Your Say: What Should A Next-Gen Chevrolet Camaro Be?

The adage lightning doesn’t strike twice isn’t much of an inspiring one, so Chevrolet engineers are hoping it’s wrong. We hear that as the release date for the next generation of Chevrolet Camaro comes closer, engineers are pondering–and worrying–about exactly what the new car will do.

Camaro fans will be keen to add that the next generation of Camaro won’t be the second–it’ll actually be the sixth–but it will be the second version of Camaro after the car faded into obscurity in 2002 and came back to life in 2010.

That reincarnation has paid dividends for Chevrolet: the Camaro sits high atop the heap of American muscle cars, outselling its chief competitor, the Ford Mustang, by about 18,000 units last year. It sold more than twice as many units as the Dodge Challenger.

So how do you make a Camaro better?

Al Oppenheiser, the chief engineer at Chevrolet for the Camaro line, said that reducing weight is definitely a factor. The Camaro SS coupe is more than 200 pounds heavier than the comparable Ford Mustang GT. Pit the Camaro LT against a comparable Hyundai Genesis Coupe, and the American is a whole 300 pounds heavier. We expect some mass to be shed as the next-gen Camaro will almost certainly utilize General Motors’ new Alpha platform, which also underpins the new 2013 Cadillac ATS.

Also a question mark: engines. Oppenheiser told AN that Chevrolet must also consider displacement and cylinder count in its next car. Seeing as the Ford Mustang will reportedly get a turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the future, it might not be a bad idea for the Camaro to follow suit with a hot version of the Malibu’s new 2.0-liter Ecotec turbo four.

Perhaps the biggest issue, however, is styling. Despite creating a couple of issues (like a lack of outward visibility), the Camaro’s styling has been acclaimed and is one of the reasons it sells so many units. Chevrolet could follow the original Camaro’s design trajectory and go from a modern interpretation of the first generation to an updated version of the second one. That, or attempt to update its current styling theme.

Either way, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that General Motors is walking on eggshells in looking to the next Camaro, which will reportedly drop late in 2015.

SOURCE: motortrend.com