The Chevy Camaro concept was undoubtedly one of the stars of the 2006 NAIAS, but it could have looked very different. GM's product boss Bob Lutz admitted the retro-styled 2+2 had been sent back to the drawing board after the original finished version had been seen by one highly influential viewer.

"We felt good about it but we didn't feel great about it. Sometimes it needs someone else to look at it," said Lutz. "Rick Wagoner said 'that looks just like the old one and why would we want to do that? Let's get some modern flair into it so we're not repeating the past.' Ed Welburn had been working with one group of designers so he put a second team on to it. And right away, the moment there was competition, things started to get a little more exciting. We have gone with a compendium of the two teams' work that has the best elements of both cars."

Rumors of a Camaro comeback have been circulating almost since the day the last-generation pony car was pulled from production. And indeed, a version might have hit the auto show circuit awhile ago had not General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner pulled the plug. The first design, reveals GM car czar Bob Lutz was unabashedly retro, but Wagoner, "didn't want something that reproduced the past slavishly." So while the version that debuted inDetroit on Monday has the unmistakable "heritage" cues of the classic '69 Camaro, Lutz insists it's a "Camaro for the 21st Century."


Under the skin, GM has turned to the next-generation Zeta "architecture." The automaker cancelled the original Zeta program last year, but rather than calling off the platform entirely, it quietly started over, aiming to drive cost out of the rear-drive chassis. The four-wheel independent suspension on the new version uses MacPherson struts up front and a multilink system in the rear. The Camaro's wheelbase measures 110.5 inches, total length 186.2 inches, with a width of 79.6 inches.


In concept form, Camaro boasts a 400-horsepower 6.0-liter LS2 engine, mated to a six-speed manual transmission. In a nod to modern realities, the Corvette-derived powertrain features GM's Active Fuel Management system, which shuts off half the cylinders when loads are light. A production version would likely start with a six-cylinder engine in a base model going for "just a little more than the Solstice," according to Lutz, which would mean something in the low-$20,000 range. But "any V-8 General Motors produces today is potentially slated for this car."


Standing aside the show car, a broad smile on his face, Lutz repeatedly insisted Camaro is nothing more than a concept. Right now. "We have to run the numbers," he added. "We can't just go by emotion. Though if we did, this is the next car I would build." But when pressed, GM insiders acknowledged the odds are extremely high that the concept will evolve into a production Camaro by around the '09 model year.