2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible priced from $30,000

GM has finally come out and announced that its upcoming Camaro convertible will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, hot on the heels of auctioning off the first example at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale.

The 'vert will be available with both the 3.6 liter V6 and 6.2 liter V8, with either the standard transmission or automatic. It will hit dealerships next February, which is certain to be a drag for those looking to drive off the lot with the top down unless you live in a warmer climate.

Pricing starts at $30,000 with destination, which is a $7,000 premium over the coupe.

Press Release

Opening Soon: 2011 Camaro Convertible

DETROIT – The 21st century rebirth of the Chevrolet Camaro opens a new chapter when the 2011 Camaro Convertible premieres at the Los Angeles International Auto Show on Nov. 17.

The Camaro Convertible will arrive in Chevrolet showrooms in February 2011. Starting price will be $30,000, including $850 destination. (Full details will be released later this year.)

"The Convertible will make the all-new Camaro, already a smash-hit, even more desirable to a greater range of drivers," says Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet Marketing.

The Convertible model will be available in the same basic model offering as the Camaro Coupe. The standard model will have a 312-hp Direct Injection V6 engine featuring 29 miles per gallon on the highway. The SS model will feature the 6.2-liter V8 engine producing 426 hp. A six-speed manual transmission will be standard, with an optional six-speed automatic.

Camaro is America's most popular sports car, seizing leadership in U.S. sales with the coupe model that launched in spring of 2009 as a 2010 model. The right to purchase one of the first Convertibles was recently sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction for $205,000, with all proceeds donated to charity.

Spy shots: Camaro Z28 caught testing with LSA engine

The LSA engine, originally found in the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V, is a beast of an engine. In its current iteration, it pumps out 556hp and 551 lb-ft of torque. The upcoming Camaro Z28 is a beast of a car that needs the fortitude to go up against the Mustang Shelby GT500 and the more powerful Dodge Challenger. LSA, meet Z28.

Camaro forum extraordinaire Camaro5 has been kind enough to provide us with some not-so-camouflaged shots of a Z28 tester with the supercharged 6.2 liter in all its glory. You can head on over there to see some nice, high resolution shots of the car and engine.

First 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible nets $205,000 at Barrett-Jackson

The very first Chevrolet Camaro convertible has sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, and it brought an astounding $205,000. Obviously, getting your hands on the very first of anything is going to cost you dearly, and quite a few were willing to pay the price of exclusivity.

But it's not just the new owner and proud papa Chevrolet that will be pleased with this sale. We're betting that this money will make some deserving youths very happy, as all proceeds are going to benefit YMCA of Southern Nevada.

Chevrolet to auction first Camaro convertible at Barrett-Jackson

Here's a shocker: GM will be auctioning off its yet-to-be-revealed first 2011 Chevrolet Camaro convertible at today's (September 24th) Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. While the act of auctioning off the first of a hot new model is certainly nothing new, the fact that Chevy has not even shown the car to the public yet, outside of a prototype and a couple of teaser pics (such as the one above). Those who want to see the real thing will want to tune in to the Speed channel tonight.

Press Release

Camaro Convertible Auction to Benefit Nevada Charity

LAS VEGAS – Car collectors on Friday will vie to become one of the first owners of the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible, several months ahead of its arrival in dealerships and even before the production car is shown to the public.

The winning bidder will receive the second 2011 Camaro Convertible produced for consumer sale. The car on the auction block in Las Vegas will be the Camaro Convertible Concept that has traveled the world's auto shows. The first production model will be used for historical purposes.

The production version will make its debut later this fall, prior to start of production in early 2011.

Chevrolet is partnering with Greg Heinrich, owner of Fairway Chevrolet in Las Vegas, to offer one of the first Camaro convertibles at the Barrett-Jackson Auction on Friday (Sept. 24) at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. Proceeds from the winning bid will go to the YMCA of Southern Nevada.

Video: Motor Trend runs ZR1 Corvette vs. Porsche 911 Turbo

Both the Corvette ZR1 and the Porsche 911 Turbo create bozo power, but they do so in very different ways. Beyond the obvious comparison of power and speed, the Corvette is more of an unforgiving sledge hammer as opposed to the forgiving nature of the 911. Both can get the job done on the track, however, as this video shows. So which car is superior, not only in a straight up drag race but in the twisties as well? The answer may surprise you...

