2014 Chevrolet Camaro taillights revealed in new video?
The video showcasing the Chevrolet Camaro SS Coupe as the official safety car for the 2012 World Touring Car Championship offers only a few scant glances at the rear end of the American muscle car but in those quick glimpse – there is no question that this car does not have the same taillights as the current production Camaro SS Coupe in the US.
The taillights on every production level Chevrolet Camaro sold in the US since the Camaro was reintroduced for the 2010 model year feature two separate solid red lenses on each side with the lower rear fascia cutting up between the lights on each side to punctuate the divided design.
However, the taillights shown on the WTCC Camaro safety car very clearly feature an LED design with a single lens design on each side of the rear end. The general shape of the taillights is retained with a dual-light shape but rather than a pair of individual lights, the Camaro safety car being used overseas has the taillights running together. The rear fascia still juts up into the light housing but not to the point of splitting up the two units. Also, the reverse indicators which are found in the middle of the rear bumper area in standard production Chevrolet Camaro Coupes have been removed – with the new backup lights being nestled into the taillight housings in the form of a set of white LED rings. Thanks to the wonders of LED technology, these integrated backup lights could also turn red to serve as turn signals, but that is speculation based on what we have seen on other cars around the world.
If these taillights look familiar, it is probably because they debuted at the 2011 SEMA Show in Las Vegas on the mirror-green Camaro Hot Wheels Concept. When these uniquely designed taillights debuted on that concept at SEMA, they were simply listed as “Euro-style taillamps with new inner smoked lens”. Based on this description, we could speculate that these taillights are only features intended for the European market due to some requirement or restriction that the company doesn’t have to deal with in the US. However, these shots could also be giving us our first good look at the taillights of the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS Coupe that will hit US dealerships within the next 10-14 months.
They could have simply chosen to go with the high tech taillights available in some European markets but in an effort to promote the Camaro around the world as a global performance car - will GM continue offering the different taillights in the European and American markets...or could GM bring these new lights to future American Camaros?
The 5th generation of the Chevrolet Camaro really hasn’t changed much since being introduced for the 2010 model year. While the Camaro has benefitted from the addition of the convertible option and the high performance Camaro ZL1 package, the exterior design of the car has gone untouched over the past three models years. With the Ford Mustang team making gradual changes year to year, Chevrolet may be looking to make some minor changes ahead of the next generation of the Camaro and some sharp LED taillights could be just what the doctor ordered. New high tech taillights could allow the 2014 (or 2015) Chevrolet Camaro to stand out a bit from the 2010-2013 models without straying from the design that has helped make the Camaro the bestselling American muscle car in the US two years in a row.
In the gallery on the above (click any thumbnails to view the whole gallery), we have included a couple shots of the Chevrolet Camaro WTCC Safety Car with the unique taillights along with a look at the standard production Camaro SS in red and the Camaro Hot Wheels Concept in green shown at SEMA 2011.
Check out the video of the WTCC Chevrolet Camaro in action below. The shots of the unique rear end come towards the end of the short video.
WTCC images captured from the embedded video above.
Camaro Hot Wheels Concept and Camaro SS images courtesy of HighHorsepowerPhotography.com.
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