Don't slash your wrists yet, Camaro fans. But Robert Lutz told Automotive News in the current edition that the General still hasn't made a decision on whether to build the 201x Camaro . . . .

"DETROIT -- Product chief Robert Lutz thinks General Motors can sell more than 100,000 units of the Chevrolet Camaro . . . ." 

"Is it an approved program? No."

GM might . . . MIGHT . . .  come to a decision in about six months or so on whether to build the "someday" Bow-Tie pony car.  But even if they do, GM's OZ division--Holden-- won't even have the basic platform ready for the U.S. market until about 2009.  So you'll have plenty of time to save up for it . . . .

Meanwhile, Ford will have sold hundreds of thousands of ready-to-rod Mustangs by the time the first "dream" Camaro could hit the streets.

Of course, by then, "President Hillary and the car-hating Democrats" will probably have the CAFE standard increased to about 40 m.p.g. . . . so what would be the point in buying a "new Camaro?"  (maybe they could still slide a few by with the GDI Ecotec four-popper out of the turbo Solstice).

Talk about missed opportunities (heh, heh, heh)

hey, keep laughing, while GM is getting back in the game, ford is losing tons of money and going down. So maybe by the time the camaro does come out, ford wont be around...haha. good thing to, I think people are about sick of every wanna be racer coming up to the stop light in his v-6 mustang thinking their hot ####.  

It won't be so funny for the Bow-Tie brigade when 20,000 500-factory-h.p. GT500s are at the stop lights of America over the next couple of years, will it?

Richard Holdener pulled 990 h.p. out of a stock-block, stock-head '03 Cobra engine.   Just imagine what the turbo tuners and the nitrous squeezers will be able to extract from the far-superior 5.4 GT500 'plant!  And if Bush's push for more E85 "gasoline" brings cheap, racing-quality alky to nearly every corner store . . . look out! 

actually, what is funny is ford thinking the GT is a bad ass car when the Z06 gives the same performance for half the cost. then when the (possible) blue devil edition comes out, it will walk over the GT and still cost alot less. As for the GT500's not really worried, I'll have fun making my cars just a fast for less money. 50k, yes its decently priced. Is it a ZO6 killer, no. but its working on it.

A GT500 with $8,000-$10,000 in aftermarket parts will roast Z06s in the quarter for substantially less than just the stock Z06, sans modification. 

Furthermore, the Z06 isn't really a very good candidate for serious forced induction because of its stratospheric compression ratio and weak-sister hypereutectic pistions.  So after a Z06 owner takes a few hits to his platnum card in unsuccessful bouts with a few "tuned" GT500s (most Z06 drivers would never carry cash . . . too gauche), he will need to spend almost twice as much to achieve the same power as just about any ordinary mope with hand tools will routinely get out of a "tuned" GT500 on the stock shortblock and heads.

Comparing a mass-produced Z06 to a hand-built Ford GT makes about as much sense as comparing a Cadillac Cimmaron to a BMW 325i.  Both had about the same level of performance, but there was no real contest on style, quality, execution, and resale values.

the Z06 isnt just mass produced, tho it is an affordable supercar. come on, the engines are hand built by one man. we'll see what can be done to make it faster if the blue devil performance comes out. oh and the GT500 is only 475 h.p. could be more or less in real life, maybe they should have it officially dyno'd. if people were really smart, they would get the C6 and add the procharger kit. 600+ h.p and would probably cost as much as the GT500 when all is said and done. so dont worry, there is a corvette that can be tuned.  

Forget 475.   The SAE has certified the GT500 at 500 emissions-legal Clydesdales!

"Final certification testing of the Shelby GT500's 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 shows it will produce 500 horsepower and 480 lb.-ft. of torque - 25 more horsepower than preliminary estimates.

'With 500 hp and the Shelby name, this car is an instant legend,' said Hau Thai-Tang, director, Advanced Product Creation & SVT programs.

http://media.ford.com/newsroom/feature_display.cfm?release=23017

The Procharger is a good unit, but there's no way it can produce the sort of low-end and midrange torque that a good Eaton or a properly-sized turbo can when all of these power adders are operated at streetable boost levels on a small-block V8 (Centrifugal superchargers produce very little "bottom end" because of slow impeller speeds). 

