When it comes to the 2016 COPO Camaro, as with the previous years, Chevrolet will only be producing 69 of them. The problem is there are already some 5,500 order forms filled out all from customers that want the drag strip ready race Camaro.
As of the end of January, at the world-famous Scottsdale, AZ. Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, the first 2016 COPO Camaro was auctioned off for $300,000.00. This COPO Camaro was one of the big-block drag car versions that was specially designed with Courtney Force giving a lot of help in the color scheme and overall look of the Camaro. Unfortunately, big wallets that buy cars from these very prestigious auctions don't buy them to race them. So this car will not only most likely find its home in some museum somewhere, but it also brings down the total of COPO Camaros left to purchase to 68.
There will be three different powerplants that can be ordered with the COPO Camaro. One will be the monstrous naturally aspired 7.0-liter V-8, another engine option will be a 6.2-liter 376-cu.-in. LT engine and a 5.7-liter with a Whipple supercharger will also be an option. The COPO that was auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson auction in January came with the 5.7 supercharged setup along with a race-ready THM-350 transmission, the other two engine options will also come with this tranny setup.
That all sounds good, but what if you're not one of the special ones, and, believe me, you will have to be special, to get picked to own a 2016 COPO Camaro. Well, the good news is if you have a big enough pocketbook, the drivetrain and the parts that run the COPO Camaro will be available by order through Chevrolet. You may not technically be able to have a true COPO, but getting your Camaro to move as fast as one will definitely be feasible.
This probably won't happen, but maybe Chevrolet will get their heads out of their asses and see the COPO Camaro's potential for growth and make a few extra ones next year.
It's probably been a long time since you heard the car brand name “Opel” and sports car in the same sentence, in fact, if you're young enough, like me, you probably never heard the word sports car describing an Opel period. But the General Motors European branch is trying to change that with a very cool looking Opel GT Concept set to make an appearance at the Geneva International Motor Show Switzerland.
A Small Opel With Big Features
The little two-seat coupe has a lot of big features that prove that Opel is looking to move forward with up-to-date innovations that can attract younger people and compete with the many other compact sports cars in today's auto market.
According to Opel's CEO, Karl-Thomas Neumann, “the concept is no business case, but more of a brand investment.” The idea behind the Opel GT concept is to see the reaction of the consumers and see if something like the GT is something that consumers are really looking to get into.
Although the Opel GT is just a concept and has a long way to go to become a real production car, the '68-'73 Opel GT was also just a concept in 1965, but in just three short years it was in production and making the Opel name popular.
Like many concepts, the Opel GT Concept is built with many innovations that might not make it into production even if the Opel GT sports car does. The first one is the noticeable red front tires and wheels that are designed to look much like a roller skate wheel. You also might notice a set of doors that flow seamlessly into the windows with a silver tint to match the vehicle. It looks pretty cool, but government rules would keep the idea out of production unless some laws are changed.
Another innovation that is pretty cool is if you look closely you will notice that there are no side mirrors. The side mirror's duties are relieved by two cameras mounted on both sides of the rear-wheel arches and then displayed on right and left side monitors inside the vehicle. With that fanciness, you may also notice that there are no door handles. You open the doors by an invisible touch-pad integrated into the red stripe that divides the two-tone paint job.
The Opel is Fun, Small with Power to Match
The sports car power is supplied by a three-cylinder aluminum engine block with a turbocharger. The power is converted to a six-speed transmission that can be controlled with steering wheel paddle shifters. The combination gives the Opel GT 145-hp, which may not sound like a lot for a sports car, but this car only weighs about 2,200-lbs.
Along with some other cool perks like duel exhaust that pokes out of
the rear bumper, panorama glass roof, and a patented door design that allows the doors to partially open into the front wheel-well for easier parking in tight areas - this Opel concept might be something we might see making headlines in the near feature – maybe even with Buick emblems on it. If you look closely at the Buick Avista Concept and compare it with the Opel, the cars look very similar, and it wouldn't be the first time that Buick slapped badges on an Opel.
