The wait is almost over for muscle car enthusiasts in Australia, as production of the right-hand-drive Chevrolet Camaro is set to hit full swing in August at Holden Special Vehicles’ new factory in Clayton South, outer Melbourne.
Arriving a month later than expected, the Camaro will be imported from America in standard left-hand-drive form and converted to right-hand-drive. The muscle car will be sold under Chevrolet’s bow tie badge through HSV dealerships across the country along with the Silverado full-size pick-up.
A couple of pre-production Camaros are already making their rounds in promotional and marketing events in Sydney and Melbourne, but the first production RHD Camaro will only roll out of the production line at Walkinshaw Park in late August or early September. The same plant is already turning out the Silverado and Holden Colorado SportsCat.
Pricing for the RHD Camaro is still being kept under wraps, though some pundits are suggesting around the $80k mark. If true, the Camaro will be more expensive than its direct rival, the recently updated Ford Mustang GT which is priced at $66,259 plus on-road costs.
Basic specifications for the Camaro were already confirmed in May. Packing 339kW of power and 617Nm of torque from its atmospheric LT1 engine paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels, the Camaro will, coincidentally, have exactly the same power as the 339kW 5.0-litre V8 in the Ford Mustang GT. The Camaro will, however, pack 61Nm more torque than the Mustang’s 556Nm.
While the Mustang GT is rated to sprint from 0 to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds, the Camaro is expected to best that figure by a tenth of a second, though official times have yet to be released.
HSV is expected to announce full pricing and specification next month closer to the Camaro’s local launch.