Sadly, not just Stellantis ordained the disappearance of the ICE-powered Dodge Challenger and Charger, much to the dismay of Mopar enthusiasts. General Motors followed suit and recently turned the sixth-gen Chevy Camaro into a disappearing species.
There’s a little EV light at the end of the tunnel for Mopar fans. After the 2023 model year Dodge Challenger and Charger cease production – complete with lots of ‘Last Call’ special editions, including the 1,025-hp Challenger SRT Demon 170 (Jailbreak), at least one nameplate will embark on a novel zero-emissions journey.
More precisely, Dodge will soon kick off production of the serialized version of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept with nine levels of Banshee EV prowess that soar up to 1,380 hp to spite any Tesla Plaid willing to brawl with them at the nation’s quarter-mile dragstrips. But there’s no good news for modern Camaro fans.
Sure, GM also allowed Chevrolet to attract collectors with the 56-unit Garage 56 ZL1 special edition or the range-wide Collector’s Edition and promised this is not the end of the road for the storied nameplate even after production of the sixth generation ceases in January 2024. But there’s also nothing on the horizon, at least not yet.
So, it’s not hard to imagine why people will go back to tinkering with classic Camaros. Even the imaginative realm of digital car content creators is lending a helping hand. For example, Emmanuel Brito, the virtual artist better known as personalizatuauto on social media, takes us on a fresh journey of CGI discovery with his ‘WideMaro.’
If you missed the hint, this is an imagined Chevy Camaro Z28 dressed to impress in dark green with light green touches on the massive brake calipers and inside, on the roll cage. It also rocks some carbon fiber parts (skirts, aprons, bumpers!), massive aftermarket wheels that don’t hide the cross-drilled and slotted brake kit, plus a thoroughly stanced atmosphere and a natural widebody aerodynamic kit!
That’s option number one – and it’s useful if you want to stand out in any crowd from miles away (visually). Secondly, we have Abimelec Arellano, of abimelecdesign fame on social media, who allowed his “intrusive thoughts” the win and imagined a different, subtler take on the Camaro restomod trope.
His is a light blue 1969 Chevy Camaro instead of the second-generation Z28, and it’s also much subtler when the hood is on and the engine off. Sure, there are serene restomod touches here and there – like the chrome-and-black Rotiform aftermarket wheels, sporty R888R Toyo tires, plus “a custom front valance (…) as well as a leather and Alcantara interior.”
However, when the hypothetical key turns on the engine, any V8 muscle car aficionado would immediately notice something definitely off with this ’69 Camaro. Well, that’s simply because the pixel master decided to cram a barely-fitting Porsche flat-six boxer engine in the bay! Now you understand why that color combination “calls back to the Gulf Porsche race cars,” right?