Mention the name of the contemporary Chevy Blazer online and you’re likely to start a fiery debate between owners and those who believe this name should’ve been revived as a terrain tamer rather than a crossover. As many of you know, GM decided to ignore the resurgence of the off-roading segment and brought back the Blazer as a CUV with Camaro-inspired styling. So, why not take the whole thing further than use the impressive front-end styling of the Blazer on a sports car, as this rendering does?
Many drivers enjoy the Chevy Blazer, and while this fell to the bottom of the two-row, compact crossover segment in terms of 2021 sales, that was influenced by the chip shortageโthe vehicle had been among the top performers of the said category a year before. It’s worth mentioning the carmaker has introduced a 2023 revamp for the model.
Having said that, it’s impossible not to question GM’s decision to add this nameplate to its long list of crossovers in an era when go-anywhere machines like the Ford Bronco or the Land Rover Defender are massively popular. After all, the full-size K5 Blazer, which borrowed the C/K truck chassis, offered aficionados some serious outdoors assets between 1969 and 1995. Some preferred theirs lowered to the ground, though.
Nevertheless, we’re not here to rant about General Motors corporate decisions, but rather toโฆ talk about a pixel rant of the sort that seems to bring a constructive take on the matter.
As mentioned above, this piece of CGI takes the front end of the 2019+ Chevy Blazer and places it on an Alpine A310. You might be familiar to the Alpine name since this is a Renault brand that brought back its A110 name to deliver a mid-engiend rival for the Porsche 718 series.
However, back in 1971, Alpine, which had been close to Renault and was purchased by the latter just a few years later, introduced the A310 we have here(anime fans might be thinking of Evangelion right now).
Tipping the scales at just 2,160 lbs (1,000 kg) thanks to a tubular chassis and a fiberglass body, this was more of a Porsche 911 alternative, since it kept its engine at the back. Speaking of which, the most potent powerplant available was a N/A V6 with 190 hp on tap.
The Unnecessary automobile nose swaps Facebook page that pixel-welded the two together did more than just paint a more enthusiastic pathway for the Blazer, though.
You see, this rendering also jogs our memory, bringing back the times when Chevy seemed determined to introduce a compact sportscar. And those times weren’t all that far back.
The lost baby Camaro is coming in GM’s future EV era?
The year was 2012 when Chevrolet introduced a pair of concepts including the Tru 140S and the Code 130R. And, thanks to the latter’s retro-inspired styling (you can check it out in the gallery below), people instantly labeled it as a baby Camaro.
Car prices weren’t in the bubble that disturbs us nowadays and the sheer idea you could grab such a compact coupe for around $20,000 sounded like a dream. Sadly, there don’t seem to be any chances for Chevrolet to introduce a rival for the 2022 Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ.
Heck, the very existence of the Camaro might be threatened these days, as there’s still no clear indication of a future generation even now when the Gen VI is approaching retirement. So all we can hope for appears to be an EV compact sportscar from Chevy, which might take another decade to materialize (GM plans to go fully electric by 2035 and carbon neutral by 2040).