General Motors rolled into the desert in full force, bringing dozens of show cars and concepts to the 2011 SEMA Show. Chevrolet was the most prominently featured of all of GM’s brands, as the marque celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, the bowtie brand put up a neat display showing the progression and history of the small block V-8 engine in one corner of its booth. But the majority of GM’s floor space was reserved for the many Sonics and Camaros on exhibit – which happen to make up the bulk of this list.
Sonic Z-Spec Concept 2
The 2012 Sonic officially went on sale this month, so it’s no surprise Chevy is making a big push for its newest small car at SEMA. In our previous coverage of the Sonic, we’ve been surprised by its driving dynamics, as well as its relative fun-to-drive nature. On top of that, it’s not such a bad-looking car, and could even be described as “sporty” with its four exposed round headlights set in black housings. The Sonic Z-Spec concept takes whatever sportiness the standard Sonic turbo model possesses, and amplifies it with an aggressive-looking body kit, widened front intake opening, a roof-mounted rear spoiled, and blacked out 18-inch alloy wheels all from Chevy’s Z-Spec parts catalog. The Z-Spec graphics look great on the matte white exterior, and are pretty understated for a show car. So not to be all show and no go, the Sonic Z-Spec also features an upgraded exhaust system, coilover suspension, and drilled disc brakes all around.
Sonic by LDRSHIP Designs
We can’t put our finger on what exactly it is we like about this car yet, but we have a feeling it’s something to do with the cheetah-print accents. Those subtle exterior touches blend well with the orangish copper paint job, and the carbon-fiber front splitter complement the car’s flat-black two-tone elements, which include the fog light surrounds, front grille, side mirrors, and part of the hood. LDRSHIP Designs says this car appeals to the “style-conscious tuner girl,” and with those gold 18-inch wheels, large front brakes, and aforementioned carbon-fiber front splitter, the company’s Sonic concept might just have that market covered.
COPO Camaro
In the late ‘60s, Chevy made the Camaro available with a race-only 427-cubic-inch V-8 through a “COPO” option, which stood for Central Office Production Order. For whatever reason, that esoteric acronym stuck, and the name today is still synonymous with race car-level performance. Chevy is reviving that name with the track-only COPO Camaro concept. Built to NHRA Stock Eliminator/Super Stock specifications, the COPO Camaro packs a supercharged 5.3-liter V-8 paired with a two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission, meaning this car is meant to do one thing, and one thing only – haul ass down a drag strip. If you get your thrills traveling at high speed in a straight line, the COPO Camaro concept is sure to move your enthusiast needle a few ticks.
Camaro ZL1 Carbon
After receiving numerous visits from the standard Camaro ZL1 prototype – last seen in our offices wearing a good amount of camo – how could we not take time to drool over an uncovered version of its darker, more aggressive-looking sibling? On paper, the ZL1 Carbon Concept only adds an unpainted carbon-fiber rear spoiler, carbon-fiber hood vents, carbon-fiber interior trim pieces, and the wide, black-and-aluminum 20 x 10-inch front and 20 x 11-inch rear alloy wheels. Those pieces, however, make all the difference in the ZL1’s appearance. Though seeing this concept doesn’t get us any closer to actually driving the ZL1, it does give us something more solid to fantasize about late at night.
Lingenfelter/Wanda Paint Camaro
What can we say? We’re suckers for matte-black cars, and this Lingenfelter Camaro was one of the best executions of that paint scheme of the show. Displayed at the Wanda Paint booth, this Camaro was one of the surprise finds of the day, nestled a fair distance away from GM’s floor space. The reddish orange stripe down the middle correlates with the similarly colored outer wheel rims. Of course, being a Lingenfelter, this car boasts some impressive performance numbers along with its stand-out paint job. The stock 6.2-liter engine is equipped with a Magnusson intercooled supercharger, and produces a claimed 550 hp and 550 lb-ft of torque. It’s still no ZL1, but that paint job sure is silky-smooth.
Classic Design Concepts Firebreather
With the Camaro having been on the market for some years now, we’ve already had our fill of Pontiac Firebird/Trans-Am conversions at past SEMA shows. But this one is a horse of a different color. Called the “Firebreather,” this conversion was reportedly designed for an upcoming movie, a fact that the car’s fit and finish seems to support. The big difference between this car and other conversions lies in the taillights, which feature a unique design. The rear end also features a rear diffuser and new bodywork surrounding the dual exhaust pipes. In front, the Firebreather gets the obligatory second-gen Firebird front end, but the headlights receive LED halo accents, and the grille is topped with a pipe of red lighting that follows the contours of the front end. We’d call the conversion a success – and it should be for $95,000. Only 50 copies of the car will be made, so if you want to have the coolest Firebird conversion on your block, you’d better reserve yours now.
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