Reports of the Chevrolet Camaro’s return last week initially claimed the born-again muscle car would be based on a shared platform with a pair of sedans, but new information has suggested it may become a four-door itself.
Specialist publication GM Authority reports the reborn Camaro won’t be a traditional two-door coupe like every previous generation of the model, and will instead become a four-door – though not in what’s known as the traditional ‘three box’ sedan profile.
Expected to adopt coupe-like design cues, the new Camaro is still expected to be the spiritual successor to the likes of the Chevrolet SS, which was a rebadged VF Holden Commodore sold in the US.
According to the publication, the sales in the two-door sports car segment decreased in the US by almost 19 per cent last year compared to the previous 12 months, though this was due in part to the Dodge Challenger going off sale.
Meanwhile, the performance sedan market is largely underserved, with the new Dodge Charger (available as a two- or four-door) one of the few players in the segment.
The report continues to claim the new Camaro, regardless of what form it takes, will ride on an evolution of the platform which underpinned its predecessor.
Known as Alpha 2 – or potentially adopting the Alpha 2-2 moniker – it’ll remain a rear-drive architecture, and would almost certainly be able to accommodate General Motors’ new sixth-generation small-block V8 engine, which debuted earlier this month in the Corvette Grand Sport.
The Alpha platform has supported inline-four, V6 and V8 engines, with the hottest models underpinned by it powered by supercharged 6.2-litre V8s.
Cross-town rival Ford has also recently refused to rule out a return to the segment, with CEO Jim Farley saying earlier this year “never say never”, before adding a caveat.
“The sedan market is very vibrant. It’s not that there isn’t a market there. It’s just we couldn’t find a way to compete and be profitable. Well, we may find a way to do that,” he told Automotive News at the Detroit motor show.
Ford is also understood to be planning to launch a sedan version of the Mustang coupe, which would bring it back into the petrol-powered passenger car segment.
A report by Automotive News in August last year claimed a Mustang-derived four-door sedan could launch as soon as early 2028, at least in the US.
A Mustang sedan was reportedly previewed to North American dealers last year, and prior to this Ford CEO Jim Farley told media outlets it could launch a four-door version of the pony car, as long as it has “all the performance and attitude of the original.”
The sedan could potentially adopt the Mach 4 nameplate – similar to the previous Mustang Mach 1 performance flagship, as well as the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV. Earlier this year the Mach 4 nameplate was trademarked in the US and Australia.
Ford still holds the trademark for Falcon to be used on vehicles in Australia, though only until April 2028. It’s held that name locally since 1959.
Given the demise of Holden, it’s unlikely that a four-door Camaro could ever make it to Australia, if it was green-lit in the US.
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