Chevrolet have released the first photos of the pre-production Camero Convertible. The bold lines clearly reflecting the muscle cars of the 1960s and 70s. This seems to follow a trend of a new breed of American muscle car along side the retro inspired Ford Mustang and up coming Dodge Challenger.
Powering the Camero will be a 6 litre V8 engine driving the big rear wheels with 400 horsepower. It will go on sale first in America in early 2010 (a year after the coupe) and later Chevrolet plans to export to Europe. It even has plans of a limited number of left hand drive models.
With escalating fuel prices it seems that this muscle car revival is a little out of touch. Sales are likely to be limited however the macho glamour of these cars is likely to gain a few movie appearances.
15 June 2008
Chevrolet Camero Convertible
8 June 2008
2009 Porsche 911 Cabriolet with Direct Fuel Injection and Double-Clutch Gearbox
The new 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera has been formally unveiled revealing light styling tweaks and new engines. As is usual for Porsche, finding the styling changes is akin to an advanced level spot-the-difference competition.
The 3.6 and 3.8 litre engines found in the Carrera and Carerra S respectively, feature direct injection for the first time providing both more power and improved fuel economy. The 3.6 litre engine now produces 345 horsepower (a 20-horse increase), while the 3.8 in Carrera S gets a 30-horsepower boost, coming in at an impressive 385 HP.
To make the most of the power gains is a new 7-speed dual-clutch transmission called the Porsche-Doppelkupplung or PDK for those who struggle with the pronunciation. This replaces the Tiptronic S and offers greater efficiency in terms of both fuel economy and acceleration times. It also offers a smoother gear change, particularly when used in fully automatic mode.
Visually, the 2009 Porsche 997 sees changes to the lights with bi-Xenon headlamps, LED daytime running lights, and restyled tail-lamps using LED illumination.
The new cars are expected to arrive in Europe in July with a U.S. launch to follow later in the year.
>> Furter details of the Porsche 911 Cabriolet
