Per Al Oppenheiser 5/24...
 

"Whatever you've heard or read isn't true".

2015 IS the last year for the 5th gen...its now been confirmed by GM.

Can't be long before we start seeing something...however small the information might be...on the 6th gen.

He was refering to the design...because he's the designer.

He's the chief engineer. Not sure if he oversees the design or not. I'm sure he has a say in it though.

Al is NOT the designer.

Al Oppenheiser – Vehicle Chief Engineer, Global Rear Wheel Drive Vehicles
Al Oppenheiser was named the Vehicle Chief Engineer for the Chevrolet Camaro on November 1, 2007. He is responsible for bringing the 5th Generation Chevrolet Camaro into production, in addition to the Pontiac G8. He joined the Global Rear Wheel Drive team after spending 4 years as the Director of Concept & Vehicle Integration for the GM Performancehttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png Division.
He began his career with General Motors in 1985 at the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan as a test engineer, and subsequently held several positions within engineering including Development and Validation manager on the Corvette platform.
In 1991, he moved to the International Joint Venture Programs as a design release engineer responsible for the GM content on GM’s Joint Venture Vehicles with Toyota, Suzuki, Isuzu and Daewoo. In 1993, he was promoted to Product Engineering Manager for the Geo Metro, and helped develop a global Gamma program in 1996 with Opel by facilitating the relationship between Opel and Suzuki for the global Agila program while in Germany.
Promoted to vehicle chief engineer in 2001, Al led the engineering development and launch of the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon Midsize Truck program.
In 2004, Al became the Director of Concept & Vehicle Integration for the GM Performance Division. In that role, Al was responsible for the engineering and build of all of GM’s Concept Vehicle, including both the Camaro Coupe and Camaro Convertible. He also ran GM’s Bonneville Salt Flats racing team, as well as directing Hot Rod builds for celebrities such as Jay Leno and Reggie Jackson.
When Al is not spending time on the Camaro program, he enjoys spending time in the 1968 Camaro Convertible he restored from the ground-up, riding his Harley, and is on the lookout for a ‘30’s Hot Rod to build next

And Al is one of the most down-to-earth friendly guys you'll ever meet. He is a true Camaro guy that is more than will to stop and talk Camaro's with you all day long.
With Al, it's not a job, it's a true passion.

He's talking about the whole package. Design is outside of his office, but he has a grasp of what is going to happen there, too. Everything we think we know about the car is still unconfirmed. For all we know, it'll have an inline 16 with nitrous oxide on the LS model.

Also remember that the guys working on the Camaro are real car guys. They aren't there to water down an awesome product. They will produce an amazing vehicle. You should know. You're probably driving one of them.

And I LOVE my Camaros!!!! All of them!!! Hells yeah! I remember when Fbodfather (Scott) said in 2002 that the 2002 SS Camaro was the best built Camaro to date...

Now it must be revised. The 5th Gen is probably one of the best Camaros built to date. JMO, but they're awesome!

God bless Al, but undoubtedly some of what we've heard IS true (e.g.., new Camaro being on Alpha platform, being manufactured at Lansing, etc.).

Now, perhaps he's talking about other stuff such as the claim made a month or so ago (by Edmunds, I think), that the new Camaro will look very similar to the existing car. Well, sure, it's possible that that's not true. Or perhaps it is true, but it's a subjective thing, and in Al's opinion, the new car looks very different from the old car, but someone else, looking at the same thing, has the opinion that they look alike. We shall see...

I hope it looks like a 70 1/2 split bumper with a completely new designed power plant that will surpass all understandings of how a small block can perform ( na 650-700 hp and 7500-8000 rpms). I also want it to have 15 inch wheels/tires with better braking than the current brembos. I would also like a
three speed automatic that you can manually shift like the turbo 350 but much faster shifting.It needs to come with a 3.73 rear gear and maybe even a line-loc for us that drag race. I'll stop here as I may be asking for too much...lol.

650 to 700 horsepower will never happen. What's the benefit of a 3 speed vs the 8 speed going in the Z06?

With considerable confidence, I can almost guarantee that none of this will happen.

I know, I know, but a man can dream can't he?

It was stated by GM reps at the Fbody gathering last weekend that the prototypes are done. Was also stated that it came in at 3450lbs with the LT1 with very familiar gen 5 looks on a smaller platform.

No way to know if that is true or smoke but, i doubt anyone from GM would have said that at the longest running Fbody show in America if it wasn't.

I am inclined to believe it as the car will be at the Detroit auto show in Jan. That car has to be ready to show off in just over 6 months so clearly there are prototypes behind the curtain.

The C7 curb weight is 3,298 lbs. I would be shocked if the 6th gen SS weighs less than 200 lbs more than the base C7. If it did, that would be amazing.

I think what you are hoping for is a........COPO!

Whoa, I hate to get my hopes up, but this is pretty freakin' awesome if true.

Makes sense to me considering the weight of the ATS. The four doors and extra options offset the twp door and bigger engine, etc of the Camaro.

ATS is also sold at a higher price point so it's easier to justify the engineering dollars to make it light weight.

