DETROIT — Chevrolet will offer a convertible version of the redesigned 2016 Camaro with a fully automatic top that can open or close at speeds up to 30 mph.
General Motors bills the Camaro’s drop top as “the most sophisticated top in the segment,” with latches that automatically release and secure the top.
The car was unveiled Wednesday by Chevy global chief Alan Batey at an event here.
Layers of acoustic and thermal barriers built into the Camaro’s electro-hydraulic roof are aimed at dampening road noise, GM said in a statement.
“Customers will appreciate what they don’t feel: quivers, cowl shake or an under-damped chassis typically found in a four-seat convertible,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer, in a statement.
The drop-top Camaro will arrive in early 2016, a few months after the fourth-quarter launch of the sixth-generation coupe. The convertible accounts for 40 percent of all Camaro sales in the U.S., Chevy says.
Designers said the top folds completely down beneath the car’s belt line and will be covered automatically by a hard tonneau cover. Most convertibles require the tonneau cover to be positioned manually.
“The Camaro convertible’s automatically deploying hard tonneau not only makes it easier,” design director Tom Peters said in a statement, “it ensures the car always looks its best.”
It’s not the first time Chevy has offered an automated top for the Camaro convertible. The drop top for the Camaro’s first model year, 1967, came with a power-operated top as a $52.70 option. GM says nearly half of buyers sprang for the option over the standard manual top.
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