Click above for high-res gallery of the Camaro prototype in more colors

It's true. The production Chevy Camaro will debut at Indy, but not at the Indy 500 race in a couple of weeks. Rather, General Motors has informed various Camaro fanboy circles that production Camaros will be in attendance at the Indy '08, Back at the Brickyard event from September 19-21. The Back at the Brickyard is an event attended by thousands of Camaro and Firebird fans, so it's appropriate that the production Camaro be welcomed into the world by friends. On hand will be a number of different Camaro models sporting the full engine lineup and, of course, all the different colors. Everyone thought GM would wait until the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit to debut its new rear-wheel-drive coupe bearing the iconic Camaro name, but we're hardly disappointed the car will be unveiled more than three months earlier. We may just have to make a special trip to Indianapolis for this one.

Before you plan your trip to the Brickyard, we feel compelled to note that GM has not issued a formal press release confirming all of this, so it's possible some forum members are pulling everyone's leg right now. Thanks for the tip, Tommy!

UPDATE: We've contacted GM to inquire about the validity of this story, and they tell us that the production Camaro will not debut at this event. It will actually debut BEFORE then at a place TBD. Hmmm... what event takes place before September that would be an appropriate place to debut an iconic muscle car? If you'd all like to meet us at the Coney Island restaurant on Woodward Ave. the Thursday before the Dream Cruise, we'll buy you a coney.


[Source: LS1Tech]

click the picture to view the video

Genuine GM Accessories are as obsessively tested as the rest of the car during the design and prototype stage. When the production tweaks are being given to the basic car, the Accessories wizards are in there too, mocking up and trying out different creative ways to offer some pizazz at the parts counter. What we're most excited about in this video is the appearance of the new Camaro with some extra goodies. You don't get to see much, but the shroud of Auburn Hills gets pulled back just enough to show off ground effects done up in clay. The rear spoiler also appears to be different, though it's never actually shown. If customized Camaros of the past are any indication, we expect the hottest item will be the big peeing "Calvin" for the rear window and those ridiculous blackout head and taillight covers – this time, they'll be available with a GM part number, w00t! Top tippage, Tim!

[Source: 5thgen.org]

Click above for more high-res spy shots of the white Camaro prototype

We're not sure how this happened, but Corey Roginski, the same photographer who snapped the batch of black Camaro pics we showed you last night, also managed to shoot one in white. It appears he was given the same cordial welcome by engineers in whose care the car was placed, even going so far as to take a picture of the beaming photog posing with the car. Corey tells us that the he owns a '69 Camaro that his family bought new nearly 40 years ago, so getting to do an impromptu photo shoot with two prototypes of 2009's hottest car is why his face is beaming like a kid in a candy store.

We must be quick to point out that things like the headlights and taillights and other various components of the car are not final production pieces. But the body shape likely is, every crease, curve and bulge (unless GM's playing a horrible trick on all of us). As was the case with yesterday's batch of photos, Corey wasn't allowed to shoot the interior, further lending credence to GM VP of Global Design Ed Welburn's claim that the production innards of the new Camaro will be a pleasant surprise, despite spy photos that suggest otherwise.



[Source: Corey Roginski for Brenda Priddy & Co.]

Click above for more high-spy shots of the production 2009 Chevy Camaro

During an interview at the recent Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, GM VP of Global Design Ed Welburn claims the the production 2009 Chevy Camaro will feature an interior that's even better than the one featured in the Camaro concept. The interviewer gets Welburn talking about the interior by mentioning the gamut of spy shots taken that show the interior of a Camaro mule. Welburn claims those interiors are just thrown together with tape and gauges and don't represent the production interior at all. Well, we've all the seen the interior spy shots, and they show a dash design that looks much farther along than what Welburn suggests. The latest interior spy shots show a dash, center console, gauges and steering wheel that all appear to be unique elements destined for the production Camaro, not items pilfered from the corporate parts bin just to get the car running. Unfortunately, whether or not the spy shots do reveal the production interior can't be answered until we see the final product at a future auto show, but Mr. Welburn seems to claim that the 2009 Chevy Camaro will still be packing a surprise or two when it finally does arrive.

Check out both interviews given by Ed Welburn at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance after the jump.



