2019 Chevy Camaro won't get Corvette's seven-speed manual

Last month
Auto Guide
discovered a California Air Resource Board (CARB) document certifying the engines and transmissions in the 2019 model year
Chevrolet Camaro and
Corvette. The Corvettes were listed with “M7” and “SA8” gearboxes — representing a seven-speed manual and eight-speed auto. The Camaro got the M6, M7, and SA8 transmissions, giving us the idea that the Camaro SS could get the same seven-speed manual with the coming refresh. Earlier this month
General Motors
rescinded that certification paperwork, filing new papers last week that omitted the M7 gearbox for the Camaro — but added an SA10 designation.

The suggestion here is that the 2019 Camaro, at least in SS guise, will get the option of the
10-speed semi-automatic that GM developed with
Ford. We’ve been expecting that gearbox to filter through the model line,
GM product honcho Mark Reuss saying the deca-gear would show up in eight of the carmaker’s models by 2018. The transmission made its first public appearance in the
Ford F-150
Raptor, then performed its first encore in the
Camaro ZL1.

We’ll assume GM doesn’t have any more CARB bait-and-switch submissions in store, but we’re not surprised at the development. GM would need to do some heavy drafting to refit the TR-6070 seven-speed into the
Camaro, more than a mere mid-cycle refresh is worth. In the Camaro, the transmission mounts directly to the 6.2-liter LT1 V8, whereas the Corvette places its transmission mounts at the rear axle. The Camaro could eventually get the ‘Vette’s seven-cog row-your-own gearbox, but it won’t be at launch, apparently. Besides, the 10-speed does the same job with much wider buyer approval — plus, it increases fuel economy and decreases CO2 emissions, benefits to please both owners and CARB.

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