This rumor, may be loosely confirmed by a second source — if we're counting a TeamSpeed forum post stating the same bits of information we've received. While not as hardcore as the GT3 or GT3 RS, the Carrera Supersport will retain the same C4S-based widebody, but will be considered a grand touring car rather more so than the aforementioned brightly colored track rats. We currently know that it will feature Fuchs-style wheels, a double bubble roof, a ducktail spoiler and will feature a primer gray colored paint job. The interior will feature a retro throwback brown leather interior.

No power numbers have been given at this point, but we can expect the very limited edition Supersport will empty your wallet by about £135,000 ($222,223 USD). We're lazy fixing our plumbing problems, so expect more information as it leaks out over the next couple months. [TeamSpeed]

The issue doesn't affect manual transmission-equipped V6 Camaros. They will continue to leave the factory as scheduled. A GM spokesperson had this to say on the matter:

Our engineering team is reviewing data related to the performance of the manual transmission on the Camaro SS, and have temporarily stopped shipment of this model to the dealers.

This only impacts Camaro SS models with manual transmission in production. Camaro SS with automatic transmission, and Camaro LS and LT models are not affected and will continue to be shipped to dealers.

Since this is an "in production" review, we are NOT requesting vehicles be returned for any service or dealer deliveries stopped as a result of this action.

We'll keep an eye on the issue as GM releases more details. [Camaro5]

This future didn't used to be so far off, but thanks mostly to the failing economy and subsequent carpocalypse we may never see this bow tie warrior compete with the monstrous 2010 Shelby GT500. The top dog Z28 model would have received a version of the 2009 Cadillac CTS-Vs 556-horsepower supercharged LSA, which in turn is a variant of the 638 horsepower 2009 Corvette ZR1 LS9. A larger power dome hood would have made room for the intercooler-topped small block while a larger functional hood scoop would have drawn in cold air to feed the monster. A revised front fascia with large intakes would have been used for functional cooling of both the engine and the massive Brembo front brakes.

All bets are currently off in the high-performance pony car war, but we're extremely hopeful that we'll eventually see this historic nameplate make an official return. Until then, tuners like Hennessey Motorsport and Lingenfelter will continue to build tasty alternatives. [via Camaro5]

(Hat Tip To The Kellys!)

Yeah, we've been covering a lot of tuned 2010 Camaros as of late, so what's one more? Artisan Performance has teamed up with Turbochargers.com to offer this twin-GTK350 turbocharged SA-600 based on the top dog, LS3-equpped SS model. In addition to slapping a couple of snails on the engine, they've also specified a high-performance, freer flowing exhaust with high-flow catalytic converter, intercooler and wastegate as well as a remapped ECU flash to handle all the excess power being produced. Artisan has also produced a very subtle, yet aggressive body kit consisting of a 1.5-inch flared front wheel arch and 3-inch flared rear quarter panel, front and rear lower fascia lip spoilers, new rockers, functional brake ducting where the gills on the rear quarter panel used to be, a large rear deck lip spoiler and a pair of staggered 21- and 22-inch forged alloy wheels covering upgraded 14-inch SSBC brakes.

Artisan Performance is now taking orders for their Camaro SA-600 turn-key package and is charging a whopping $69,000. That's one damn expensive Camaro. [via Artisan Performance]

According to a report from Automotive News, there are no plans for high-performance versions of any of the company's upcoming cars. It doesn't stop current vehicles from getting high-performance variants — so rest assured all of you out there looking to buy a Camaro SS (Wert).

This is, of course, part of the Carpocalypse and GM's viability plan. Though this can be part of the GM of the future, this is part of the depressing GM of the present.

[Automotive News (subs. req.)]

The Camaro took a 40 year snooze from official pace car duties, but is now back with the 2010 426 horsepower Camaro SS just in time to pace the 51st running of the Daytona 500 on February 15, 2009. It's painted in Cyber Gray and possibly Rally Yellow along with all the necessary Daytona 500 stickers and Camaro decals. We won't say this thing is exactly pretty, as most pace cars are not, but the 2010 Camaro does look pretty good with the Cyber Gray covering its flanks.

Press Release:

Racing series NASCAR-CUP
Date 2009-02-07

Chevy Camaro Returns as Official Pace Car for 51st Daytona 500; Iconic 2010 Model Returns to the "Great American Race" After 40-Year Absence

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (Feb. 7, 2009) — Daytona International Speedway officials announced the return of the Chevy Camaro as the Official Pace Car of the 51st running of the Daytona 500—the first Camaro to pace the field since 1969.

"Chevy has been a great partner of the Daytona 500 for more than 30 years, and the Camaro is an automotive icon,'" said Speedway President Robin Braig. "This 2010 model will set the tone for a 21st century sports car, and that's a perfect fit to lead the pack at the 'Great American Race.''