Furthermore, a Procharged C6 is going to be very boost-limited on pump unleaded because of its high compression ratio and weak factory pistons.

600 h.p. from the GT500 will be child's play . . . a short afternoon of bolt-ons and an ECU flash.  Nothing at all like trying to shoehorn in a huge centrifugal supercharger into a cramped plastic two-seater.

BTW, when did they start making a Corvette with a back seat?  Score another one for the Shelby . . . .

Well, with about 330 rw ft lbs of torque at 3000 rpm to about 450 ft lbs at about 4800 enough torque. I don't know what the pistons are made out of, but even with its limited boost capability, its larger displacement should make for about an even amount of power with more boost on the smaller ford motor. and if all else fails, theres always nitrous.

Sure the corvette doesnt have a back seat, never sat in a new stang, but the last model mustangs were too comfortable in the back seat anyways. 

Clydesdales huh? sounds like a budwiser man to me and I give you props for that.

Certainly extra cubic inches and higher compression will make up some of the ground.

However a 2V 6.0 LS2 doesn't have enough size advantage over a 4V 5.4 to overcome the 6.0s dynamic compression ratio limitation on pump gasoline.  Off the showroom floor, the 5.4 will virtually match the mass air flow (and thus power) of the expensive 7.0 LS7 and will be 100 h.p. stronger than the pedestrian 6.0.  Yet the Eaton will only need to pump out about 8 psi (46.65 hg absolute manifold pressure; estimated density ratio of around 1.45:1) to achieve this power level.   

The high compression ratio of the stock LS2 6.0 (not to mention its weak hypereutectic pistons) prevent reliable "boost" over 8 psi because the peak cylinder pressures exceed the detonation threshold of pump gasoline.  (In fact, Procharger's LS2 Corvette kit limits boost to 6.2 psi, intercooled) 

Of course,  the LS2 gains about 3% extra power per point of additional compression over the supercharged 4V 5.4, but these mechanical efficiency gains pale in comparison to the huge increases in density (i.e. more boost) the stock low-compression 5.4 will tolerate on pump gasoline.    A stock 5.4 running 14 lbs boost (in the neighborhood of 1.8:1 density ratio, depending on the power adder's efficiency) will flow a ton more air than a stock 6.0 LS2 at boosted to only 6 psi.

 Procharger's somewhat optimistic chart suggests that an engine with the same compression as the GT500's on pump fuel could live with up to 24 psi (this high boost spike on pump gasoline is undoubtedly a function of the centrifugal supercharger's inherently mild density ratios at low and medium engine speeds and the tendency of most street cylinder heads and cams to restrict airflow past the midrange, creating extra "boost" from excess air stacking up in the ports without significant corresponding increases in cylinder pressure).

Furthermore, depending on the power adder selected, a high-boost 5.4 could have as much as a 200 lbs/ft torque advantage in the crucial midrange rpm sector over a low-boost, stock block LS2.

Obviously, the deep-pocketed LS2/LS6/LS7 builders will be able rebuild (or wholly build) engines with aftermarket parts that will withstand enormous cylinder pressures on racing gas or alcohol. But using strictly exterior bolt-on power adders and pump gasoline, the stock GT500 has vastly more power potential than a stock LS2/LS6/LS7. 

so in stock form the 5.4 can beat the 6.0 with more boost, but what about when it comes nitrous?  

ok. squeeze the blown 5.4L then .  

ha. well in all reality, under hi boost and a decent squeeze, do you think it would hold for more than a pass or two?  

Ford boys just wishin they had a real race car...

I must agree though...the camaro is going to be dead before it even comes out again...Ford is reaping the benifits of the current market...GM is going to completely miss out.  Gas prices will only rise and the market for a retro muscle car will eventually die out.  GM doesn't understand that the market wants the car now...not in 3-4 years

I'm a fan of the Vette and the CTS-V...other than that...GM blows...I'll stick to my older models...at least they have character

Anything you can do, I can do better.

That about says it all.