As you may know, GM was built on a philosophy of multiple brands where each has a niche: Cadillac is the high-end luxury brand, Buick builds affordable premium cars, and Chevy has accessible vehicles for everyone. But in addition to creating vehicles that appeal to a wide range of drivers, Chevy is also the GM brand that still has sports cars available. At the moment, you can find two performance models at your favorite Chevy dealer: the Corvette and the Camaro. Both are legends of the auto industry and are well known to any enthusiast who’s into sports cars, performance vehicles, or just slick-looking coupes.
These days, however, the big question on a lot of people’s minds is whether these two vehicles have a future, and if so, what might that future look like? If I could see the future, then I’d have made a fortune on lottery tickets and sports betting, and you’d be reading something written by someone else, but what I can do is make some educated guesses based on what we know. Chevy has teased some ideas and given some insights here and there as to what the future holds––plus, GM has made its vision for the future of its brands pretty clear. I can’t guarantee any of this will come to pass, so don’t put money on it, but if you’re wondering what the Corvette or Camaro might look like in a decade, then let’s dive into some wild speculation!
Short-Term Future for the Corvette
This speculation will be less wild than some of the stuff to follow, but there’s nothing wrong with starting off grounded. The Corvette recently received a major update with the launch of the eighth-generation (C8) Corvette for the 2020 model year. Of particular note, of course, is that this saw the release of the first mid-engine Corvette, with performance and power beyond anything we’ve seen before. Since this generation is only a couple of years old, don’t expect it to get discontinued any time soon, but we can already see some new things coming.
First and foremost, we’re getting a Z06 version of the C8 for the 2023 model year, which features a flat-plane crank V8 with 670 hp. This is almost 200 hp more than the standard engine and showcases Chevy’s commitment to making the Corvette an absolute powerhouse. In addition to this, there are numerous rumors that we’ll get a hybrid version of the C8 in the next year or so, pairing the standard V8 with electric motors on the front axle to create a mid-engine all-wheel drive performance vehicle that surpasses what you can find anywhere else.
Long-Term Future for the Corvette
If other rumors are to be believed, this first hybrid Corvette––some people have called it the “e-Ray,” though I think that name will be used on something else––is not going to be the only electrified variant we will see Chevy produce. The natural evolution from the standard Corvette hybrid model is to create another hybrid using the more-powerful Z06 engine, a version that some have dubbed the Corvette Zora. We’re getting the Z06 for 2023; assuming the first hybrid version comes out for the 2024 model year, then perhaps the Zora would arrive for 2025 or 2026.
Looking even further down the road, we bump into GM’s commitment to an all-electric future for its lineup of vehicles. A few years ago, GM set a goal to only offer zero-emission vehicles across all of its brands by 2035––that sounds pretty far off, but time flies when you’re trying to revolutionize the auto industry. Assuming GM still intends to stick to that goal, we only have about a decade––at most––of gas-powered Corvettes, even hybrid ones. This means the 2035 Corvette would be an electric vehicle designed for performance and speed. Personally, I think the “e-Ray,” name will be used whenever the first all-electric Corvette hits the road.
Short-Term Future for the Camaro
Things are a lot less concrete for Chevy’s other much-beloved sports car, the Camaro. For one thing, the Camaro really lacks an identity at the moment; it’s a solid sports car, but it gets overshadowed by the power and mid-engine design of the Corvette. The best thing the Camaro has going for it is that it’s a more budget-friendly option if you want a Chevy sports car, but that’s hardly much to build upon. Even worse, sales for the Camaro haven’t been as strong as Chevy would like––this lack of a real identity doesn’t help much.
At the moment, a lot of people are pointing to the 2024 model year as a potential end-of-life date for the Camaro. This is due to the current Camaro using the original Alpha platform shared by the Cadillac ATS and CTS––and those Caddy models have already been replaced by the CT4 and CT5, which are built on an updated platform. At the moment, there’s no official word about the Camaro switching over to the updated version of the platform, so the rumor is the car will be due for retirement following the 2024 model year.
Long-Term Future for the Camaro
Assuming all of this is true and that the Camaro as we know it is on its way out, there are some new rumors that Chevy might still have plans for the name. It would seem that Chevy is developing an EV sedan that will deliver impressive power and performance, with comfortable seating for two rows of passengers. While there’s nothing official about this yet, some folks have begun speculating that we’ll see this performance-focused sedan sold under the Camaro name. It would be a big transformation––not only to an EV platform but also to a new, four-door design, but that’s not impossible.
It would, in fact, give the Camaro a much-needed identity to differentiate it from the Corvette in Chevy’s lineup––beyond the price tag. While some people would definitely be upset about this change, I think it’s better than the Camaro just completely dying out. In fact, it would make Chevy more competitive and give it a lineup to match or exceed Dodge, which also has a four-door and a two-door in its muscle car lineup. I love me a Camaro, but it just doesn’t make a ton of sense these days––show me a sedan with serious power and a design that hearkens back to the glory days of the Camaro, and you’ll have my interest.
What About Something New or Different?
All of this speculation is based on one thing: that the Chevy lineup in a decade or so will look much like it does now, but that’s far from concrete. It’s entirely possible that we’ll see something very different from what’s familiar to us––perhaps the rumored all-electric performance sedan will continue the Chevy Malibu name instead, or maybe they’ll go with the Impala. We could see Chevy simplify things to a single sports car, like Ford has done, and only offer an all-electric e-Ray for its performance-minded drivers. Chevy could always introduce something completely new with a new name, but I don’t expect it. With the shift to EV models, I think car companies are trying to keep things as familiar as possible with names their customers recognize and already feel connected to. Sports-car fans are a lot more likely to come around to the battery-powered Chevy Corvette e-Ray than they are to a Chevy Zorblax or Robomobile!