The 426-horsepower vehicle, powered by the 6.2-liter all-aluminum Chevy V-8, carries a PPG Cyber Grey paint scheme with a bold accent design befitting "The World Center of Racing." A Camaro has paced the field just twice in Dayton 500 history, in 1968 and '69, and this 2010 model is scheduled to hit showroom floors this spring.

Built on GM's new global rear-wheel drive architecture, the Camaro also will be offered in V-6-powered LS and LT models. Additional specs of the 2010 model pace car include:

* All-aluminum 6.2-liter V-8

* 426 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque

* Fully integrated strobe system, including a GM-designed custom light bar utilizing Whelen 500 series linear strobes

* 27-mpg estimated highway fuel economy

* Fuel-saving Tremec 6-speed manual transmission

* Top speed of xxx mph on the test track

[via camaro5]

Why you should buy the 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS:
You like the idea of hitting the drag strip and taking down cars costing twice as much. You want to be Paul Walker but you've got a pair of kids and a job and a wife and need a car that doesn't get whispered about at PTA meetings. Despite being a grown up, you hear the siren song of cheap drag racing and can't afford a money pit racer. You're a sixteen-year-old speed freak and able to fool your parents into thinking its just a boring old Cobalt.

Why you shouldn't buy this car:
You think cars with 82-way power seats, pop-up navigation systems and hand-stitched leathery bits are the last word in high-performance. Greasy bits like a high-tech turbocharged 2.0-liter direct injection four-cylinder, Brembo brakes and limited-slip differential hold no interest for you if the outside looks like a vanilla ice cream sundae. You need people to notice the car you pull up to the tanning salon in. Resale value is important to you. You're Congressman Richard Shelby and think every car built under a domestic nameplate isn't worth the shadow it casts.

Suitability Parameters:
Speed Merchants: Yes
Fashion Victims: No
Treehuggers: No
Mack Daddies: No
Tuner Crowd: Yes
Hairdressers: No
Penny Pinchers: Yes
Euro Snobs: No
Working Stiffs: Yes
Technogeeks: No
Poseurs: No
Soccer Moms: No
Nascar Dads: No
Golfing Grandparents: Yes
Very Serious Businessmen: No
Sheiklets: No

Also Consider:
• Subaru WRX
• Volkswagen GLI
• Nissan Sentra SE-R
• Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart
• Mazdaspeed3
• Ritalin

Vitals:
• Manufacturer: Chevrolet
• Model year: 2008
• Base Price: $22,995.
• Price as Tested: $24,840
• Engine type: 2.0-liter Turbo I4
• Horsepower: 260 HP @ 5300 rpm
• Torque: 260 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
• Transmission: 5 Speed Manual Transmission
• Curb Weight: 3,001 lbs
• LxWxH: 180.3" x 67.9" x 57.1"
• Wheelbase: 103.3"
• Tires: 225/40 R18
• 0 - 60 mph: 5.7 Seconds
• Top Speed: 160 MPH
• EPA Fuel economy city/highway: 22/30 MPG
• NHTSA crash test rating: 4*/5*

Also see:
•2008 Chevy Cobalt SS Sedan Part One
•2008 Chevy Cobalt SS Sedan Part Two

Exterior Design: ***
The 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS, even in four-door form, makes us smile for some reason. To know how easy it is to take a plain vanilla econobox and turn it into a car with a much more handsome proportion, providing just a hint of the performance that lies underneath, without resorting to a SEMAgasmic display of leftover go-faster-looking parts, is quite an achievement. Certainly it's still a small car with a tall cabin and dodgy-looking lighting elements, but when lipstick's applied, it kinda makes ya want to pucker up a bit for the little pig.

Interior Design: ***
The two-tone, Alcantara sport buckets in the front and rear are magnificent. Grippy, firm, supportive – fantastic. It’d take something badged “Recaro” to be better. General space is good all around for the segment, even for the back seat passengers. The patented Jalopnik Knock Test revealed a bit of rattle in the dash here and there, mainly from the painted trim; in normal driving situations though, the car is solid as a rock. We would have appreciated a center console or armrest, but such is not the case. The dash layout is simple to the point, the three-spoke steering wheel is thick and feels good in hand. The cabin is mercifully pretense-free, without superfluous gaudy lighting and silly gadgetry. Get in, be comfy, go fast.

