SEMA Hot Wheels edition Camaro

I think most of us have had a few Hot Wheels cars in our day. I've limited my collection to '67 Camaro variations and have a few 2010+ Camaros as well.  It appears Chevrolet will be unveiling a few new specail editon Camaros in the next coming weeks. One of which is the Hot Wheels edition that debuted on SEMA-eve.

 
Paying homage to the original Anti-freeze green 1967 Custom Camaro that hit stores in 1968, I can't wait to hear more about his car!

 
Are  you at SEMA this week? Let us know what you think about the new Camaros.

 

 
 
LAS VEGAS – Fulfilling the wish of every child who has ever played with one, Chevrolet and Hot Wheels® have created a life-size Hot Wheels Camaro Concept. The car debuted at the 2011 SEMA Show – the aftermarket industry’s premier display of automotive toys.

The Camaro Hot Wheels concept is inspired by the “Custom Camaro” – the dazzling Spectraflame® 1:64-scale toy that was part of the original 16 Hot Wheels cars released in 1968. The project was a collaborative effort between the General Motors Design studio in Michigan and the Hot Wheels Design studio in California. Each sketched its own ideas of a life-size Hot Wheels Camaro, compared notes and refined their visions until the concept hit the right note for each group of designers.

“The Camaro has been a mainstay in the Hot Wheels lineup since 1968,” said Phil Zak, GM design director. “Several generations of car enthusiasts grew up playing with Hot Wheels Camaros, while dreaming of driving the real thing, so this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality.”
There was a similar buzz of excitement in the Hot Wheels studio.

“The Hot Wheels and Camaro brands have been paired together since their inception,” said Felix Holst, vice president of design for the Mattel Wheels Division. “As part of the brands historic sweet 16, the Camaro was the first Hot Wheels car ever produced. The Spectraflame paint and redline tires of those first Hot Wheels cars have been the dreams of guys for generations, and it was thrilling to inject these elements into a Camaro for real.”

The synergistic project created a car that is instantly identifiable as a Camaro with styling cues – including flat-black graphics, red-line wheels and, of course, the dazzling metallic-green finish – that are classic Hot Wheels.

The original Hot Wheels cars debuted with their metallic Spectraflame paint finishes, and the Camaro Hot Wheels Concept features a brilliant, chrome-style finish created in a similar manner: a tinted top coat over a shiny base.

In the case of the original Hot Wheels lineup, the process involved polishing the die-cast metal vehicle bodies and applying a metallic lacquer to them. With the Camaro Hot Wheels Concept, the process was decidedly more complicated.

“We are always looking for innovative ideas and processes that push the boundaries of design – including paint finishes – and the Hot Wheels concept definitely stretched our team to the limit,” said Zak. “They had to essentially invent a new way to paint the car.”

The reflective finish was created using Gold Touch Inc.’s Cosmichrome product, starting with the application of a primer coat on an immaculately prepared surface. The primer coat was then sprayed with a liquid-metal solution to create the mirror-smooth, silver-chrome base coat. Afterward, the green tint was applied in several layers until the just-right color effect was achieved.

“It may sound pretty straightforward, but no one had ever tried using this process to paint a whole car,” said Zak. “The bodywork and paint team experimented with several processes before spraying the first body panel. There were so many variables that contributed to getting the finish perfect, from the drying time to the air pressure of the spray guns – none of which was known before this project – and the team absolutely nailed it perfectly.”

Additional features of the Camaro Hot Wheels Concept include:

  • Over Chrome Green paint with ghosted Hot Wheels logo on the quarter panels
  • Satin black ground effects (splitter, rocker and rear fascia-side extensions)
  • Satin black wheels with milled face and Torch Red stripe: 20x10-inch (front) and 20x11-inch (rear)
  • ZL1 grille with Hot Wheels badging
  • Hot Wheels badge on the decklid
  • Euro-style taillamps with new inner smoked lens
  • Euro-style rear fascia with new diffuser and exhaust bezels
  • ZL1 rear spoiler
  • Chevrolet Accessories Modified Satin Black Stripe
  • Black aluminum “CAMARO” fender badges with milled face
  • Black aluminum hood insert with milled hood vent extractors
  • Chevrolet Accessories Synergy Series gill decals
  • Black leather-wrapped  IP and door inserts with Torch Red accents, and cut-and-sew flames
  • Hot Wheels sill plates
  • Hot Wheels cut-and-sew embroidered logos in the front seatbacks
  • Chevrolet Accessories pedal kit
  • Chevrolet Accessories footwell and cup holder lighting (red)
  • Brembo brakes: six-piston front with two-piece rotors and four-piston calipers (Chevrolet Official Licensed Product)
  • Suspension lowering kit by Pedders (Chevrolet Official Licensed Product)
  • Chevrolet Accessories strut tower brace
  • Chevrolet Accessories black engine cover
  • Chevrolet Accessories exhaust system
  • Under the hood is the all-aluminum 6.2L LS3 V-8 backed by the Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual transmission.
Collector’s model

Hot Wheels will offer a collector’s edition 1:64-scale model based on the full-size Concept.  Purchase information is available at http://www.hotwheelscollectors.com/, as well as the Hot Wheels and Chevrolet Camaro Facebook pages.

It will be the 18th 1:64-scale Hot Wheels Camaro model produced since 1968, all with a variety of colors and configurations. During the past 44 years, literally millions of Hot Wheels Camaro models have been produced.

The original Custom Camaro from 1968 remains one of the most valuable Hot Wheels toys among collectors. That year, Hot Wheels produced all the Custom Camaro models with Spectraflame paint – except for one version in white enamel.

