SEMA 2009
by Hib Halverson, Content Director

In the last couple of years, the SEMA Show in Las Vegas has been one of the highpoints of  the year, here at the Camaro Homepage mainly because, at the last few SEMA Shows, there has been so much interest in the 2010 Camaro. If you were at SEMA in 2009, it seemed like "all-Camaro-all-the-time" with literally dozens of 2010s in various states of trim and modification all over the place. 

PhantomSS

One of the more interesting of the many new Camaro projects on display in Vegas was in the Featured Vehicle Showcase in the Las Vegas Convention Center's Central Hall. The car, named "PhantomSS," was built by Detroit resident, Jason Debler, one of the founders of the CamaroZ28.com web site and was sponsored at SEMA by Nitto Tires.

The history of Debler's car while short, is certainly interesting. It was ordered from Tom Henry Chevrolet, which for many years has specialized in Camaros, on the first day GM accepted orders, 18 October 2008, and was one of the first group of cars delivered to a consumer. Debler picked-up the Cyber Gray Metallic automatic on 12 June this year at Henry's dealership in Bakerstown, Pennsylvania.

Debler, a longtime Camaro fan and hot rodder, immediately began modifying and personalizing his new car by installing an "Extreme Xa" coil-over-shock kit from Pedders USA for the Camaro's suspension. This lowered the car along with adding a little to the car's already good ride-and-handing.

The next step was a set of Borla long-tube headers, a Roto-Fab cold air intake and a custom ECM calibration which added a stout, 30-hp around the engine's power peak.

A third round of mods had Jason coming back to the car's handing, this time adding a set of Forgeline wheels and a set of NT05s, Nitto's max-performance, dry traction tire.

Jason must be a guy who goes big or goes home because, just before the car was shipped out to Los Vegas for the Show, it was fitted with a Magna Charger, MP 2300 supercharger system which is, basically, Magnuson's aftermarket interpretation of the Eaton TWS series supercharger technology used in the '09/'10 Corvette ZR1's LS9 and Cadillac CTS-V's LSA engines. Debler didn't get a chance to do some more chassis dyno work before SEMA but, based on what we know from other aftermarket Magna Charger installations on 2010s, with the headers already on the car and his cold air box, we'll bet Jason is a little short of 575 horsepower.

Clearly, the "PhantomSS" is a force to be reckoned-with in the Camaro hobby.
 

Camaro Leno

Another interesting Camaro seen at SEMA was Jay Leno's latest hot rod. Leno has a unique relationship with General Motors so lots of the late model stuff in his collection at the Big Dog Garage are GM products.

Leno's road racer, with its front fascia/splitter along with the wheels and the blue brakes, is a sharp-looking piece. Image: GM Communications.

The Jay Leno Camaro is unique in that Leno, best known for musclecars and hotrods, took the "V6-route" with this car. Powered by a twin-turbocharged version of the Camaro's 3.6L, direct-injected base engine, the car blends high performance with surprising efficiency. Two Turbonetics T-3 turbochargers blow through a custom air-to-air charge air cooler and make about seven pounds boost. Power goes to about 425-horsepower which is about 40 percent greater than stock. In normal driving–provided Jay drives the car that way, which we doubt–there’s virtually no penalty in fuel economy over the stock engine. Supporting upgrades for the turbos include a larger-capacity, Be-Kool radiator a custom exhaust system and a heavy-duty clutch. The powertrain was designed to deliver consistent, controllable power for both the street and race track.

Since, road racing was a primary mission for the car during its development, additional mods to improve handling and braking were added such as a Pedders coil-over-shock kit which lowered the car, a Brembo six-piston brake package, a front fascia with integral brake cooling ducts and an "air extractor" hood

The unique front fascia, the hood vents, the forged aluminum wheels and the blue brake calipers accent the 3/4 front view of Leno's car. Image: CHpg Staff.