2011 Dodge Challenger SRT to have 475hp, increases across the board

In the ever changing modern horsepower wars, it was inevitable that we see a healthy bump for the Dodge Challenger. After all, it is by far the heaviest of the trio of modern muscle, alongside the Mustang and Camaro. And now this leaked info from a Dodge dealer document confirms that both the V6 and V8 variants of the 2011 Challenger will get more ponies.

The 3.6 liter V6 will get a nice increase up to 305hp and 268 lb-ft of torque. This constitutes a 50hp jump from the 2010 model's 3.5, along with an increase of 18 lb-ft of torque.

The 5.7 liter Hemi will see 379hp and 410 lb-ft, and the range topping SRT gets 475hp and 460 lb-ft from it's 6.4 liter V8. That represents a 50 hp increase for the big 6.4 and a whopping 40 more pound feet of torque. The 5.7 destined for the R/T model only sees a modest increase of 7 horsepower and ten pound feet.

Chevrolet Camaro Computer....for the fan that has it all.

So, you've got all the metal signs you have wall space for. One of those couches that is actually the front or rear end of a car sticking out of your wall. Your grill is made out of an old engine block. But how about that old normal looking desktop computer? We've got your solution, Camaro fans.

The 20 inch long Camaro computer, besides being nice eye candy, has lots of nifty features. The hood ornament is actually the power button, working headlights and taillights tell you the hard drive is thinking, and the DVD slot is in the front bumper.

A dual core Atom chip features up to 8mb of RAM, 500GB hard drive, and Windows 7. There are 8 color choices, but the $1,239.99 the computer will set you back doesn't include a keyboard, mouse, or monitor. You can buy one here.

SEMA preview: Cervini's C500 Mustang

One of the most famous movie cars of all time, the car lovingly known as Eleanor played a staring role in the movie remake of Gone in 60 Seconds. And the look of the car was certainly a hit, as countless recreations have popped up everywhere, along with body kits that allow Mustang owners to recreate the look themselves. Most of these recreations are based on the iconic '67 fastback Mustangs such as the original car.

Now owners of new Mustangs will have a way to recreate the look on their own, modern rides. Cervini's has released images of its upcoming kit that will include a hood, front bumper, side skirts, scoops, rear valence, billet grilles, spoiler, fog lights, and side exhaust. Currently, only the hood and side scoops are available for purchase. Pricing has yet to be announced, but the car you see in the picture above will be making its appearance at this year's SEMA show so we expect more details at that time.

Shelby reveals 2011 GT500 Super Snake, with up to 800 hp

The 2010 Shelby Super Snake was the king of all Mustangs, pumping out an insane 750 horsepower in a factory-like package. But if you thought that it had too much power, apparently Shelby didn't agree with you. Because they have upped the ante to an astounding 800 for their 2011 Super Snake.

Of course, you can opt for lesser packages that produce a more mundane 660 and 750 horsepower, but why mess around with that? Other new bits for the 2011 model are anthracite wheels, side scoops, and white stripes. The package starts at $30,245 (sans Mustang) and can be built for you at Shelby's Las Vegas shop or any of their others around the country.



Press Release

Shelby American, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc. (CSBI:PK), will offer a Super Snake post title package for the 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 with new styling cues and an optional 800 horsepower tuned engine. Only 1,000 total Super Snake packages for the 2011 model year car will be built at the Shelby American facility in Las Vegas or one of the official Shelby Mod Shops, beginning in September of this year.

"Ford Motor Company did a marvelous job making the 2011 model year GT500 lighter and more powerful," said John Luft, president of Shelby American. "Our team applied its experience building Super Snakes over the past several years to offer a package that dramatically increases the new car's capabilities. And with the visual changes we've made, it will be a definite stand out on the road or track."

Just like the 2011 Shelby GT350, born on the proving grounds of the drag strip and road course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Shelby American worked with companies like Ford Racing to create an even more aggressive suspension and engine package for the 2011 Super Snake.

