2010 Chevy Camaro: From Concept To Reality

The most striking feature of the unveil of the new Camaro was how strikingly similar the 2010 Chevy Camaro is to the Camaro Concept. We enlisted the help of GM designer Jeff Perkins, who worked extensively on the new muscle car, to help us with the magnifying glass and determine what those changes were. Hit the jump as Jeff guides us through sort of virtual walk-around, pointing out each of the individual tweaks and changes the designers made to bring the concept to production.

The New Camaro's Front

"Our philosophy from day one was [to capture] the essence and philosophy of the first-generation Camaro, but with modern execution and modern materials and modern fit-and-finish. From a design standpoint, we want the Camaro faithful to recognize and love it, but we also want to have a new generation love the car for the way it is, without a history lesson." — Perkins

Click the photos above to see six changes made to the front section of the new Camaro and read details from the designer on why those changes were made.

The New Camaro's Rear

"We call the shape "coke bottle" and the car has a lot of that coke bottle shape to it. You'll see this especially where the door intersects the rear quarter panel. And you can see how far the wheels go out in both the production car and concept car." — Perkins

Click the photos above to see six changes made to the rear section of the new Camaro and read details from the designer on why those changes were made.

The Camaro's Interior

"The overall philosophy was to have this straightforward, wide sports car interior piece. We wanted to play up the deep-dish steering wheel and play up the gauges, while making sure the shifter is highlighted. It's about showcasing these components that we think are strong. The overall shape of the interior is really very similar to the concept. We did have changes for safety requirements; kneebags have to be in a certain zone and you have to get airbags in. When we showed the concept car the feedback we got was really strong and our word from Ed Welburn and Bob Lutz was that we need to do the concept car." — Perkins

Click the photos above to see six changes made to the interior of the new Camaro and read details from the designer on why those changes were made.

Also, we highly suggest you check out Automobile Magazine's sit-down with Cheryl Pilcher, Camaro product manager. It's a good read.

Send an email to Matt Hardigree, the author of this post, at matt@jalopnik.com.