While attention is now lavished upon the 2015 Ford Mustang and its sleek new exterior styling, its arch rival will receive a redesign soon.
The 2016 Chevrolet Camaro will ride on a new platform, but its styling won’t change drastically from the current model.
A confidential industry source told Edmunds that the new car looks like a “worked over” version of the one that’s already in showrooms, saying that it looks more like a mid-cycle refresh than a redesign.
The next Camaro will ride on the same platform as the Cadillac ATS and CTS, which should pay dividends when it comes to handling. While it’s possible that dimensions will change, it is admittedly hard to imagine Chevy junking the iconic muscle-car silhouette of today’s car.
The current Camaro’s styling harks back to a 2006 concept car, which was essentially Chevy’s response to the retro 2005 Mustang. There are plenty of references to the classic first-generation Camaro, but overall the look is much more modern than the outgoing ‘Stang.
That means the 2016 Camaro might be able to get by with minor changes. The current version was introduced in 2009 as a 2010 model, and received a minor facelift for 2014.
Like Ford, Chevy will have to find a balance between retro styling and updated looks that keep its muscle car relevant. Ford felt a lot of pressure to radically change the 2015 Mustang’s look – in order to attract younger buyers – but ultimately picked a middle road between evolution and revolution.
Will Chevy err too close to evolution with the 2016 Camaro? We won’t find out until the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, when it’s scheduled to make its first appearance.
