In 1963, Chevrolet built five Grand Sport Corvettes to compete against the mighty Shelby Cobras. These were not just modified Corvettes but full-on race cars with a new race chassis and a completely new body with wide fenders and an array of scoops, vents, and spoilers. Two of these race Corvettes had their roofs cut off and windshields cut down for better aerodynamics at high speed. It is these Grand Sport roadsters that this ’67 Camaro is styled after. It has the styling cues of a ’60’s racer, but don’t be fooled, it has all the modern supercar technology and performance to make it a real competitor on or off the track. As the original Corvettes did, this Camaro has a full race chassis, but with fully developed modern independent front and rear suspension. With their cast-gray finish, the wheels look vintage, but each is machined from a single block of aluminum—19x12 rear and 18x10 front—for a super ground-hugging stance.

With the past few Camaro concepts I’ve submitted, I’ve admittedly tried to push the envelope a little. With that in mind, here’s a bit of an off-speed pitch to keep you guessing. I’ve had a few requests for old-school street machines and pavement-curling quarter-milers. Well, it just so happens that I had this little beastie sitting around from an archived project I completed for Mr. Norm’s Garage.

Maybe I’ve been watching too many post-apocalyptic prep shows. Maybe it’s the Mayan calendar predictions looming. Or it could just be the weather. Either way, I guess I was in a cantankerous mood when I decided to render this up.

With all the speculation and rumors swirling about the pending redesign of the Camaro for 2015, I figured it might be time to toss some of my styling ideas out there.

Chevrolet’s latest version of the Camaro has been around for a few years now and its success has made sure that this new design DNA will be here for years to come. For fun, we decided to manipulate that automotive DNA and inject some of it into three hypothetical offshoots of the current Camaro.

This is something that’s been simmering for several years, and I finally decided to spend some time cleaning up napkin sketches and scribbles. Like you, I’ve always had an affinity for Camaros, but I must confess my passion for pre-war coupes and roadsters as well. Though diametrically opposed in many ways, I tried to find common ground.

I was one of those kids who spent every dollar and every school-free moment thinking about, buying, and building scale model cars.

During a discussion in the offices of Camaro Performers magazine, the topic came up that many of the magazine’s readers are members of the armed forces. Since showing those fine folks a little gratitude is always on our list, a few ideas got thrown around on how we could show our appreciation for their service. That’s when we landed on the decision to draw up some fun concept art of a militarized fifth-gen.

These new fifth-generation Camaros have so much potential, it’s challenging to settle on one concept direction, there are just so many ways to go with them. For this particular version, the goal was to illustrate a super wide and aggressive, ground-hugging street monster. This bad dude doesn’t try to hide the fact that over 1,000 hp lives underhood and breathes through an intimidating hoodscoop. This much power necessitates some wide, sticky rubber to keep it glued to the street, so the rear quarters have been widened to accommodate the super deep wheels. The massive brakes will need cooling, so some intakes were added to the quarters as well. The front end has been redesigned with a lower front spoiler, and extra air vents take the place of the stock driving lights. The stock grille is gone in favor of a custom piece that creates an angry brow over the headlights to add to the aggressive attitude. A couple heat escape vents in the hood help keep the engine bay from overheating. Whether tearing it up on the racetrack, hammering down the highway, or even blasting through a standing mile in a top speed challenge, this angry beast has got the goods to handle it.

Camaro Concepts

One thing I’ve always wondered was what the second-generation Camaros would have looked like with a more aggressive muscle car grille. The Camaro’s styling in 1970 went to a more European flare, and to me they lost some muscle in doing that.

The fifth-generation Camaro has proven to be wildly popular, especially with those looking to take advantage of the slick proportions to make them look even better than stock. Since these cars have come out, we have seen countless Pro Touring or “go-fast”–style versions, but I had something a little different in mind: a super clean, slicked-out, black, hot rod cruiser. I mean the roof already looks chopped — perfect for a hot rod theme. We need some classic hot rod–styled wheels with knock off caps in staggered big ‘n‘ little fashion, and a slammed-but-raked stance. The body is cleaned up with shaved door handles, the fake vent indents in the quarter panels are smoothed over, and the large mirrors are swapped out with sleek custom versions. The front lower grille opening is modified with a polished surround molding, and the driving lights are reduced in size for a slightly more sophisticated look. The main grille is replaced with black horizontal elements with a polished surround molding and center spear that overlaps the headlights. I figured a few hot rod louvers wouldn’t hurt, so I put some a couple rows up on the cowl hood. Super wet-looking black paint, red interior, and some red pinstriping will finish it off nicely.

Gathering funds for a project isn’t always as easy as making a withdrawal. Sometimes you have to get a little creative, and that’s exactly what this ’79 Camaro build is all about. Andrew Barnes, a fabricator at Jonesy’s Inc. www.jonesys.com, is the owner and he’s definitely been getting creative. In order to pay for the planned modifications to his Camaro, he’s been selling parts on eBay. In fact, he’s sold enough parts to gain “Power Seller” status, hence the name given to project.

The Camaro SS has always been a prominent icon. While not looking to make radical changes to the fifth-generation styling, this concept was born. To start, the car was lowered slightly, treated to custom grille inserts, custom carbon-fiber body kit consisting of front chin spoiler, side extension, and carbon-fiber rear bumper valance.

