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2016 Chevy COPO Camaro wears drag to SEMA [w/video]

Attendees to this year's SEMA Show get to be the first to check out Chevrolet's latest COPO Camaro that's now based on the new, sixth-generation model. As before, they packs a bevy of racing modifications to rocket down drag strips across the country. All of the interested customers might not get one of these hand-built machines, though, because Chevy is sticking with the tradition of only building 69 of them for 2016. Devised to compete NHRA Stock and Super Stock Eliminator classes, the latest COPO Camaro features the lighter, more rigid platform of the sixth-gen model. Buyers can choose from an array of V8s for power, including a supercharged 350-cubic-inch engine, a naturally aspirated 427, or an LT-based 376. All of them come with a race-prepped Turbo 400 three-speed automatic, solid rear axle, and adjustable suspension. The COPO on display for SEMA wears custom styling from drag racer Courtney Force that combines a Red Hot and black color scheme with her name slashing across rear fender. This one also packs a concept 350-cubic-inch V8 with a 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger. If you're interested in owning it, the car will cross the auction block at a Barrett-Jackson sale in 2016, and the proceeds will go to the United Way. Related Video: CHEVROLET INTRODUCES GEN SIX COPO CAMARO Courtney Force-designed show car to be auctioned for United Way LAS VEGAS – With assistance from NHRA Camaro Funny Car driver Courtney Force, Chevrolet introduced the Gen Six COPO Camaro today at the SEMA Show. After visiting the COPO build center, Force collaborated with Chevrolet designers to create a custom appearance for the 2016 COPO Camaro SEMA show car. It will be auctioned at a Barrett-Jackson sale in 2016, with the proceeds going to United Way. Chevrolet will build 69 COPO Camaro race cars for 2016, extending the production legacy that began in 2012 with the fifth-generation Camaro. Like the previous editions, the new COPO Camaro is designed for NHRA's Stock and Super Stock Eliminator classes. "With the new Gen Six Camaro as its foundation, the 2016 COPO Camaro begins the next chapter of an historic racing legacy," said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. "It's great to have Courtney Force on Team Chevy and to work with her on the design of the new COPO Camaro show car.

Can Fernando Alonso win Indy? Here's why and why maybe not

SPEEDWAY, IN – The month of May has been a joy ride for Fernando Alonso at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The two-time Formula 1 champion came to Indy having never turned left in a race car without also turning right. But he acquired such a feel for Indy's 2 1/2 -mile rectangle during a month of practice and qualifying that he's considered a strong contender to win the 101st Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, rookie or not. "You're not trying to bring somebody on who has very little experience driving very high-performance cars," said 2003 Indy 500 winner Gil deFerran, who this month has helped Alonso learn the nuances that make the speedway such a tough place to conquer. "I suppose it would be a little bit different if you were dealing with a younger, much less experienced person." Driving a McLaren Honda from the potent Andretti Autosport team, Alonso was consistently near the top of the speed charts in practice, he qualified fifth fastest at 231.300 mph, and he handled runs in heavy traffic like a driver who'd done it many times before. But those were the prelims. The race is another creature. "The car felt the best (it has) in the last two weeks. I was making some moves, taking some different lines. I am extremely happy." Other drivers say the speedway looks different on race day when the crowd, expected to top 300,000, fills the grandstands and makes an already narrow track seem even tighter. The three-wide rolling start is something Alonso has never experienced, and he will see the green flag from the middle of the second row between Takuma Sato and J.R. Hildebrand. And the space he'll be given by his competitors in the first 180 laps may disappear In the last 20 when it's every driver for themselves. Can a rookie like Alonso win this race? Absolutely, as Andretti driver Alexander Rossi showed last year when his team used a fuel-mileage strategy to win in his first taste of Indy. We're talking about Fernando Alonso here, who easily could show his rookie stripes to the rest of the field most of the day. His best lap in Friday's final practice, 226.608, was fifth fastest in the field and, more important, he said the car felt comfortable in heavy traffic. "The car felt the best (it has) in the last two weeks," Alonso said. "I was making some moves, taking some different lines.

Chevrolet Malibu could last until 2024 before joining the dodo

Automotive News pieced together all available intel on the Chevrolet and GMC lineups, trying to ascertain how much life each model might have left. Concerning the Chevrolet Malibu, the answer is not too much, and the historic nameplate's final years don't look like the glory kind. After a major overhaul in 2016 boosted sales for the ninth-generation sedan to 227,881 units, the 2018 sales fell to 144,542, and this year's are down almost 15% through the end of June. The Malibu is one of two Chevrolet sedans still breathing - the other being the Impala for now - but only for about five more years. AN says there'll likely be a refresh in 2022, followed by a visit from the Reaper in 2024. After that, it could be "indirectly replaced" by an electric vehicle, one of the 23 EVs that GM is working on for 2023.     The Impala will meet the ax earlier despite a recent stay of execution. Production is still set to close in January 2020. In the entire GM stable, Cadillac might soon be the only marque with sedans. The Buick LaCrosse has a date with death, and Groupe PSA won't supply Opels-as-Regals forever.  The Sonic hatchback should say goodbye at the end of 2020, a year before the seemingly eternal Spark is thought to die. Two years after that, according to one report, the Camaro will go back into cold storage, perhaps forever, and AN says an "expected redesign of the car in 2021 was reportedly canceled." Finally, let's give one final shout-out to the Chevrolet Cruze, a global nameplate, which in the United States alone outsells the Malibu, outsold the Camaro by a factor of three last year, and absolutely trounces the Impala, Sonic, and Spark. Even that couldn't get a stay of execution. In more uplifting news, everything's happening on the crossover and truck side in the next few years. The Chevy Bolt is due for a refresh next year, even though it has "become more important for self-driving ride-hailing fleets that GM Cruise plans to operate than for consumers." In 2021, the Bolt-based crossover should bow, first in China, then here. It's said to look like "a mix of the Bolt and Trax" in spy shots. Still waiting for a green light: a possible subcompact GMC crossover called Granite that might make it to market by 2023. The full-sized SUV triplets Tahoe, Suburban, and Yukon could show their new faces in 2020. The Silverado might get an updated interior in 2020 or 2021, while the Colorado and Canyon mid-sized pickups won't get attention until perhaps 2023.