Giving personality to metal

John LeBlanc
National Post


Friday, February 03, 2006


DETROIT - One of the highlights of last month's Detroit auto show was Chevrolet's press conference for its new Camaro Concept. Part of the event involved a gaggle of vintage 1969 Camaros (the spiritual inspiration for the new car) to rumble through the crowd before the star of the show made its own much-anticipated appearance.

Unknown to most in attendance was that one of the original cars being paraded belonged to the man responsible for the new Chevy pony car's looks: Tom Peters. Working his way through General Motor's design ranks since his graduation from the Art Center College of Design in 1980, Peters has been responsible for the design of some of The General's more exciting rides, such as the Corvette Indy show car, the '88 Pontiac Banshee Prototype and the Cadillac XLR Roadster. But it was Peter's most recent work, Chevy's ZO6 Corvette, which landed him the Camaro Concept assignment. I spoke with Peters in Detroit:

John LeBlanc How did all of your design experience working in the sports car genre come into play with this new Camaro?

Tom Peters It started with a continuation of a universal philosophy that certain cars have to evoke a sense of passion and [have] a powerful personality in a very simple way.

JL How is that expressed in this concept?

TP As I learned back in school, as with any muscle car, the basic elements are a canopy sitting on top of a central fuselage, just like a jet fighter. On a plane like a Stealth fighter, there's nothing that's not functional. The trick in car design is to always do it in a new way. I don't subscribe to the school of retro, but I do believe in using a certain amount of heritage. And particularly this car, it draws from the heritage of its very powerful past. With this Camaro, we used the iconic '69 as an example, and there are elements here from that car that you can obviously see.

JL Explain.

TP I used similar techniques as on the Corvette. Basic proportions, the wheel orientation. I looked at old archives of the Camaro -- all of the old advertising, photographs. The face of the car is very important. You can see that in the continuous loop around the grille and the prominent prow -- definitely a Camaro cue -- but also doing it in a new way.

JL What about the rear graphics?

TP Quite frankly, I asked the guys on my design team to look at the Corvette, so there's a little bit of Corvette quality in this car, which I think is very appropriate for the Camaro to have. In the past, there's been a link between the two cars, so I think it's OK for that link to exist today. By that I mean a strong fender shape separated from the upper canopy. It's a muscle car, so there's the dual exhausts that take you to the technological soul of the vehicle. There's the functional spoiler. In the past, Camaro tail lights have had a modified rectangular graphic. On this car, when you see them illuminated, they end up circular, once again paying heed to the Corvette a bit. The LED lamps for the tail lights were inspired from the rear stoplight of a Ferrari Formula One car that we had spotted at a local dealership here in Detroit. You have the overall shape that gets your attention, but it's these types of details that keep you coming back, like a beautiful piece of furniture or a beautiful woman.

JL How did you prevent your design team from making a carbon copy of a '69 Camaro?

TP When I give direction to my guys, I don't give them too many specifics. In my mind, if you want a '69 Camaro, buy a '69 Camaro. Things have changed so much since then. Peoples' sensibilities, their lifestyles, the environment, so many other vehicle types. I also think that cars have to be a sign of their times, communicating the technologies within. Also, I have a real international design team. A couple of guys are Korean, I have a Russian, and they might not have grown up with these cars, but they have the natural talent and design touch. This is why I think this car comes across as so fresh.

JL Any specific challenges in the execution of some of the surface details?

TP Oh, yeah. Where the canopy meets the rear fender and deck. We did it in math [computer], but when it comes right down to it, we're still looking at a 2D surface. But this is a three-dimensional product, a three-dimensional sculpture. So, the way I work it is whatever suits the need. Do it in math, in sculpture, whatever it takes. We didn't have the luxury of time. We went right from sketches to full-sized models, and, let me tell you, that was wild.

© National Post 2006