Photo: Andrei Nedelea/Chevrolet for autoevolution
You can’t open an automotive webzine these days without some mention of one new sporty looking SUV or another.
We live in SUV crazy times, but since not all people want to buy SUVs for practical reasons, automakers have had to also introduce some that are not really the most practical, but they look good and are quite fast.
After Lamborghini launched the Urus, Bentley the Bentayga and, most recently Ford the Mustang Mach-E, it seems there is nothing sacred in the automotive world that can’t be reinterpreted into an SUV. That’s why it’s perfectly acceptable now to expect Chevrolet to use one of its iconic sports car or pony car nameplates on an SUV of some sort.
Chevy has two such nameplates that immediately spring to mind: the Camaro and the Corvette. Both of them could exist in the same range as SUVs (alongside the traditional models), catering to different buyers and offering quite different propositions.
The Corvette SUV could be something along the lines of a budget Lamborghini Urus rival, but it deserves its own separate article because there is a lot to discuss about it. In this piece, I’ll focus on what I think Chevy could do with a Camaro-badged SUV and where it could position it in its range.
As you may imagine, my pitch for this Camaro SUV would be to make it fully-electric, a direct rival to the Ford Mustang Mach-E. And it would make sense as such, since Ford’s attempt at doing the same thing has not been met with nearly as much hostility as we would have anticipated beforehand.
In fact, people seem to get and like the Mustang Mach-E and why Ford made it, and the Blue Oval hasn’t really been blasted for it that much. Sure, there are those who see it as an abomination, since no part of the package is in accordance with what we’ve come to associate with a Mustang - it is electric and an SUV, two things a Mustang never was.
Chevrolet can observe the public reaction and people’s comments and adjust its own Camaro-inspired EV crossover formula to be even better suited to what the market wants. At the same time, if it does proceed to make its own version of the Mach-E, there will be additional incentive for Ford to improve it and replace it with a new model down the line.
Whatever the case, we can try to imagine what the Camaro high rider might look like, regardless of what sort of powertrain might motivate it it. A few hours spent in PhotoShop starting from the latest Blazer crossover and I think I have managed to create a believable Camaro crossover, one that would appeal to buyers.
In case you’re wondering why it’s so low to the ground and not especially SUV-like, well, I thought that this style of high rider would be in-keeping with the nameplate’s tradition. It’s still higher than a traditional hatchback, but more low-slung than a typical SUV.
Oh, and most of that big Camaro-esque grille would be blocked off in order to make it more aerodynamic (even though there isn’t anything particularly aerodynamic about the Camaro’s vertical fascia).
Regarding the powertrain, GM showed off the Chevrolet E-10 Concept, a restomodded 1962 C-10 pickup outfitted with an all-electric propulsion system offering around 450 horsepower. That would be right on the money for the most potent version of the Camaro crossover, putting it in the same performance bracket as the Mustang Mach-E GT.
Lower-powered versions would also be made available, with outputs starting from under 300 horsepower.
As you are reading this, even though nothing official (or even unofficial) has been mentioned, I’m pretty sure GM is seriously considering the creation of a competitor for the Mustang Mach-E.
After Lamborghini launched the Urus, Bentley the Bentayga and, most recently Ford the Mustang Mach-E, it seems there is nothing sacred in the automotive world that can’t be reinterpreted into an SUV. That’s why it’s perfectly acceptable now to expect Chevrolet to use one of its iconic sports car or pony car nameplates on an SUV of some sort.
Chevy has two such nameplates that immediately spring to mind: the Camaro and the Corvette. Both of them could exist in the same range as SUVs (alongside the traditional models), catering to different buyers and offering quite different propositions.
The Corvette SUV could be something along the lines of a budget Lamborghini Urus rival, but it deserves its own separate article because there is a lot to discuss about it. In this piece, I’ll focus on what I think Chevy could do with a Camaro-badged SUV and where it could position it in its range.
As you may imagine, my pitch for this Camaro SUV would be to make it fully-electric, a direct rival to the Ford Mustang Mach-E. And it would make sense as such, since Ford’s attempt at doing the same thing has not been met with nearly as much hostility as we would have anticipated beforehand.
In fact, people seem to get and like the Mustang Mach-E and why Ford made it, and the Blue Oval hasn’t really been blasted for it that much. Sure, there are those who see it as an abomination, since no part of the package is in accordance with what we’ve come to associate with a Mustang - it is electric and an SUV, two things a Mustang never was.
Chevrolet can observe the public reaction and people’s comments and adjust its own Camaro-inspired EV crossover formula to be even better suited to what the market wants. At the same time, if it does proceed to make its own version of the Mach-E, there will be additional incentive for Ford to improve it and replace it with a new model down the line.
Whatever the case, we can try to imagine what the Camaro high rider might look like, regardless of what sort of powertrain might motivate it it. A few hours spent in PhotoShop starting from the latest Blazer crossover and I think I have managed to create a believable Camaro crossover, one that would appeal to buyers.
In case you’re wondering why it’s so low to the ground and not especially SUV-like, well, I thought that this style of high rider would be in-keeping with the nameplate’s tradition. It’s still higher than a traditional hatchback, but more low-slung than a typical SUV.
Oh, and most of that big Camaro-esque grille would be blocked off in order to make it more aerodynamic (even though there isn’t anything particularly aerodynamic about the Camaro’s vertical fascia).
Regarding the powertrain, GM showed off the Chevrolet E-10 Concept, a restomodded 1962 C-10 pickup outfitted with an all-electric propulsion system offering around 450 horsepower. That would be right on the money for the most potent version of the Camaro crossover, putting it in the same performance bracket as the Mustang Mach-E GT.
Lower-powered versions would also be made available, with outputs starting from under 300 horsepower.
As you are reading this, even though nothing official (or even unofficial) has been mentioned, I’m pretty sure GM is seriously considering the creation of a competitor for the Mustang Mach-E.
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