Souped-Up 2016 Chevy Camaro To Debut In May

(RTTNews) - General Motors Co. (GM) will unveil the all-new 2016 Camaro on Saturday, May 16, at a special public event on Belle Isle in Detroit. The sixth-generation 6 Camaro is based on GM's Alpha platform, with more than 70 percent of the components unique to the vehicle.

According to GM, only two parts will carry over from the current fifth-generation model - the bowtie emblem on the tail lamp panel and the SS badge. The fifth-generation Camaro nears the end of production this year.

Todd Christensen, Camaro marketing manager, said, "This is only the sixth time we have introduced an all-new Camaro. We wanted to share the moment with the customers and fans who have helped make Camaro both America's favorite performance car for the past five years, and a cultural icon since 1967."

GM said that the Camaro event will include a "Camaro Museum" display of the most significant vehicles from the brand's history, hot-lap rides in the 2015 Camaro Z/28 model around the Belle Isle Grand Prix course, meet-and-greet opportunities with Camaro designers as well as engineers, and Camaro-only parking for owners.

GM noted that the front structure was developed specifically for Camaro. It has been lengthened to create the dash-to-axle ratio necessary for Camaro's profile, and widened to improve cornering.

In addition, 20 percent of the 6.2-liter LT1 V-8 engine has been tailored to fit the Camaro's packaging, including new, tubular "tri-Y"-style exhaust manifolds.

While GM did not reveal the price or engine options for the car, it is expected to be similar to the current fifth-generation model.

The current model's price starts at about $25,000 and rises to $75,000 for the high-performance Z/28 model. The engine choice will likely range from a four-cylinder turbocharged engine to a 6.2-liter V-8 option.

Last Friday, GM said it expected to deliver the 500,000th unit of the fifth-generation Camaro in the U.S. this month. The fifth-generation Camaro went on sale in August 2009.

Camaro passed Mustang in 2010, to become the best-selling performance car in the U.S. - a title Camaro has retained for five consecutive years.

In 2014, Camaro total sales increased 7.1 percent to 86297 units, while sales for the first two months of 2015 rose 3.6 percent to 11,364 units.