Acceleration: ****
Select Sport Mode, come to a complete stop, drop it into first, peg the throttle and the revs stick to 5,100 RPM. Dump the clutch smartly and your take offs look like stage starts at the WRC. Keep the accelerator stuck to the floor and, without lifting, stab the clutch, grab the next gear and lift off the clutch. Aside from inciting a manic grin you'll pull down 0-to-60 MPH runs in 5.7 seconds. That's not just remarkable; it's down right silly. Make sure you do this on a straight line, otherwise, woe and torque steer be upon thee.

Braking: ****
One word: Magnificent. No, wait, two words: heart-stopping

Ride: **
On the freeway the car is smooth and composed, abrupt lane transfers are as confident as the heaviest German luxo-barge. If you slow down and hit the surface streets, the suspension is so tightly sprung you can feel the road grain. If you hit any of the rough stuff you'll probably be in need of a new set of kidneys. This isn't a car for Grandma.

Handling: ***
Surprisingly competent considering the beam axle in the back. If you drive like a sane person, even at the limit of adhesion, the Cobalt will reward with flat cornering and predictable understeer. However, if you hit a corner at speed, stab the monstrously powerful brakes, yank the tiller and goose the gas you're going to be pushing way into the grass.

Gearbox: ***
A notchy five-speed manual transmission with evenly spaced gears and strong synchros. Combined with no-lift-shift the gearbox makes you feel like a superhero. That being said, it is still a cable-shifted box, and no matter how hard any company tries to improve it, there will always be certain sense of remoteness.

Audio: ****
This Cobalt SS convinced us that we want a USB port in our next car. Plug a USB stick, an iPod, or an MP3 player loaded with your favorite goodies into the dash mounted slot and immediately the system detects its presence, then goes about playing whatever you've got stashed on there, no fussing, no struggle. We got particular enjoyment from a remastered copy of War of the Worlds played during some nighttime mayhem.

Toys: *
Does the boost gauge count? Other than that there aren't a whole lot of toys on the Cobalt SS.

Value: ***
If you're after a hugely entertaining compact, front-drive four-door with the tendency towards mischief and malice, this is the car for you. The problem is, at $24,095, the Cobalt SS is only $900 cheaper than a 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX; a car that’s faster, has much better handling and is eminently more practical.

Overall: ***
As you drive it, you know at some point you're going to slip up and give the car a chance to throw a tantrum. The Cobalt SS is akin to a Tasmanian Devil in a cat carrier; destructively dangerous energy pent up in a container barely able to restrain its manic intensity, you know you're going to get mauled eventually, but you can't help but poke your finger through the cage.

As a practical matter, it doesn't matter where you grew up or what school you went to as a kid, every class had the one kid who got bored with his studies, his contemporaries, and his classroom because of his outstanding capabilities. He acted up, talked out of line, developing remarkably clever spit ball shooters or the most advanced in flying aerodynamic paper systems. That kid grew up to be the engineer for the 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS. The frenetic, brilliant, creative masterpieces which entertained his teachers immensely but inevitably earned a B for incompleteness are directly translated to his work on the Cobalt SS, a car so fun to drive you hate to mark it down.

With your foot planted resolutely on the accelerator pedal and sport mode enabled, you feel a satisfying whoosh of power as the 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four rapidly builds boost, and speed. Your grin turns to a moment of furtive panic as you realize the 260 horses have nowhere to go but the front wheels and the steering gets light as a feather. But, this doesn't stop you from executing a no-lift-shift, made possible by a clever trick of programming and excellent synchros. You effortlessly chirp the tires in second and off you go for another crush of barely controllable power and fury.

Want to hit the twisties? The littlest SS will happily comply. Though equipped with a lowly beam axle in the back, the body motions are well controlled though harrowing corners, with minimal body roll if you're neutral on the throttle. Hit “go” mid-corner though and it'll remind you it's a front engine car with a forward push the Detroit Lions could only dream about.

If you've decided you've had enough, or believe certain state authorities may be watching, hauling the Cobalt SS down to stop is enough to leave seat belt marks on you chest. The car comes with massive, cross drilled Brembos with four-piston calipers.

That, in a nutshell, is everything you need to know about the four-door Cobalt Super Sport. For all other intents and purposes, it functions exactly like every other Cobalt on the road, albeit with notably better exterior styling thanks to a revised front and rear fascia, tasteful spoiler, a big set of wheels and not-so-subtle “SS” badging. When you sit behind the wheel in those grippy and wonderfully supportive Alcantara seats and turn the ignition, you don't so much hear a rumbly exhaust note as you hear an invitation to throw spitballs into the chasm of automotive apathy.

Dear Chevrolet Dealers:

Design. It is the number one reason people purchase a sports car. It is the reason the Camaro concept was a smash hit. And it will be one of the primary reasons the 2010 Camaro will be such a success starting in 2009.

