The wait is over for Kiwis hungry for pricing details on the first right-hand drive Chevrolet Camaro to hit the country.
HSV, who are bringing the Camaro into Australasia and handling the right-hook conversions in their Victorian factory, have confirmed a square price for the New Zealand market; $104,990.
As previously reported, Aussies and Kiwis will only get one spec of Camaro for the time being — the 2SS. It comes equipped with GM’s 6.2-litre GenV LT1 V8, which produces 339kW of power and 617Nm of torque. It will come uniquely with an eight-speed automatic transmission and in a coupe body style.
There’s only one option; $1000 for metallic paint. No ‘sticks’ or convertibles here.
Beyond the engine, the 2SS is a well-optioned thing. A sunroof, Bose sound system, 8.0-inch digital cluster, heated and ventilated seats, and 20-inch wheels are all among the standard equipment.
But some will likely point out that, even with the equipment and power on show, the Camaro is still much pricier than its Ford Mustang GT equivalent. And that’s true.
The Mustang GT starts at $79,990, and comes with near identical power output figures (the Camaro edges the Ford on torque by 61 Newtons).
What the Camaro brings to the party is relative exclusivity.
HSV are converting 550 2SS models in total to right-hand drive, and a mere 38 are scheduled to make the journey over the ditch to New Zealand. That makes it a damn rare car, especially stacked up next to the ubiquitous Mustang.
“This project has been over three years in the making and involved millions of dollars of investment in product development, testing and validation,” said HSV Managing Director Tim Jackson.
“We set out with the goal of retaining the integrity of the left-hand drive vehicle through the adoption of extensive engineering, development, and manufacturing processes. We are proud to say we believe we have achieved our goal”.
Time will tell if this low-production model is simply the beginning of a plan to make the right-hand drive Camaro mainstream with a higher production output and more varied model list. Having seen what cars like the track-focused ZL1 1LE are capable of, we sure hope so.