Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Chevrolet
Spy Shots: Chevy Camaro prototypes spotted in Detroit
by John Neff on Feb 12th 2008 at 11:57AM 
click above for a total of six new Chevy Camaro spy shots
Spy photographers from KGP Photography have finally caught the Camaro in the automotive industry's epicenter. In the past, the General has only tested Camaro mules wearing heavily modified Holden Commodore bodies in the U.S. These pics, however, show a pair of Camaro prototypes, one festooned with camouflage and one completely bare (the way Bob Lutz likes it) in Detroit City. We're of course interested in the prototype that's sans camo. Aside from a few details like the grille and headlights, you're looking at the Camaro that will go into production next February. The other vehicle, meanwhile, was reportedly fresh off the boat from Australia, which is why it's still wearing camo and features Aussie-spec red and amber taillights. Take a look at the many spy shots in our gallery below and wait patiently like the rest of us for the Camaro to finally reenter production.
[Photos: KGP Photography]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
rar 12:03PM (2/12/2008)
I like the Camaro, but I think I like the Trans Am from the other post today better.
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Polly Prissy Pants 2:36PM (2/12/2008)
I agree 100%. After seeing the rendering of what a beautiful new Trans Am could be, and the response that it'll never be, it's hard to even look favorably on this Camaro. It's also starting to get old. You can't even buy one yet but it feels like they've been on sale for years.
steve 12:17PM (2/12/2008)
big and ugly, just like the new mustang---good luck with that general
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Mr. Oak 12:39PM (2/12/2008)
Would you please go over to AutoBlog Green and quietly enjoy your (Fill in the blank)_________________
Aveo
Yaris
Fit
Fiat
Seat
etc., etc.
mk 1:44PM (2/12/2008)
@ Mr. Oak...
One does not need to be a "greenie" to think that the camaro is a day late, and a ton too heavy.
Why does a coupe need to be so darn big? Why does it need to push 3800-4000lbs?
Where are the 3200lb, short-overhang, svelte-looking, modest-sized sport coupes???
And I am not talking about Prius, or SEAT, or anything near that. (actually I am fine with a thirstly little car getting 20mpg, if it is bat-outta-hell fast, great handling with 4-wheel SLA suspension, with a turbo, manual trans, and RWD, and looks as fast as it is.)
Not everyone (and maybe steve and I are in some sort of agreement, i dunno) wants a 2-ton V8 linebacker of a sport coupe, be it Chevy, Ford, or Dodge. Where are the rest???
Andrew 2:44PM (2/12/2008)
Steve: I completely agree.
Mr. Oak: HURRRRRRR GIMME MOAR FAT V8 AMERKAN MUSCL HURRRRRR
radix 12:17PM (2/12/2008)
Looks awesome! You know GM had to put it out there with all the Challenger press lately
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psarhjinian 12:23PM (2/12/2008)
I think I prefer the lack of haunches on the Mustang to the bulge on the Camaro and (especially) the Challenger, but this is a nice shot of this car. I know what the stylists are trying to do, and it works, but it's just not my thing.
It definitely "sits on it's wheels" better than the Challenger does.
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VP 12:24PM (2/12/2008)
Look at the picture at the top of this post and tell me it doesn't look the real sucessor to the KITT? I love that all black scheme. February can't get here soon enough.
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Stealth E34 12:25PM (2/12/2008)
I know GM wants to absolutely nail this one - and they have every right to - but I cannot understand why it is going to take another YEAR to get the Camaro into production. In all of the latest spy photos, the car looks nearly complete. Unless GM is secretly working on a Hybrid powertrain to be released alongside the first models, I'm confused as to the delay.
Surely GM could have the Camaro production ready by the summer for a Fall 2008 release? Chrysler came later to the game with the Challenger and yet is first out the gate with a production model (not that Chrysler's current modus operandi is anything to follow). While this may not be the best strategy in the long run, I do not see how GM manages to take an extra 2 years to develop essentially the same car.
