Chevrolet Camaro SS Official Pace Car of Indianapolis 500

The new special-edition Camaro SS convertible is going to be white with orange stripes and have an orange leather-trimmed reminiscent of the “classic” 1969 Camaro pace car model. (Frankly, some fashion cues from the ‘60s should just stay buried.)

This is the fourth year in a row (and eighth overall) that a Camaro has been an Indy pace car. The first time was in 1967, the first model year for the Camaro.

Chevrolet and Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials made the announcement at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale classic auto auction, where a bidder will have the opportunity to purchase the first of 50 Indianapolis 500 Festival Committee cars. Chevrolet will donate full proceeds of the auction to the David Foster Foundation, a charity devoted to supporting families with children in need of life-saving organ transplants. David Foster, the 15-time Grammy-winning music producer and songwriter, founded the organization in his native Canada.

The pace car, along with the matching festival cars, features a Summit White exterior accented with orange stripes and door graphics. The interior is trimmed in orange leather, including front seat headrests embossed with the Indy 500 logo, along with white door panels and instrument panel trim. The instrument panel trim features extensions of the orange exterior stripes.

The auction for the commemorative edition pace car takes place Saturday evening, Jan. 22, during SPEED’s live coverage of the Barrett-Jackson event. The vehicle carries lot number 1284 and bids can be submitted at the auction in person or online by going to BarrettJackson.com for a 2011 absentee bidder registration packet:
Chevrolet says in a press release the Camaro is equipped with a 400-horsepower (298 kW) V-8 engine and six-speed automatic transmission, the actual pace car for the race requires no performance modifications to perform its duty in front of the racing field.

All 50 of the Festival Committees cars will be SS convertible models fitted with the 2SS equipment package. Along with the 2SS equipment, the cars feature the RS package, which includes HID headlamps and unique tail lamps.

The regular-production versions of the 2011 Camaro Convertible will begin arriving in Chevrolet dealerships in February. Even before the introduction of a convertible model, Camaro ended 2010 as the sales leader in its class in the United States for the first time since 1985.

Related Camaro News:
Baldwin-Motion and Redline to Build 800 Horsepower 2011 Camaros
The Camaro bests Mustang in 2010 annual sales
Camaro Convertible Has Completely New Antenna