Ed Wellburn, General Motors vice president of global design, claimed that bringing the Camaro in concept form to the 2006 North American International Auto Show “just felt right. When you look at all the energy and excitement today, the timing is right. You can’t buy a ‘69 Camaro for under $30,000, and special-edition models go for over $200,000,” he said.

Wellburn says that the buyer for the Camaro Concept, should it become a reality, is: “Anyone who knows car energy and passion. I don’t think you can define it that tightly – it’s a wide variety. Most boomers couldn’t afford (a Camaro) at the time,” he offered, talking about the first-generation version that grabbed the hearts of Americans when it pranced onto the scene in the late ‘60s and trundled off into the sunset at the end of the last century.

The new Chevrolet Camaro Concept has been sculpted with a long snout that is shaped to mimic the cowl-induction hood of Chevys past, and has a 6.0-liter V8 engine that delivers 400 horsepower to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. Like Dodge’s Hemi motor, this Corvette-sourced V8 has 21st century technology to shut down four of the motor’s eight cylinders when cruising on the highway. This fuel-saving system is called Active Fuel Management. As in the past, the Camaro Concept four-seater is truly for two, with rear seats that are best for taking others for a fast ride around the block.