As right as rain, Chevy has released a new Chevy Camaro for the 2024 model year. The Chevy Camaro is an old favorite – not only for the hundreds of thousands of people who have driven them but in Chevy’s eyes too. Yours truly also has family members who have spent their fair share of time with Chevy Camaros in the past – needless to say, I also have some experience with them.
However, there has been word that the 2024 Camaro will be the end of this legendary line of sports cars dating back to the 1960s – this is not anything new for the Camaro, which spent over half a decade on hiatus before being reintroduced with the 2010 model. Is this it? Is there something on the horizon you should instead wait for, or is this a hiatus that will stay this way? Before you visit a Chevy dealer, allow me to answer these questions while providing insight into the 2024 Chevy Camaro with an overview. Shall we proceed?
A Pending Vacancy?
You may or may not have heard in the rumor mill that the 2024 Chevy Camaro will be the last one. You would be right. However, that is only partially true. Chevy announced in March 2023 that its plans to discontinue the Camaro were in full swing, as the 2024 Camaro is the swansong of the current generation of Camaro vehicles, which has been in active production for eight model years. But it’s not so grim, so cheer up.
Part of Chevy’s announcement courtesy of Mr. Scott Bell – Mr. Bell took over the position of Vice President of Global Chevrolet one year before the announcement in March 2022 – indicated that an indefinite hiatus was imminent but that people should not get too comfortable with the idea of a market without the Camaro. Mr. Bell is quoted saying: “While we are not announcing an immediate successor today, rest assured, this is not the end of Camaro’s story.” That’s as genuine a source as they come, so if there is anyone we should take their word for, it is someone with as much of an in as the Vice President of Global Chevrolet.
What’s New for the 2024 Camaro?
Now that we have established the 2024 Camaro will be the last until it is reintroduced – that could be a year from now, maybe two or three – only time will tell – is Chevy leaving us with anything noteworthy? To drivers of pre-existing Camaro vehicles produced within the 2024 Camaro’s generational gap – these include 2016 through 2024 Camaros – much of the fundamentals stay in place. The real difference between the 2016 and 2024 Camaros comes down to the addition of a new Camaro Collector Edition with a distinct style with articulately placed shades of gloss and metals, along with 20-inch aluminum wheels, a sport rear spoiler, a flat-bottom steering wheel, and what Chevy is calling a Panther Black Metallic Tintcoat for its color.
There is much more to the Chevy Camaro Collector Edition, but something else the 2024 model adds is two new body colors. Cars like the Chevy Camaro are often custom ordered because many people have different tastes regarding how they wish to style their sports car, and it is one of the most fun vehicles to customize too. The new colors you can choose between are Riptide Blue Metallic and Nitro Yellow. Although Nitro Yellow is a more premium exterior color and is slated to cost you a bit more than Riptide Metallic Blue, I’m rather partial to it as the first Camaro I ever had the pleasure of driving was a Bumblebee Chevy Camaro SS. That is not to say these are the only differences the 2024 model has, so let’s discuss what else is new.
The 2024 Chevy Camaro is Simpler
The 2024 Chevy Camaro is simpler than its predecessors, which is great. What do I mean by this? When shopping for the 2024 Camaro, you’ll have four trim levels to choose from, which is far less than the eight trims the 2023 and 2022 models had. Now, the assortment of trims is more akin to what was available on the 2021 and 2020 Camaro models – both had five trims. The four available trims for the 2024 Camaro are the LT, LT1, SS, and ZL1. Every trim name here is familiar to those who have shopped for Camaro models in the past, but having fewer trims makes shopping – and customizing, to an extent – simpler.
What has also been simplified are the powertrains. Models before the 2024 Camaro come standard with a turbocharged 2.0L I-4 engine that comes with the beloved 6-speed manual transmission and offers an available 8-speed automatic transmission. Older Camaro models with this turbocharged engine create 275 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, but that’s no longer the case – the 2024 Camaro is more performant out of the gate.
Like the list of Camaro trims, the number of powertrains has been reduced from four down to three with the 2024 model, meaning the 3.6L V6 engine is now standard. This V6 engine also comes standard with the 6-speed manual transmission. However, those who want the automatic transmission can upgrade to a 10-speed automatic transmission – the 8-speed has officially been laid to rest with the Camaro line. With this seismic shift in base powertrains, this means the base 2024 Camaro creates 22% more horsepower than the model that preceded it – 335hp – which is a preferable outcome in addition to the better automatic transmission, even if there’s a slight 4% deduction in torque output down to 284 lb-ft of torque.
The two other Camaro powertrains are the same as they have been, which means a 6.2L V8 engine is present in two forms. Firstly, the regular 6.2L V8 engine – dubbed the 6.2L LT1 V8 engine – is available to the LT1 trim, while another variant – a supercharged 6.2L LT4 V8 version of this engine is what gives you maximum performance statistics. Either version of the V8 engine pairs with a 6-speed manual or 10-speed automatic transmission like the 3.6L V6 engine. The non-supercharged 6.2L V8 engine creates 455 hp and 455 lb-ft of torque, which is a far better showing than the 3.6L V6 engine – no ill will to the V6 engine, however, as it is still an essential part of the grander picture. But the supercharged V8 engine gives you an idea of how much room for performance growth there is between the base powertrain and the supercharged 6.2L V8 engine – the latter creates 650 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque, which is 94% and 129% more horsepower and torque than the base model, respectively.
Buy the 2024 Model or Wait for the Future?
Now it is time to answer the question: if Chevy was so open about the 2024 Camaro being the last one for now, does that mean you should disregard it? And, since the Vice President of Global Chevrolet hinted the Camaro would return in some form in the future – the extent of which we have zero ideas as it is all secrets that nobody but Chevy engineers has the answers to – does that mean you should wait for what lies in the future? These are tricky questions because there is no doubt that whatever Chevy is cooking up is bound to be exciting, but who knows when we will see it? If you ask me: waiting for the future is too much of a gamble, even if it means the 2024 model will only get cheaper once the years go by. You shouldn’t disregard the 2024 Camaro, even with an eventful future on the horizon, as hinted by Chevy, and that is because if you want a new Chevy Camaro, you won’t have one for the 2025 model year, so there is no time like the present.
