Camaro production ends early

Following Chevrolet’s announcement last March that the Camaro nameplate will be rested when production of the 2024 model concludes, various outlets in the US reported that production came to an end earlier than expected.

Chevrolet had said that manufacture of the sixth-generation Camaro would wrap up in January, 2024, but Road & Track, amongst others, have reported that that the last Camaro convertible was built on 22 November, with the last coupe coming off the line on 14 December, 2023.

This is the second time the Camaro has been discontinued and comes after almost one million examples of the fifth- and sixth-generation Chevy pony car were built between 2009 and 2023.  The first halt in production came in 2002 due to lacklustre sales, with the return fuelled by a retro-look concept that was presented in 2006 and went into production early in 2009 for the 2010 model year.

To farewell the sixth-gen Camaro, Chevrolet announced a Collector’s Edition cosmetic package in June that could be added to LT/RS, LT1 and SS model grades. It was also available on the potent ZL1 that’s powered by a supercharged 6.2-litre V8, but limited to 350 units. Only available in black, the Collector’s Edition featured 20-inch alloys, components from the 1LE track performance and ZL1 packages, unique badging and special floor mats. References to the ‘Panther’ codename that the original Camaro from 1967 wore during its development were also part of the Collector’s Edition package.

While the Camaro will be absent from new car showrooms soon, it’ll still be racing, with the model to remain in NASCAR, SRO, NHRA and IMSA competition in the USA, as well as our own Supercars Championship, for at least the next two years.

At last March’s announcement of the Camaro’s discontinuation, Chevrolet VP Scott Bell said: “this is not the end of the Camaro’s story,” but no information on a seventh-generation Camaro has been released since. That vacuum has led to speculation that the next Camaro may be an EV (in the vein of the Dodge Charger Daytona concept), have four doors or even be an entire sub-brand that will includes sedans and SUVs.