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.