Today, examples of the Spectraflame Custom Camaro in excellent condition can sell for $150 or more. Only 15 white enamel versions are known to exist, and none are in their original packages.

“The value of a white enamel Custom Camaro is upwards of $3,000,” said Holst. “But if one still existed in the package, the value could be tens of thousands of dollars.”

Dealer information released: 2012 Camaro ZL1

Chevrolet dealers have recieved official Chevrolet information about the 2012 Camaro ZL1. Camaro enthusiast and Chevy salesperson, Anna Bearinger, from Sparta Chevrolet in Michigan provides the details below;

OFFICIAL SPECIFICATIONS:

Wheelbase - 112.3
Length - 190.4
Height - 54.2
Front Track - 63.7
Rear Track - 63.7

Weight - 4,120 pound  (around 300 more than Camaro SS)
Weight distribution: 51/49

Compression ratio 9.1:1

HP 580 (427) @ 6000 SAE certified
Torque 556 (754) @ 4200 SAE certified

Exhaust - Cast stainless steel (exhaust manifolds), stainless steel with active valves and quad 3.5" bright tips


COLORS:

Black
Ashen Gray
Imperial Blue Metallic
Inferno Orange Metallic
Rally Yellow
Silver Ice Metallic
Summit White
Victory Red
Crystal Red Tintcoat


WHEEL OPTIONS:

ZL1 offers two 20-inch wheel options, both tested and engineered to the highest standards.

The first wheel option is a 10-spoke design

Standard 10-spoke wheel is black with a low-gloss clear coat, forged alum and has the CAMARO logo.
The other wheel option is a 5-spoke design:

Forged Aluminum 5-spoke 20-inch wheels (20" x 10" front / 20" x 11" rear)
Polished face with a high-gloss clearcoat.
These wheels are 11 lbs lighter than the current 2SS model wheels.

EXTERIOR/INTERIOR/TRANSMISSION:

Exterior:
Forged aluminum wheels (as listed above)
Exposed weave Carbon Fiber hood insert (option). ** Standard insert is painted black
Power Sunroof (option)
Stripe package (option)

Transmission:
Six speed manual is standard
Six-speed automatic with TAPshift steering wheel controls is optional.

Interior:
Leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob - standard
Sueded microfiber interior package

OTHER DETAILS:

Four-pack auxiliary guages (with boost readout)

Also- Standard...

Alloy pedal covers
6-way power driver and passenger seats
Heated leather high-performance seats with microfiber suede inserts
ZL1 sill plates

Bluetooth for select phones
Boston Acoustics premium nine-speaker system
Rear camera display in mirror
Rear park assist
USB port
PDIM (Preferred Device Interface Module)
XM Satellite with 3 trial months

Camaro ZL1: Most Powerful Chevrolet Convertible Ever

DETROIT – Chevrolet announced today the brand’s most-powerful convertible ever – the 2013 Camaro ZL1 – will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show next month. When it goes on sale in late 2012, it will deliver more performance and technology than many exotic cars and ultra-luxury convertibles.

“The Camaro ZL1 convertible will be one of the most powerful and most capable, convertibles available at any price,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “This is a car that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face every time you drop the top – or hit the gas.”


Like the coupe, the Camaro ZL1 convertible features a supercharged 6.2L “LSA” engine, SAE-rated at 580 horsepower (432 kW) and 556 lb.-ft. of torque (754 Nm). That’s enough to exceed the output of 2+2 convertibles of many performance icons, including:
  • 2012 Aston Martin DB9 Volante – 470 hp / 443 lb.-ft.
  • 2012 Mercedes SL63 AMG – 518 hp / 465 lb.-ft.
  • 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo S – 530 hp / 516 lb.-ft.
  • 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 – 550 hp / 510 lb.-ft.
The Camaro ZL1 convertible’s power is complemented by advanced powertrain and chassis technologies designed to deliver exceptional performance on the road or track. In fact, it’s the same balance of acceleration, handling and ride quality that enabled a Camaro ZL1 coupe recently to lap the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife course in 7:41.27 minutes.



From Day One, the architecture for the fifth-generation Camaro was designed to accommodate a convertible model, which gives the ZL1 convertible coupe-like driving dynamics. Four strategic reinforcements enhance the already-stiff body structure to quell the cowl and steering wheel shake common in convertibles. They include:
  • A tower-to-tower brace under the hood
  • A transmission support reinforcement brace
  • Underbody tunnel brace
  • Front “X” brace and stiffer cradle as well as rear underbody “V” braces

Additional structural reinforcements in the ZL1 convertible are designed to improve noise and vibration characteristics, while also reducing unwanted ride and body motions. They include a hydroformed tube in the A-pillars, an inner reinforcement bracket in the windshield header, a reinforced front hinge pillar and reinforcements inside the rockers.

The suspension of the ZL1 convertible uses the third-generation of Magnetic Ride. New, twin-wire/dual-coil dampers at all four corners enable faster response, with damping levels now adjusted up to 1,000 times per second – about one adjustment per inch of vehicle travel at 60 mph – making the system exceptionally responsive to changing driving and road conditions.


The Camaro ZL1 convertible will also offer Performance Traction Management as standard equipment, which is exclusive to General Motors. First introduced on the Corvette ZR1, it is an advanced system that integrates magnetic ride control, launch control, traction control and electronic stability control, to enhance both launch-acceleration performance and corning.

The result is a convertible designed to preserve nearly all the acceleration, road-holding and performance capabilities of the Camaro ZL1 coupe, which goes on sale in early 2012.