Neo-retro? Déjà new? Chevy freshens the bloodlines of an old breed.

So here it is, the third and final entry in the 21st-century pony-car-revival derby. Get your bets down early because we don’t expect to see any more resurrections of famous makes from the galloping go-go Sixties—Barracuda, Firebird, Javelin, et al.—and even gloomier, we think it likely that, given fuel prices and other concerns, this revival is likely to lack the fervor and duration of the original movement.

The first production version of the new Camaro we’ve seen and touched is this yellow car displayed in our gallery. “Touched” includes sitting in, briefly, but did not include driving. And “production” means production sheetmetal but not a showroom-ready car. That happens much later. New Camaros will appear in Chevy dealerships in March, arriving as 2010 models. Convertibles (softtops, no folding hardtop) are due about a year later.
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This pre-production Camaro convertible is undergoing testing prior to launch in late 2009.

Continuing its strategy of thwarting spy photographers and providing its own pictures of future vehicles, General Motors offers a good look at the preproduction Chevrolet Camaro convertible.

Pilot vehicles are currently undergoing testing—unclad and therefore unhindered—as the automaker preps them for full production later next year.

As promised by the designer when GM first showed the convertible concept, the car sports a simple cloth top with a glass rear window and small quarter windows.

Like the Camaro coupe, the interior has been made less space age and more practical. And the side mirrors have grown, as expected.

The revised muscle cars ride on a version of GM’s Global Rear Drive platform or Zeta, developed by subsidiary Holden in Australia. It will be offered with V-6 and V-8 power, and features a four-link independent rear end which should give the Camaro a handling edge over the live-axle Ford Mustang. Read more »