[Source: Jacksonville.com]

click above for more high-res renderings of the Chevy El Camaro

We're relatively certain that General Motors has no intention of reviving the El Camino nameplate. Fans of car-based trucklets should be happy that the General has given the green light to produce the Pontiac G8 ST and leave it at that. Of course, the mind wanders regardless and comes up with such interesting ideas as this, the El Camaro. While these renderings provided by Autoblog reader Bo Z are a bit stylized, we imagine that developing such a vehicle wouldn't require a large investment. Much like the G8 ST is simply the front end of a G8 sedan grafted onto the body of Holden Ute, the El Camero could be produced by doing the same thing with the front end of the new Camaro. We know, we know... new, more stringent CAFE regulations are right around the corner, the truck market is shrinking, etc. This is not the time to be dreaming of a Camaro with a bed. At least we've got Photoshop to help express our fanciful whims.

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]

While two Camaro mules were caught at LAX earlier in the week, another was recently captured on the other side of the world. Still sporting the camouflage look that Bob Lutz vowed to banish, the car was spotted on an open trailer somewhere in Australia. The photographer managed to capture an important detail that many fans have been mulling over since the launch of the Camaro concept. That essential feature is the appearance of the fuel door. The concept perched the door on top of the driver's side rear fender. Apparently that will not be true of the production vehicle. The spy shot indicates that the Camaro will intake fuel through the passenger side rear fender. However, since folks in Australia drive on the right side of the vehicle that makes it the driver's side in their world. We hear their toilets swirl in the other direction, too. Due to cost saving measures, we don't expect the fuel door location to change for U.S. production. Also of note are the rear taillights, which we can see in these images are red on the inside and amber on the outside. Minor details, for sure, that will no doubt be eagerly devoured by Camaro faithful waiting for this car's return.

The taillights also appear to be colored specifically for the Australian market. Australian Design Rule 6 calls for all amber direction indicators. That explains the change from all red taillights. It is a detail that will probably be spared from the U.S. market. However, if any stateside owners clamor to be different they might be able to score some ADM amber lenses off eBay.

[Source: Camaro5.com via Jalopnik]

The last time we saw some good spy shots of the 2009 Chevy Camaro, it was sitting on a trailer waiting for transport. Those shots included images of the car's interior, but we've got more for you today courtesy of a Jalopnik reader who snapped a camouflaged prototype just sitting around somewhere. The interiors of both cars appear to be the same, which supports the theory that this instrument panel is close to production ready. It incorporates a number of elements from the Camaro Concept's interior, including the big gauge pod with two large dials for the tach and speedo, as well as a cluster of four gauges at the bottom of the center console for battery voltage, oil pressure, oil temperature and one we haven't seen on a production car before: torque. Sure, the concept interior's flare has been toned down for production, but GM did not raid the corporate parts bin as much for the Camaro's interior as Chrysler has apparently done for the Dodge Challenger's interior. Click the Read link to view more new spy pics of the Camaro's interior over at Jalopnik.

[Source: Jalopnik]

You might wonder how many times we are going to report on the same photograph. We first showed you the unwrapped Camaro after Lutz commanded it to go without camouflage, but the photo was no more than a thumbnail. We next brought you a slightly larger version along with photoshopped versions showing what the Camaro would look like in a variety of colors. Now in our (hopefully) final post on the photo, we bring you a high resolution version practically straight out of the camera. You can now inspect all of the pre-production details without squinting at your screen and speculate to your heart's desire.

[Source: GM]

click to enlarge and view the Camaro prototype in various colors

While we were grateful that Bob Lutz ordered the removal of camouflage from all of the Camaro prototypes running around in view of the public, the teaser image that GM provided was a bit too eency weency for our tastes. TheGMSource, however, found a larger version, or artfully blew up the small one, that shows a lot more detail. We can see the faux vents ahead of the rear wheels, as well as the surfacing of the Camaro's rear with its faux diffuser (at least we think it's faux). Whoa, this thing's got a lot of faux parts, but don't expect it to be a poser on arrival. Chevy is no doubt infusing the Camaro with enough mechanical fortitude to hang with the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger from day one.

TheGMSource also followed up with questions for Scott Settlemire, a member of the Camaro team at Chevy. His words are not unexpected when he says that the Camaro is about 65% production ready, and what you see in spy photos, even the one supplied by GM, does not mean you're looking at the car that will end up on dealer lots. His reference to the Camaro prototype's horrible headlamps is hilarious, and he was careful to point out that the interior shot does not necessarily show the final dash design, either.

Oh, and just for fun, we played with the larger pic in Photoshop and changed the prototype's boring white into all the various official colors that we expect will be offered on the production model. We're not very good at Photoshop, so if any pros want to try, let us know the results by emailing them to abresearch at gmail dot com.

UPDATE: Thanks to CamaroZ28.com forum member Rampant, there are now some colorized Camaro images in the gallery that are actually good!

[Source: TheGMSource]