100 Years Of Chevrolet and Indy 500

America's most famous race, the Indianapolis 500, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and so does Chevrolet, whose name was tied to the “Brickyard” from the very beginning. Arthur Chevrolet competed in the inaugural Indy 500 on May 30 1911, a few months before founding the company that bears his name, on November 3 the same year. Today, Chevrolet and Indy 500 are still together, with the Camaro SS Convertible to be the 22nd Chevrolet to pace the Indy 500 race on May 29 as a common celebration for their 100-year anniversary.

Over the years, the Chevrolet brothers competed many times at the Indy 500, but only one of them managed to win the race. In 1920, Gaston Chevrolet triumphed behind the wheel of a Monroe-Frontenac, becoming the first winning driver to finish the race on one set of tires. Sadly, he passed away later that year during a California race.

After the end of World War 2, Chevrolet started to provide pace cars for the race, with the first being a 1948 Convertible. Including this year's event, Chevrolet cars have paced the Indy 500 22 times, more than any other brand. The Corvette did it ten times, followed by the Camaro, with seven appearances.

The 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Indianapolis 500 Pace Car pays tribute to the 1969 Camaro pace-setter, with the two cars sharing the paint scheme. It will also be sold as a special edition model in a limited run of 500 units.

2012 Chevrolet Camaro V6 323 HP

The revised engine is 20.5 pounds (9.3 kg) lighter and benefits from a thorough rework, including new cylinder head design, larger intake valves, new fuel pump and optimized-flow fuel injectors, among other changes.

2012MY Camaro SS coupes will be available with a new FE4 sport suspension, which improves handling. “We applied lessons learned from extensive track testing to better refine the suspension geometry for flatter cornering, a more neutral balance during hard turns, and minimized understeer at the limit,” says Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer.

The new suspension package includes retuned front and rear dampers, new solid front (23 mm) and rear (24 mm) stabilizer bars and 20-inch aluminum wheels.
The interior revisions for the 2012 model year Camaro concern the revamped instrument panel with different graphics and trim, a new steering wheel design (which looks exactly like the one found in the Sonic…) and a power lift feature for the passenger seat.

A new added feature is the Rear Vision Package, which consists of a rearview camera system. On the outside, the 2012 Camaro gets a new rear spoiler and the RS appearance taillamps as standard.
Chevrolet will also launch a 45th Anniversary Special Edition Camaro, set to be unveiled on April 15 in Arizona at the Camaro5 Fest II. The anniversary package will be offered on the top two trim levels (2LT and 2SS), for both coupe and convertible models. Special edition Camaros carry over all the 2012 upgrades and feature a unique rally stripe in red and silver painted over the Carbon Flash Metallic paint.

Model-specific exterior details include 45th Anniversary badges on the front fenders, new 20-inch dark silver wheels, RS-style taillamp lenses, fog lamp and taillamp bezels finished in dark silver, standard rear spoiler and HID headlamps and body-color roof molding.
On the inside, the 45th anniversary Camaro features a Jet Black interior with leather upholstery, a white instrument panel and door trim inserts, red, white and blue stitching on the seats, steering wheel, shift knob, door armrests and console lid. The 45th Anniversary logo can be found on the seats, steering wheel and sill plates.

Video: Chevrolet Camaro Twin Turbo 1,810 HP

Photo,Video: Chevrolet Camaro HPE600 by Henessey

Camaro HPE600 posjeduje standardni V8 motor uparen sa TVS2300 superpunjačem. Uz promjenu usisa i ispuha ova beštija proizvodi 602 KS pri 6.300 rpm te ogromnih 820 Nm pri 3.800 rpm. Automobil svu tu snagu na podlogu prenosi preko 25 mm nižeg ovjesa. U kombinaciji s širim, 20-inčnim kotačima (9.5X20 sprijeda, 10.5X20 straga) iMichelin Pilot Super Sport gumama (275/30-20 na prednjim kotačima i 305/30-20 na stražnjim kotačima), HPE600 Camaro od nule do stotke ubrzava za samo 4,1 sekundu, a ravnu šnitu od 402 metara prelazi za 12.1 sekundu pri izlaznoj brzini od 190 km/h.

'Novi Camaro kabriolet teži je za nekih 113 kg od coupe inačice', kaže Goldman. 'Međutim, kada dodate skoro 200 konjskih snaga, to i više nego nadoknađuje razliku u težini'. Ovo je tipični primjer američkog naćina prerade vozila – ako je nešto teško, dodaj hrpu konja!!!

Osnovni paket za HPE600 Supercharged Camaro kabriolet iznosi 16.000 dolara (11.520 EUR). U punom paketu, HPE600 Camaro kabriolet sa superpunjačem dolazi s boljim kotačima, gumama, ovjesom i CarbonAero™ karbonskim prednjim spliterom i bočnim pragovima po cijeni od pozamašnih 34.455 dolara (24.800 EUR).

Svi HPE600 modeli dolaze s garancijom na tri godine ili 56.000 kilometara. Ako vam i ovo sve nije dovoljno, Hennessey Performance nudi i limited edition HPE700 Camaro kabrioleta (napravljeno je samo 24 komada) sa 755 KS i ubrzanjem do stotke za 3,5 sekunde