette.

400HP would be enough, but if the Vette doesnt hit 450 by the year the new camaro hits the street, then 400 will be out of the question. Atleast this is what the past points to IMHO.

 

I thought the budget Mustang GT was a 13s car...

The pony car segment is about above average horsepower and more importantly style, not the most horsepower ever. A 350+-25 HP 5.3L in a competent 5th Gen design would sell.

 

We have seen it for the past couple of Generations... the Camaro gets the SAME engine as the base vette. But they just say it has 20 or so HP less than the vette. To make us Vette guys feel better... but in reality is the same engine.

So when the 5th Gen Camaro comes out it will have the LS2.. and it will probably say it has a bit less power... but we know better.

 

The Camaro never has and never will be the fastest super car in the world. It will be intended to be a mustang competitor. Thats it. Its should not compete with 40k mustangs and LX sedans. You want the car to be too much.

If they do folow the mustang model to a T, then there may be a "upper level" variant that can compete with the shelby.

 

Tell that to the 05' mustang owners who constantly fall prey to my 94' which runs 13.6 consistantly.

I ran against 3 05 GT's at the track before i spun a bearing at the begining of this summer. they seemed to run a consistant 14.3 - 14.9.

Maybe they where just awful drivers, or maybe 05 mustang is a 15 second car..

and a year for year camaro Vs cobra Post 1993, it was usually the Z28 pulling the win, atleast in the 100+ occasions i witnessed it. (351 and R's excluded :P)

 

Again im only speaking from past experiance (1992-present) but it shouldnt be aimed at only a mustang contender. When the camaro disappeared in 02' model year its soul competition for price was the Mustang, so the statement then was true. The viper Vette etc, where all in another "American supercar" category.

But in todays market Mustang killer wont push cars off the lot anymore, there is many name plates re-emerging looking to be apart of the "Muscle car" scene. All these name plates are from the era of the Camaro and Mustang of the past, which they where intended to compete against and win.

Times are a changing, I can only hope GM can adjust the name plate accordingly.

 

No I have a buddy with a Mustang GT and he is not happy with the performance at all. A good running 1992 Z28 L98 is competition for the Mustang GT not even mentioning a LS1 so I wouldn't be to concerned about the GT Mustangs.

The Chargers seem to be Top Dawgs right now...

 

The new mustang puts more to the ground then the LT1's made at the crank. They are 13 second cars no matter what the guys you raced pull. As far as the z28 pulling the win against the cobra.........times changed in about 2003.