"We extensively tested our mods for the 2011 model car before we decided the package was ready for the public," added Gary Davis, vice president of production and R&D at Shelby American. "For those who want more performance than the stock GT500 offers, the Super Snake will definitely meet their expectations."

For the 2011 model year, more power, a new anthracite wheel, white stripes and new side scoops are optional.

"We've only offered black stripes and chrome wheels on the Super Snake since we introduced the package a couple of years ago," added Davis. "With the serious advancements made to the 2011 model year, it was time to differentiate it from the previous generation car. So we added an 800 horsepower tune, optional wheel, side scoop and stripes to make it easy to spot the new Shelby Super Snake."

The 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake post title package includes:

• Ford Racing handling pack including dynamic adjustable dampers, lowering springs, tuned stabilizer bars, and front strut tower brace
• 6-speed manual transmission with 3.73:1 rear axle ratio
• Shelby/Ford Racing supercharger upgrade producing over 660 HP and 590 ft.-lbs. of torque
• Either a Shelby/Ford Racing or Shelby/Kenne Bell supercharger kit producing 750 HP with upgraded drive shaft, billet twin 75mm throttle body and exclusive badges
• Optional Shelby/Kenne Bell 800 horsepower tune on pump gas
• Borla exhaust system
• An optional Shelby / Eibach handling pack is also available
• Shelby-designed Alcoa 20-inch wheels in durabright or anthracite
• Short-throw shifter
• Forged Shelby / Baer brakes with 6 piston calipers and cross drilled / vented rotors
• Front brake cooling ducts and behind the door side scoops
• Unique fiberglass hood featuring classic Shelby design and pins
• Shelby signature Super Snake stripes in either matte black or matte white
• "Shelby" lettering across the rear deck lid
• "Super Snake" vehicle badges and official Shelby CSM interior plate
• Optional two tone leather interior
• Shelby signature embroidered headrests, floor mats and other Shelby designed components

The price of the 750 HP package is $30,245 including installation but not the car. Each vehicle will be listed in the official Shelby registry. Complete Super Snake packages will only be available through Shelby American and its mod shops. Customers interested in a Shelby GT500 Super Snake should call (702) 942-7325 or log onto www.shelbyamerican.com.

2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 dealer allocation will be limited, lottery based

As good as the new Mustang Boss 302 promises to be, we were certain to see some limitations on supply and no limitation on demand leading up to the car's launch. Most every popular new model experiences some markups and limited accessibility early in its life cycle, and the Boss figures to be no exception.

According to Boss302Forum.com, allocation will be determined in two ways. Large volume dealers that make up 75 percent of sales will receive 75 percent of the allocation. The actual number of cars that those dealers receive will be based on the last 12 months of sales ending in September of 2010 but each dealer is guaranteed at least one Boss.

The remaining 25 percent will be determined via a lottery, with each dealer getting a chip initially and an additional chip for each Mustang it has sold in the last 12 months. The outcome of this is pretty much guaranteed to involve a lot of markups and massive demand, especially since Ford has already announced that the new Boss will be the best handling Mustang ever. As always, if you want the prestige of owning a special car before most everyone else, you will have to pay the price.

Shelby wants to know what you want from them, shows new models including twin turbo GT500

After announcing that they would be focusing more on producing parts than entire cars, Shelby built a brand new speed shop in Las Vegas and has brought its manufacturing in house. And now they have posted a query on their website asking what you want from the company going forward. In the process, they have proposed a few new models including a V6 Mustang and a twin turbo Shelby GT500.

The twin turbo GT500 is code named 2010-04a, and features a setup that promises to exceed 1000 horsepower (at the wheels) and is based on the 2009 and prior model. Other goodies include an adjustable suspension to lay that power to the pavement, a 10 point roll cage, and a widebody kit.

The V6 Mustang is perhaps a model that is long overdue, as the sixer is actually a very potent motor in itself and the majority of Mustang sales feature the smaller powerplant underhood. This car is tentatively called the Shelby GTS, and is already a working prototype. The package features a number of visual upgrades and figures to cost between $9,000 and $12,000.

In addition to these two models, there are a pair of other concepts on the Shelby American site, as well as a repop Cobra concept.