Finally posting - My idea of the next 5th Gen Camaro

[69MyWay]

Originally Posted by Steve1969LS1

Nothing special..

We got a special invite from Scott Settelmeir of GM to a "special unveiling" at the COBO hall in January at the Detroit autoshow.. the letter was adress to "Dear Camaro/Firebird enthusiast"

And it said "our paitence would finally pay off".. only 250 of these special invites were sent out and I can't go

But still.. it does indicate that a Camaro concept will be unveiled.. and THAT is good thing..

Hope like it looks like John's or Kris's rendering.. those about my favorite.

But aren't all F body fans also El Camino fans? Yah...that's it. The new Malibu inspired El Camino for the F body guy!



Actually, that is exciting news! January is right around the corner now!

[jannes_z-28]

Trouble with unveilings like this is that people tend to grow expectations that later turns in to disappointment.

I hope they'll show us something really cool and fast. LS2/LS7-power of course.

And a new Camaro is really something GM needs.


Jan

[trapin]

I sure hope so,who do I apologize to?

Me. You hurt my feelings. *sniff*

Just messin'

Actually if I can comment on this sketch without crossing any proprietary lines. I would say that's the first rendering of "that" car by a freelance designer that has actually............................(searching for a word here)............................................. .................................................. ....suprised me.

And no...I won't elaborate.

[67Sally]

That is a great design John. I have been waiting for you to post it ever since we talked about it at SEMA.
W.

[Damn True]

I like it. Kris brought up the sloped hood. If the engine compartment were long enough or the engine set back far enough that might not be an issue, though I would not like to see another F-body with 1/2 the motor beneath the cowl. Another concern with the hood is that there are new pedestrian impact rules that dictate how high the leading edge of the hood must be. That might be a factor as well.

Overall, I dig it. I like the creases coming off the fender openings being the reverse of the '69 version.

[JayR]

That looks great John, I love it! Best one yet! If it looks like that, I'll buy one! As for clearance, handles, wheel diameter and other real world buzz-killers, it is just a design exercise... that You rocked!

[MaxHarvard]

Awesome!!

Between yours and kris'... thats tough... both awesome!

[Project_Gotham]

Originally Posted by jonny51

Nice!

Only problem is GM will find a way to screw it up!

Introducing the ECOTEC, 4 cylinder, FWD Camaro!

[JohnnyGMachine]

Hey guys, Thanks. First I want to say thanks for all of your input, feel free to add more.

For this concept, I did a lot of sketch exercises before I got it to this point. While sketching, things like the belt line, cowl height, and wheel base where the things that I kept in mind while working out my design. On the final concept design that you see here – the belt line was raised up a little higher which gave the car a more dramatic look by reducing the greenhouse height. This also allowed for the cowl height to be up higher which in turn lets me angle the hood down more and still maintain enough clearance for the engine. The raised cowl bulge also gives me approximately another 1-1.5” of hood clearance over the engine. Look at the C5 and C6, there’s room for the engine without major issues. The raised belt line also allows me to get the rear CD reduced for less aerodynamic drag. These were the couple things that were integrated into my design that helped me to get the look I wanted.
The front grill – This is my favorite part of the whole car. I always thought that the ’69 Camaro grill was really aggressive lookin’ and very modern at the same time. It’s really clean, so what I did was leaned it back , and gave it an even more modern edge or look so that it could be retro yet fresh at the same time. Although it’s probably not the most aerodynamic solution, it looks great and helps to get ample cool air into the radiator.
Now we can have a whole other debate and wheel sizes and what’s too big or not but as a designer I have to think ahead. And what happens to the wheel sizes on OEM cars every couple years – they get bigger. Also since this is a concept and used to gauge reactions I took a little bit of liberty with the wheel sizes. Think of it this way – look at the C6 ZO6 – 18” and 19” wheels??!!!! Holy Cow they’re huge – and beautiful. Why couldn’t the Camaro come with wheels this size, maybe 18s for the Z/28 but man wouldn’t it be killer to see staggered diameter wheel sizes on let’s say an SS version? Heck yeah!
Anyways, I have just about finished up the rear ¾ view rendering and have a side view worked out. I hope to get these up soon. Scott’s hopefully still gonna help me with a web site soon that will show the rest of my 5th Gen “what if” sketches along with a lot of other examples of my designs and renderings.

Thanks,
John

[Streetking]

Sweet!

SW