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Gooch 12:33PM (2/12/2008)
Like I have said several times, this is the longest roll-out I've ever seen, for any car. It is past ridiculous. I'm a former Z28 owner, but I am so done with the Camaro now.
Whenever the car comes out now, it will be completely anti-climactic.
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Gregg 12:55PM (2/12/2008)
No one takes as long with getting product out as Ford. How many years have we heard about the Fairlane-now-Flex? It is still not here. The 500/Taurus has been on the road since 2004. The Lincoln version will first hit the streets this summer. A refreshed Mustang will be here for 2010, but the fully redesigned on won't bow until 2012 at the earliest. Of course they really try to milk what exists. The Fox platform Mustang ran with the same body for 15 years and then added another 11 model years with a couple of body style updates from 1994 through 2005. So even waiting until 2012 for a new one will be one of the shortest platform runs for Mustang in decades.
Those are some awesome haunches on the Camaro. It will sell well for Chevrolet.
FireStorm 12:41PM (2/12/2008)
as i've said a million times before.. Camaro is taking longer because the assembly plant it is going to be built at is undergoing a complete retooling which takes time..
the Challenger is built at the same plant as the Charger/Magnum/300 so they didnt need to retool the whole friggen factory from scratch like GM has to do with the Camaro
so yeah.. they can build a few here and there, but until that retooling is complete at Oshawa they cant mass produce them..
yeah it sucks, but it is what it is.. GM wants this car out as soon as possible, just like you... they are going as fast as they can without rushing (rushing is bad, mistakes are made)
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psarhjinian 1:48PM (2/12/2008)
Fine, if you have to retool, retool. But shut up about the car while you're doing so. The Camaro will have been 3+ years in the pipe by the time it actually hits customers' hands. That's a recipe for buyer apathy if I ever heard it.
And, to clarify, the retooling of Oshawa was not what resulted in this car's extreme show-to-go time. The problem is GM trying to figure out how they're going to make money on it. I think it's rather obvious that, when the Camaro was first paraded out they were flat-out unprepared to make it and have scrambled to find a way to do so and still make money.
Hemming and hawing about other Zeta vehicles didn't help, either, as they either would complement or leverage the plans already in place for the Camaro. You can just tell that GM's bureaucracy just couldn't get itself in gear for this one (aka: "Pull the tail on the dinosaur" syndrome)
Ford played it much smarter by not whoring a Mustang concept for three or more years, and not prevaricating about costs--instead, they just gutted DEW98 for the Mustang it got it out the door. And, as a reward, they will have owned this segment for nearly five years.
meshies 12:43PM (2/12/2008)
The front looks off in those pics. Maybe its the all black but the nose looks pushed in.
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giallo 12:43PM (2/12/2008)
I think it looks better than the other on..the challenger. Especially the back of this one is sexy.
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Stealth E34 12:46PM (2/12/2008)
Ok I gotcha. It's because the Oshawa plant has to be re-tooled to accept the Zeta platform. I forgot about that.
Either way, this Camaro works out nicely for me. I should almost be done law school by the time it will get its first facelift, hopefully by then all of the kinks are work out and there's a rockin' Hybrid version.
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iSpec 12:48PM (2/12/2008)
With all the talk of $38 BILLION losses, Trans Am's with Burt Reynold's picture in the background, I'm wondering just how viable this car or company is going to be down the road.
You know things are radically changing and America is being devoured globally when Hyundai is getting hype for their rwd coupe, building 2 US plants, V8's with 375 hp and eventually supercharged and their rwd coupe is likely to be (equally) viable.
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Chevy Nick 4:55PM (2/12/2008)
Do you understand anything about corporate accounting?
Ted 12:50PM (2/12/2008)
I'm starting to like the camaro, but the one thing that really turns me off is the front end. It looks like a giant lizard or something smiling at you. They should do something better with it, because its body as a whole is quite stunning.
Depending how it turns out, I might be tempted to trade in my GTi and pick a second year model up, once all the kinks are worked out.
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