Camaro...not so much.

Buy a COPO;)

Hybrid

Wow if true the Gen6 will be the car to beat on the track cost no object. I wonder if dry sump oiling will be an option or part of the 1LE.

I sure hope for the life of Camaro they change its looks a lot and not add a little new here and a little new there. The 5thgen is badass however it will get stale as in looks with folks on the street and unless it gives a new wow folks wont buy it. Be 4thgen all over again. just my .02

I'm into my ZL1 for life.

Unless the 6th Gen looks good with more power and a lighter platform then it'll be Good-Bye ZL and Hello new Camaro. Hahahaha

Knowing the secrecy at GM, I'd be EXTREMELY surprised to hear anything like that being said/revealed by ANY GM employee.

I would treat any statements made by anybody even CLOSE to GM as pure speculation.

whatever we've heard isn't true....

so it's not going to be RWD Alpha platformed ?! :doh:

i have a hard time believing it will be 3,450 with the V8 though. That would make it lighter than the Cadillac ATS with a smaller engine, and shorter length.

Wasn't it said before, by a magazine, that the 6th Gen Camaro is more EVOLUTION, than Revolution? That means it's gonna stay close to the 5th Gen appearance than a totally new design. :popcorn:

Yes, but you have to take that with a grain of salt. Even the magazines dont' really know. Its all speculation.

No way a GM rep discussed weights of the prototype at a GM gathering. Just blowing smoke....he said she said kind of stuff.

The old CTS ranged from $38k-$50k, the new ATS ranges from $38-$58k so i fail to see your point. GM uses multiple cars on the same chasis to deal with exactly what you say. The engineering cost for a camaro alne is too much but combined with the ATS it isnt. In fact it would cost more to remove the light weight components from the ATS and reengineer then with heavier components for the Camaro. Obviosly some suspension items for each car will be custom for that vehicle but it wont add 200lbs to car. The engine and trans will be the biggest weight gainers, minor suspension gains will be offset by lighter wheels and less doors.

I tend to agree with this. Although the Camaro has less doors and likely lighter wheels to help offset. The C5 is about 200lbs lighter than the V6 CTS, so why should it be so surprising for the C6 to match the weight of the V6 ATS?

Re: shorter length. Obviously, the current Camaro is ~8 inches longer than the ATS. Technically, though, we don't know the length of the new Camaro. Heck, for all we know, it could be SHORTER than an ATS. Sure, that's unlikely, but we just don't know.

I agree. When they came out with the Camaro concept, I was like, "Really!?!?, no way it's gonna happen." But I waited and waited. When it finally came to fruition, I was happy like a kid in a candy store. So, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I just want to be wowed again, and again, and again. LOL!!! :headbang:

He's suppose to say that. I'm pretty sure some members already know future plans...

Of course everything is unconfirmed until GM confirms it.

If ATS started at $38k it would've been laughed out of the market in its first month.

6th gen SS coming in at 3400 lbs would pretty much be a miracle.

Let me go on record as saying this. I did not attend myself but several buddies did. GM once again had a decent presence at the show as they always do. They brought out a C7, Z/28 and a spring edition car. During the course of the show the above was stated to quite a few people during one of the many talks. Is any of it true? Who knows but, as i said earlier i doubt anyone would just blurt out random jibberish at a major Fbody gathering. Guess we will have to see. I hope it is even mostly true lol.

We have a local Fbody meet and Greet tomorrow just down the road from GM's Milford proving grounds. It's already been confirmed that GM will have several cars there including Z/28's, SS's and others in addition to many GM engineers and probably a few test drivers, including Al O.

I'll keep my ears open, but several members of the club I belong to (Detroit5thGen) work at various GM departments including the Warren Tech Center and some of them see Al every day, and none of them would ever leak any kind of information no matter if it's been reported in the news somewhere or not. They value their jobs much too much.

But I will see if I hear anything.

Note: Al O has confirmed he'll be coming with other members of the Camaro team and I know they are bringing their Z/28 captured test fleets. In the past, they've let show participants sit in their CTF cars so we might have the same luck this year as well if you really want to get in a Z/28 and check it out.

Scott just confirmed that we'll have a Z/28, Chevy SS sedan, and a Corvette Stingray on display on Saturday. :bow: :bow: :bow:

Al is planning on being there, Aaron Link is planning on being there, if you're in the area this is not a show to miss!

Or just a really small sixth gen. With the fifth gen the designers really stuck it to the engineers with what they could pull off performance wise and look what they accomplished. Weight isn't usually announced before we ever even see a mule so I'm very skeptical of that comment. I hope it's true though.

Look what they did with the gm trucks gmt900 - k2's slight body change but overall very similar.


Ryan

An Alpha-based 2-dr Camaro, in "LT" trim (non-V8) could easily come in under 3500 lb. With the necessary HD suspension, brakes and driveline, combined with larger wheels and tires, that an LT1-engined version would require, I can see a savings of about 300 lb. over the current 3920 base SS. More savings if they go to forged rims on all V8s, and stay away from heavier 20" rims/tires.