Camaro-lovers eager to let their mullets flutter in the breeze got their first (wildly overpriced) tastes of the 2011 Camaro convertible this year: First at Barrett-Jackson when the rights to buy the second car to roll off the line were sold for $205,000; And then through reports of the 100 Neiman Marcus Edition Camaro convertibles, priced at $75,000 each, all of which sold out in a grand total of three minutes.
Fortunately for the rest of us (and our sun-deprived mullets), the regular production car will bow at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, Nov. 19-28 and is due to go on sale in February with a base price of $30,000. Engines as well as suspension packages are the same for the convertible as the coupe. The standard car gets the 312hp, direct-injection 3.6-liter/217-cu.in. V-6, while the SS gets a 426hp, 6.2-liter/376-cu.in. V-8. The springs and struts are identical to the coupe, too, we’re told.
An Aisin AY6 six-speed manual transmission is standard in the V-6 car, while the SS gets a Tremec TR6060. Optional automatic transmissions include the Hydra-Matic 6L50 six-speed with the V-6 and the Hydra-Matic 6L80 with Tap Shift in the SS.
Due to the extra bracing necessary to lose the roof, the convertibles are predictably heavier than the coupes. A base coupe with an automatic tips the scales at 3,769 pounds, while a base convertible with an automatic weighs in at 3,986 pounds. The heaviest of all the convertibles is the SS automatic, with a curb weight of 4,168 pounds, compared to 3,902 for an SS automatic coupe. By comparison, a 1969 Camaro convertible Indy Pace Car Replica with a small-block weighed 3,675 pounds.
To keep the convertible Camaro rigid and adding to the aforementioned porky curb weight, there’s tower-to-tower bracing under the hood, a transmission support brace, an underbody transmission tunnel brace and additional underbody V braces. As a result, the General claims that the new Camaro’s body is stiffer than the BMW 3-series convertible, which we can neither confirm nor deny. (Nor do we know how it’s relevant.)
The convertible’s power top retracts in about 20 seconds and latches with a single handle at the center of the windshield header, rather than with two handles on each side of the windshield. The soft top is available in the buyer’s choice of either black or brown, with a standard glass rear window and rear window defogger.
For the nitty gritty of the Camaro convertible’s available options and equipment, that info’s available as well.