The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Touring Convertible Concept debuts at SEMA

The 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Convertible is very easily one of the baddest topless American muscle cars to ever roll off of a factory assembly line but at the 2012 SEMA Show, Chevrolet Performance featured the new Camaro ZL1 Touring Convertible Concept designed with items that are already available in the Chevrolet Accessories catalog – allowing new ZL1 droptop owners to build this car themselves with some help from a paint shop.

The 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Convertible is a brutally powerful muscle car and with the supercharged 6.2L LSA V8 engine sending 580 horsepower and 556lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels via a close ratio 6-speed manual transmission; the ZL1 ‘Vert is very easily among the most powerful convertibles available in the world. Add to all of that the fact that the ZL1 Convertible carries a starting price in the low $60k range and you have a car that will slaughter much more expensive convertible sports cars from all around the globe. However, one area where the ZL1 Convertible may come up a touch short when compared to other $60k+ topless sports cars is in the luxury department and that is where the ZL1 Touring Convertible Concept comes into play.

On the outside, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Touring Convertible Concept wears a windshield frame, tail light bezels and exterior badging (including the unique Touring badges on the front fenders) in a liquid metal (silver) finish. A matte black front splitter, rocker skirts, upper grille blackout panel and lower rear fascia provides a slight contrast to the unique dark metallic green paint named “Unripened Green” that covers nearly the entire car – right down to the painted “Mohawk” center section of the hood (other ZL1 models have a bare polished carbon fiber Mohawk). The exterior modifications are capped off with a set of 20 inch Chevrolet Accessories concept wheels sporting a liquid metal finish with a milled face wrapped in high performance Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires. This black and dark metallic green exterior scheme is strong but subtle – with a color that is very similar to the popular British Racing Green offered on so many European high performance touring cars.

Inside, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Touring Convertible Concept packs ebony leather seats with Mojave perforated leather center sections and light Mojave stitching – with this two tone light-and-dark interior providing a very high end look that a supercar buyer may expect in their new topless ZL1. Next, Chevrolet added Mojave leather wrapped arm rests on the doors along with a leather wrapped shift knob and console lid, both of which feature light Mojave stitching. The interior package is finished off with a Chevrolet Accessories Ice Blue interior lighting package, premium floormats with embroidered ZL1 logos and unique ZL1 sill plates (sill plates are still in the concept stages so they are not yet available).

The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Touring Convertible Concept is powered by the same drivetrain as the standard production ZL1 including the 6.2L supercharged LSA V8 with 580 horsepower and 556lb-ft of torque mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. The ZL1 Touring Convertible Concept also packs the 3rd generation GM Magnetic Ride Control system but this SEMA Show concept car features a polished shock tower brace as well as an engine cover and supercharger housing painted in the same Unripened Green Metallic paint as the exterior.

The beauty of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Touring Convertible Concept is that almost everything can be purchased from the current Chevrolet Accessories catalog so not only can an owner of a standard ZL1 Convertible order the parts needed to build their own Touring version at home – GM could also easily offer this as a package on future ZL1 models with very little added cost of R&D on their part. Unfortunately, there has been no word on this package ever seeing production so for the time being Camaro enthusiasts will have to rely on building this car on their own but for those who want a touch more “European luxury” out of their American muscle car – the ZL1 Touring Concept shows how easily this high end, high performance convertible can be modified to suit their tastes.

Click any of the thumbnails on the right for a closer look at the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Touring Convertible Concept live from the SEMA Show floor!