Chevy Says Goodbye to the Camaro With 2024 Collector’s Edition. Is It Enough?

Chevy's muscle car as we know it is dying, and this send-off doesn't feel all that special for an icon.

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Chevrolet is killing the Camaro as we know it. The last stick-shift, V8-powered brawler from Chevy will roll off the line by the time 2024 arrives. To mark this occasion, the automaker is releasing the 2024 Camaro Collector's Edition, a unique package available on every trim of the muscle car. What you're seeing here may just be the last sixth-gen Chevy Camaro, but is it a big enough deal to really honor the tried-and-true Camaro as we've experienced it for decades?

There are no new engines or anything like that, but the visual modifications on offer are at least appealing. All cars besides the top trim ZL1 get a coat of Panther Black Metallic, a sharp-looking paint with a lot of depth. It's accented by satin black stripes and exterior accents from other Camaros, like the front splitter from the 1LE package and the rear wing from the ZL1.

The flagship spec ZL1s get their own special treatment. Just 350 will be built, and the cars are painted matte black instead of metallic. They get a high-rise wing instead of the lower one on the LT through SS trims. Twenty-inch satin black wheels are standard on all of the 2024 Camaro Collector's Editions, but polished forged wheels are available as well.

Interestingly, these actual changes to the car aren't all you get if you go for the Collector's Edition, which costs anywhere from $4,995 on 1LT Camaros to $14,995 on ZL1s. Anyone who gets a Camaro so-equipped will receive two posters of the car among other goodies. ZL1 buyers will also get a watch—a "bespoke Canfield Sport 45mm watch from Shinola," to be specific. The automaker has not released images of said watch, but we're told it features the same serialized build number as the customer's ZL1, and the Camaro logo on the face.

You get a lot of stuff with the Collector's Edition, then, but the regular Camaro is worth celebrating independent of these new optional extras. Order books for the final 2024 model year Camaro open on June 15, and it's a screaming deal for what you get. Chevy still sells the LT1 trim, a 6.2-liter V8-powered, rear-wheel drive stick shift coupe for $37,045. The new Mustang GT, for comparison, costs $44,090 to start. It's hard to say that there's more fun to be had in a car for the same money, but it's all going away soon.

I think it's OK to say we should have expected more from the vehicles' departure. A package that adds some paint, accessories, and new part combinations isn't exactly a grand send-off. We've heard rumors that a 5.5-liter LT6-powered Camaro Z28 was in the works but got canceled. Now, though, there are whispers it may still be on the way. Something more—something genuinely special like that—is warranted. The cheap, V8 muscle car isn't quite dead, but it's on death's doorstep in the United States. GM is one of the best in the business at building them, and it can certainly do better than a commemorative watch.

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