The man’s just been to take the Chevrolet Camaro 45th Anniversary edition back. Now when I look out the window I no longer see the extended silhouette of the coupe shape, with its subtle curves, bulging wheel arches and flowing lines. Nor do I see the flashes of silver and red on the glistening black bodywork.
Two years on from launch, this is still a stunningly attractive car that sits very well indeed, poised and planted, it has the road presence to match its not insignificant heritage. And this particular car does much to celebrate that heritage, festooned as it is with ‘45th’ badges denoting its celebratory edition status. Although in two months time the Camaro will actually be 46-years old.
The 45th version comes in V6 and V8 flavours in coupe or convertible guises. We tested the range-topping SS flavour costing AED195,000 ($53k) as a Coupe like this, or AED205,000 ($55,700) for the Convertible. They’re about a AED10,000 ($2700) premium over the regular cars (Camaro range starts at AED133,000 or $36,150, by the way).
The 45th pack includes bonnet stripes with dark silver exterior accents with the red ‘45’ slash, HID headlamps, exclusive 20-inch wheels, and inside there is black leather upholstery with red, white and blue stitching, as well as clear white trim and the 45th badge on the dashboard, seats, sill plates, steering wheel and fenders.
For 2012 Camaros all got a revised rear spoiler and updated taillights. Inside there’s a new, more conventional steering wheel – although personally I preferred the previous more evocative deep-dished wheel even if it was bigger and more awkward when trying to use the remote buttons, it added character. The instrument panel is funkier with crisp blue backlighting and the auto-dimming rear-view mirror now features a rear camera when you select reverse gear.
The car I tested also had a head-up display, which is a must, not only because it puts important stuff like speed and gear ratios in sight – it can also be configured to include a rev counter – but it sorts out a previous issue I had with the car. Each time you hit the 120kph speed limit the centre screen in the instrument panel blanks out with an overspeed warning. There’s no annoying chime, but suddenly you can’t see important info – especially if you’re using the sequential auto, and you won’t know what gear you’re in. This is all sorted thanks to the HUD.
