VIDEO: Retro Review of the 3rd-Gen Camaro That Should Have Been

In one of the biggest ‘what the heck where they thinking?’ moves of the ‘90s, GM killed the production of pretty much the perfect 3rd-gen Camaro. Even though the car never made it to dealership floors, MotorWeek managed to get their hands on a prototype for a test drive sequence, and it really only adds salt to the wound when you find out what the world missed out on in this Camaro.

This 1992 Camaro is a prototype of what would have been the Heritage Edition. GM was set to produce only 602, a production number that pays homage to the exact amount of Z28 Chevy Camaros build in 1967. This number would not be satisfied, not even close. Only 10 prototypes saw the light of day — these cars were used for testing and publicity by GM. Sadly, 8 of the 10 prototypes were destroyed by their maker, and only two survived. The cars can be spotted with the Camaro Legends Tour, and many Camaro shows, but they will never be driven to its full potential.

Powering the surviving 1992 Heritage Camaro is a Corvette L98 5.7L engine with siamese runners, and a powertrain backed by a Corvette ZF 6-speed transmission. Many of the unique features of this Camaro prototype are based on the RS appearance package. Another Z28 ode is an outlined black Heritage Stripe package on white body, just like the appearance package of the 1967 Camaro Z28. It also has a color matched grille, GT black lace 16-inch wheels, and rode on the B4C police suspension package.

It’s safe to assume that GM may have changed its mind at the last minute because they designed a sub $30k muscle car that would directly compete with their Corvette. The thought of customers choosing a Camaro or Firebird over the Corvette has always made GM weary, often dumbing down the F-Body and dropping in odd design roadblocks to keep the cars from stealing the Corvette’s thunder.

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