Network
Making a successor of any classic muscle car that is just as popular as the last is hard and that’s exactly what the engineering team at Chevrolet is dealing with as they design the sixth-generation Camaro. As we found out from Car Scoop, not only are drivetrain, weight saving and design options a consideration for the future generation, so is maintaining the company’s near 40 percent share holding of the rear-wheel drive performance car market.
So if Chevrolet sticks with the trend of restyling a previous generation for the future model, which generation remake would bring comparable sales and maintain brand loyalty? That’s what Car Scoop wants you to tell them in their latest poll.
The sixth-generation Camaro is set to hit the market in the fall of 2015 as a 2016 model, and as we told you in February, rumors are already swirling about how the new model will be configured.
While it doesn’t look good for the V6 power plant, Chevrolet is still planning to keep the potent V8 as an option. This is good news for muscle car fans and everyone wants to know if the good news will continue with the sixth-generation’s design.
“This is a very successful car,” Camaro chief engineer Al Oppenheiser told Automotive News about the Chevy muscle car. “In some ways it is actually going to be tougher to create the redesigned car, which will be the Camaro’s sixth generation.”
Oppenheiser went on to say, “We always have to stay fresh and ahead. We do not want to lose the fact that we have nearly 40 percent of the market.”
The redesign of the 2016 Camaro is a difficult predicament. The fifth-generation vehicle has had a ton of success as a modern recreation of the first-gen cars, but would making another generation based off the Camaro’s early years be too much, or just what the model needs for continued success?
With the Camaro’s current body style, Chevrolet seen impressive sales numbers over the last two model years, including selling 88,249 Camaros last year. In comparison, Ford sold 70,438 Mustangs in 2011 while Dodge only sold 39,534 Challengers.
So what’s going to keep the Camaro as successful as it currently is once the sixth-generation hits the market? While options, power and weight will all be very influential, the design is very important. A second-gen inspired platform could be cool with the classic split-bumper and pointed front end, or even a third-generation Iroc-Z inspired sixth-gen Camaro might be worth considering.
What do you think would be the best design? Head on over to Car Scoop and take their poll on which generation the next Camaro should be inspired by, and let us know what your idea of the perfect Camaro design is.