The exterior of Leno’s car was the most radical of the Camaro concepts at SEMA. The front fascia and hood are one-off creations, as are the unique upper and lower grilles and the ground effects package. The heritage-inspired vent styling in front of the rear wheels has been replaced with functional brake cooling ducts.

Looks like to us that Jay Leno is ready for some track day events at Willow Springs or Spring Mountain, a couple of the race tracks close to his home base in Van Nuys, California.

Image: CHpg Staff.

Camaro Synergy

This concept previews a new Synergy Green production exterior color on a special-edition Camaro in the first half of calendar year 2010. This SEMA concept featured a host of the latest Camaro accessories offered through Chevy dealer parts departments. They enhanced the appearance of the car, demonstrating the personalization possibilities open to owners of 2010 Camaros some of which are: 21-inch wheels, with a black center finish and polished rim; ground effects kit, Cyber Grey Rally hood stripes, High wing rear spoiler and a cold air intake kit.

The ground effects include pronounced rocker moldings, a rear diffuser-type styling piece and a front spoiler. They, along with the rear wing spoiler and rally stripes, are finished in the production Cyber Grey color, although the ground effects and spoiler can be painted to match the exterior. The Rally stripes are adhesive-backed, are offered in grey, black or white and are part of a range of heritage-inspired graphics which also include “hockey stick” stripes for the front fenders.

Chevy designers fitted the Synergy with a Pedders coil-over-shock lowering kit, Brembo brakes and they coordinated the black interior with Synergy Green accent stitching, piping and other touches. The lowering kit, brakes and interior accents are not among the accessories offered for the Camaro by GM, but are popular aftermarket upgrades. Chevrolet will gauge market interest in those features on the Synergy as possible, future accessory offerings.

Chevy dealers begin taking orders for the production Synergy in January and production starts in February.
 

Camaro Chroma

The Camaro Chroma demonstrates how carefully-selected accessories available through Chevy dealers can create a unique appearance. The Chroma is based on a Summit White, SS/RS and uses a combination of current and not-yet-released components, including: a new silver stripe package, 21-inch wheels with silver-painted spoke centers and a Victory Red stripe, “Blade” rear spoiler, a Summit White ground effects package, rear fender vent graphics and an accessory front grille with body-color outer frame.

“With its silver graphics on the Summit White paint, this car has a tailored, tone-on-tone appearance that is simultaneously racy and subdued,” said Todd Parker, Design Manager, GM Accessory Studio. “It is a sophisticated-looking car which is easily duplicated by customers, because all of the parts are available to build it, either from our dealers or the aftermarket.”

The Camaro Chroma’s LS3 is equipped with a Victory Red engine cover, a cold air intake, shorty headers and a performance exhaust system. The six-speed manual transmission has a and a Hurst short-throw shifter. The Chroma is fitted with red, Brembo brake calipers.

Camaro Dusk

Inspired by the style of young, urban professionals, the Dusk rolls has a contemporary "tuner" aesthetic. It is aggressive-looking, with a lowered ride height, new 21-inch wheels, the SS rear spoiler from and a ground effects package.

“This is a car with an international flair, bringing the Camaro to a place it hasn’t traditionally been,” said Parker. “It is a very tailored look which is stylish and sophisticated, but with a distinct American accent.”

The ground effects include a front splitter, rocker extensions and a rear diffuser. They are prototype parts which could end-up as dealer accessories at a later date. The same goes for the BBS 21-inch wheels. Small details, like taillamp and fog lamp bezels, match the finish of the wheels and that creates a rich, sophisticated look.

The Camaro Dusk’s is painted Berlin Blue, while the ground effects are a contrasting black. Additional performance items include a low-restriction exhaust and the Brembo brakes from an SS, with painted calipers. The interior is trimmed in Jet Black and Sedona, with complementing features including footwell lighting, premium door sill plates and other details.

Today’s young professionals expect advanced technology and premium audio options and this concept delivers with a Boston Acoustics sound system, WiFi connectivity and a cradle for an Apple iPhone.

Of all three of these GM Camaro concepts, the Dusk was the favorite among the Camaro Homepage Staff.