Clauser stated that the Chevrolet Camaro GT4 will be “good until the end of ’23, so our plan at this point is not to renew it.” While this was in direct reference to the racing version of the Camaro, IMSA’s homologation rules are where a race car must be based on a vehicle in production and sold to retail customers. It remains unclear how Chevrolet will continue to advance in NASCAR.
Although Clauser didn’t go into homologation details, she told the motorsport publication that the reason behind the plan not to renew the Camaro GT4 program after 2023 is that they can focus more on the 2024 C8 Corvette GT3 program. But the schedule matches exactly where the Camaro’s board is headed: to the garage.
Camaro sales, along with the rest of the strong auto segment, continue to evaporate as more and more high-performance trucks and SUVs like the Silverado ZR2 and Ford Bronco Raptor hit the market. According to sales reports for the first quarter of the year, sales of the Chevrolet Camaro fell 5.3% compared to last year. That’s not as radical as it was on the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger. But that still isn’t great when sales are already low. Chevy sold 6710 Camaros in the first quarter of 2022, a number less than the number of premium C8 Corvettes sold for the same period.
The muscle car segment was starting to phase out, and we knew the Camaro was approaching its final year, but so far, the exact date is unknown. Meanwhile, the Dodge Hellcats will also see its final year in 2023. The Ford Mustang will continue to carry the torch forward, as the S650 generation will be the last V8 muscle car to survive.