As a car enthusiast and hotrod artist, I have always had a fascination with cars of all types. I am like a kid in a candy store when it comes to cars, and as long as they have that SIN-ful style (SIN - Style, Intrigue, and Nobility) as I like to call it, I am content to enjoy their sweet beauty. However, there are a few cars like the second-gen Camaro that have always had a special place in my heart since early childhood. So when I got a call from Heath, at Heath Elmer Restorations, to work up a rendering for a client’s ’70 Camaro, I was excited to put the ideas to paper.

I've had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of 2010 Chevy Camaro projects since they started hitting showroom floors. Some are simple striping packages, others are design proposals for body kits, and a few fit in the category of: Holy crap, you did that to a brand new Camaro? Yep, I did.

I really wanted to try a buildable third-gen Camaro concept. I started looking directly at the IROC-Z styles and realized maybe a simple, plain-body non-IROC would be unique. The idea here is for a no-nonsense performance Camaro without big wings, ground effects, or vents all over the place - just wheels and stance to set the aggressive attitude. A few mods to the front bumper to clean it up and bright orange paint with a hockey stick-style stripe are all she needs. Wheels are large-diameter Minilite-style, similar to what old Trans Am race cars ran on in the late '60s and early '70s.

Here we have a highly modified '68 Camaro just ready to rip it up on track day. The idea was to stay as far away from a subtle boulevard cruiser as possible, and to depict an insanely aggressive and bold first-gen street machine. These cars have great proportions to begin with, but to get that slammed-down slot car look, I drew widened quarter panels and fenders, then drew the wheel well openings enlarged and moved up slightly while the front wheels have been moved forward a couple inches. The roof line has been lowered and the front end slopes down sharper into a grille opening that is reduced in height for a more aerodynamic look. The lower front air dam is completely custom and ready to take in as much air as possible with a carbon-fiber splitter to finish it off. The hood is a custom carbon-fiber piece that goes all the way back to the windshield, deleting the cowl vent panel. Modern headlights are recessed back into the modified grille opening to create an ominous and stealthy attitude. I picture this thing really haulin' ass, so an adjustable carbon wing on the back will keep it planted during hard cornering at speed.

•The 1982 Chevy Camaro was the first all-new restyled F-body platform introduced when I was of legal age to drive and in the financial position to buy one. I didn't at the time because I had just purchased a cherry black-on-black four-speed '78 Z28, but the thought did very strongly cross my mind and, once again in 1986 when Chevy introduced the IROC, I actually went down to the local Chevy dealer in Santa Monica, California, and took one for a test drive.

Along with the introduction of the fifth-generation Camaro came concepts of what it would look like in race trim. GM designers created the most aggressive of the modern muscle cars and it naturally lent itself to the world of racing. So far, we've seen the new Camaro in varying roles, from drag racer to road course carver. What we haven't seen yet is what the fifth-gen might look like if it was put into service for a reincarnated racing series-the International Race of Champions (IROC).

While hanging out with the guys, a lot of miscellaneous brainstorming gets tossed around. One afternoon after a few beers, someone had an idea that caught my attention: What if the new Camaro was modified to be a bit more retro? I really like the new 2010 Chevy Camaro-especially its proportions-but I wanted to take a shot at a more retro approach with the idea that it could be built. I started by exaggerating the "Coke bottle" shape and making the fender intersections softer, like on a '68, just because it looks really cool. I always loved the '69 RS grille, so here is a modern version with LED headlights. I also modified the front lower lights after the '69. The new hood takes a look at the '68 SS with functional air vents. It has a simple retro-inspired rear spoiler and brake-cooling rear gill vents. To top it off, I created an aggressive new wheel. Should you decide to build this car, please let the guys at Camaro Performers magazine in on the progress. Stay inspired, Micheal Castiglione (Casti Design)

When the topic of racing comes up, it only takes a few minutes before the familiar words, "I remember when," are spoken. I'm too young, so I don't get to use that line yet. Others, however, can recall a time when Funny Cars looked like their production counterparts. The bodies were, of course, elongated and liberally modified shells, but key identifying elements allowed spectators to plainly see which car was what. In a sense, the overriding character and gesture of the car designs were kept in tact.

When I first laid eyes on the 1974 Chevy Camaro, I thought "Oh my God, Chevy just killed their pony car." It had these huge, square, brick-wall-busting, government-mandated five-mile-per-hour bumpers that pretty much ruined a great looking car.

As I was cruising the seemingly endless aisles at SEMA last fall, I noticed one very evident fact: You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a 2010 Chevy Camaro SS. Is that a bad thing? Hell no! The venerable pony car from GM is back. It's been a tough few years since we've seen the magazine covers emblazoned with "Mustang versus Camaro Shootout" and even longer since a Mopar offering joined the battle. Now we're getting somewhere.

Imagine this scenario: During the development of the production fifth-generation Camaro, a separate design is being prepared for global marketing purposes. Only three of these vehicles will be handbuilt by GM to showcase America's ability to create a heavyweight GT supercar. Straight-line, top end velocities are the goal of the project. Several "non-staged" appearances will be made worldwide for the media. Imagine seeing video footage of the three Camaros destroying the autobahn at over 200 mph ...