To honor its design, Chevrolet has provided Detroit’s own College for Creative Studies (CCS) the opportunity to purchase the third 2010 Camaro model produced when regular production starts in early 2009 (currently scheduled for February 16, 2009). In turn, CCS will auction this very special model as part of its primary fundraising event – the Detroit International Wine Auction.

Starting October 15, 2008 at 9 p.m., CCS will list their Camaro on Ebay. The auction will run until Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 9 p.m. The model is a 2010 Camaro SS featuring 6.2L V8 engine with over 400 horsepower and a GM estimated 23 MPG highway (official EPA ratings will be released closer to the start of production in early 2009). The winning bidder will have the option of adding factory installed optional equipment and selecting the exterior color and interior trim.

Located in midtown Detroit, the College for Creative Studies is a world leader in art and design education. A private, fully accredited college, CCS enrolls more than 1,300 students pursuing various Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees including Product Design and Transportation Design. Many members of GM Design are alumni of CCS.

Last year, the Detroit International Wine Auction (DIWA) raised $1.4 million with the proceeds underwriting undergraduate scholarships and high-quality art and design education programs to high-risk Detroit Youth. 98 percent of CCS students received some form of financial assistance and over 3,000 Detroit youth participated in CCS’s community outreach programs.

CCS is deeply grateful to Chevrolet and General Motors for the opportunity to both honor Camaros beautiful design and their investment in our future designers. If you are interested in attaining the certified third Camaro model produced when regular production starts, you are encouraged to visit www.collegeforcreativestudies.edu/diwa and click on the Ebay link to register and come back at 9 p.m. on October 15 to begin bidding. Please call the College at 313.664.7464 with any questions.

Hurry, the auction ends 9:00 p.m. Saturday October 25, 2008.

Nina K. Holden
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
College for Creative Studies

[GM]

The mail-slot air intake on the top of the front fascia is real — which is to say there's an opening. Then of course there's the "SS" badge in the grille. Also, the front brake rotors are the 14-inch size with some big Brembo calipers. OK, so pretty much Fergie's Chevrolet Camaro SS looks exactly like the concept Camaro save the realistic sideview mirrors so, you know... surprise! [Edmunds Inside Line]

That top looks pretty smooth to us, sacrificing little in the way of style and interior room. And dare we say it, it may actually have better lines than the hardtop. Also differing in the convertible, we see the wheels are of a different design, though obviously that means nothing on a mule car. In addition to a terrestrial antenna there's also a shark-fin antenna resting in the middle of the trunk lid for satellite and OnStar duties. So, a Camaro Convertible with a possible SS badge on the nose: A pony car convertible not just for teenage girls — what a concept. [WheelsMag via GM Inside News]

If you're thinking this sounds like a great idea for a TV show, you're not alone. It's coming to NBC this fall starring Christian Slater. Knight Rider might have some competition.

Revealed also are some more closer-up details of the new Camaro SS than those we were able to discern from the shots we saw of this very same Camaro SS on set of the new show. Check out the super thick A Pillar, blacked out grille and the centrally mounted hood scoop. [My Own Worst Enemy via Camaro Z28.com]

This question was recently posted on CobaltSS.net, 20 pages of comments followed.

Reverse?
So we all know that the supercharged engines need the intake bypass valve so they work in reverse. Otherwise the supercharger would just suck all the air out of the cylinder. So knowing that, how does the turbocharged version work in reverse? The engine is trying to suck air backwards, yet the turbo wants to spin forward so I don't see how it works. Is there some sort of exhausting intake bypass valve on the turbo version? Also, if it does have the valve, does that also mean that it can make boost in reverse? Like how much boost? Like 5 psi or does it go over 20?

Can anyone help me sort this out?

There's been a whole mess of back n' forth over the front grille markings of the purported production 2010 Chevy Camaro SS photos we posted earlier today. There's been some sort of forum fan-boy Civil War going on at 5thGen.org and Camaro5 with some mullet-heads jumping on the "Z28" bandwagon and others steadfastly sticking to the "esh-esh" chrome story. Well, there have to be winners and losers in everything. So those of you who may have thought it was a "Z28" will be forced to shave their mullets and turn in their A-frame t-shirts. Because my forum friends, as you can see above, that grille definitely says "SS." Still, we're happy to see the forums come through with the win yet again. God we love those guys. [Camaro5, 5thGen]

The hotted up 2010 Chevy Camaro SS version of Bumblebee was snapped either running from, or leading whatever 'bot the Chevy Beat will be playing on the set of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen today in Philadelphia. Hopefully they don't run into the NYC 2009 Renault Laguna Coupe, because we're pretty sure the Renault would be a Decepticon, and nobody wants to see giant transforming robots fight. Oh wait. (Thanks Rueben)