Muscle cars—you’d be hard pressed to come up with a segment for which electrification poses a greater challenge. After all, these slabs of America are all about intense emotions and V8s, so how you generate the first part with battery packs and electric motors? Well, two of Detroit’s Big Three have at least partially answered that question. However, unlike Dodge and Ford, Chevrolet has revealed next to nothing related to the future of the muscle car genre. So, at least for the time being, it’s up to digital proposals like this one to paint a 2024+ future for the iconic Camaro.
It’s already been a few years since rumors of the Camaro’s demise started floating around. And now only has GM steered clear of dismissing them, but the introduction of questionable styling updates and the lack of new derivatives for the 1967-born nameplate seem to only confirm the grim unofficial chat.
In fact, the only official details we can hang on to as far as the future of the Camaro is concerned comes from a teaser released back in 2020. The image, which you’ll find at the bottom of the gallery below, portrays an EV that appears to resemble the silhouette of the legendary model, albeit while seeming to pack more than two doors.
Of course, this has given birth to new rumors suggesting that the current sixth-generation Camaro, which has been in production since 2015, will be retired in 2023 and is set to be replaced by a battery-powered model.
Well, the CGI work sitting on our screens pictures such a Camaro EV, albeit while sticking to the two-door layout that has defined the muscle car over the decades.
Digital artist Marouane Bembli (aka The Sketch Monkey) builds on the 650 hp ZL1 Camaro, adopting futuristic elements from the 2024 Equinox EV, a compact crossover coming to the market in the fall of next year.
What about the real-life Camaro?
In the real world, though, anything is possible for the Camaro. The worst-case scenario involves a retirement, which could be temporary (remember the 2003-2008 gap between the Gen IV and the Gen V?).
As for the said EV transformation of the nameplate, models like the recently showcased 2024 Blazer EV electric crossover show that GM doesn’t always respect the legacy of a model (the K5 Blazer used to be a full-size SUV) as it did with the GMC Hummer EV. So a four- or five-door battery-electric model wearing the Camaro name can’t be ruled out.
However, we’d rather see Chevy picking a direct fight with Dodge, as the latter is set to unveil an all-electric muscle car concept, a coupe, this year, with the production model scheduled for 2024. Speaking of which, there are also rumors of internal combustion continuity for Dodge, even though Stellantis’ fresh twin-turbo 3.0L Tornado straight-six is said to replace the current raft of V8s, at least for most models.
There’s also the optimistic scenario. This would involve GM following a path like the one Ford took. So, while the Blue Oval used the Mustang name for the Mach E crossover, the carmaker is providing an internal combustion future—albeit a hybridized one—for the pony, with the seventh iteration of the ‘Stang (here are some leaked images of the next-gen Mustang) expected to debut next year as a 2024 model.
And, until GM decides to shed some light on the fate of the Camaro, you can check out the birth of this digital 2024 EV in the YouTube video below.
I can’t find the Vomit emoji.
Electric cars, a plan that doesn’t work, to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.