The Chevy Camaro will leave the stage (at least for now) after the 2024 model year. To say goodbye, Chevrolet is rolling out a special edition that pays tribute to a name the Camaro almost wore.
A Nod to Camaro History
“The 2024 Camaro Collector’s Edition resurfaces ties that date back to the development of the first-generation Camaro,” the company says. When it was a project in development at General Motors, the Camaro carried the name “Panther.”
Why GM dropped the Panther moniker is more legend than documented history. Most say it was too close to the Mercury Cougar. So the company (it thought) made up a word. “Camaro,” Chevrolet General Manager Pete Estes supposedly told reporters, referred to “a small vicious animal that eats Mustangs.”
Camaro is a town in Northern Sicily, but GM figured that out later.
Black-on-Black Look
The Collector’s Edition is mostly a cosmetic package available on every trim level of the 2024 Camaro. It will pay tribute with a black-on-black paint scheme reminiscent of the predator’s coat. Most trims get it in a flaked metallic shade with a thick satin black stripe down the center. Those also get the choice of 20-inch satin black or polished forged wheels. A front splitter appears, as does the spoiler from the ZL1 package.
Chevy hasn’t revealed prices.
The high-powered ZL1 gets it in matte black with the same stripe — the only factory matte ever offered on a Camaro. It gets red brake calipers and is limited to 350 units.
The Collector’s Editions get a Camaro front fender badge with a silhouetted panther in the eye of the R. Inside, unique black interior trim and floormats with the Collector’s Edition logo set them apart. Those 350 limited-run ZR1 models get a steering wheel badge with their build number.
Once They’re Gone, So Is the Camaro — For Now
The Camaro isn’t the only muscle car disappearing. The entire genre is endangered.
The last Dodge Challenger will roll out factory doors at the end of the 2023 model year.
Ford, for its part, seems intent on continuing to build pony cars. It plans a seventh-generation Mustang for 2024. But that car, it appears, will be the last of its kind. The V8-powered rear-wheel drive muscle car has a sketchy future.
But the Camaro name may come back.
Last December, reports emerged that General Motors was considering launching an entire Camaro sub-brand. Car and Driver reported that the brand could include three models — a successor to the muscle car classic, a crossover with similar styling, and a sports car based on the Corvette platform but with more linear Camaro styling. All three would be electric.
Dodge has its electric muscle car on the way, too.
