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2022-05-09 09:00:56 By : Ms. Freda Lee

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This poses a dilemma for fans of Chevy’s Camaro. Most of these enthusiasts like any generation of the fabled muscle car. But there are some years of Camaro that are more coveted than others, like the classic 1969 version. A refresh of the first Camaro of 1967, it sold well into 1970 as GM was having issues with stampings for the all-new 1970 Camaro.

Fast forward to 2022, and the latest version has way more features than that offered in the 1969 version. And really, it is a stylized version of the first-generation Camaro anyway. It is easy to see design cues that harken back to the original. 

But some classic Camaro fans like a more literal interpretation, and that is what we present here. With the launch of the fifth-generation Camaro in 2010, we got a modern Camaro that resembled the 1969 muscle car but was totally contemporary. Now someone has taken a Synergy Special Edition Camaro and made it even more special. 

Both the front and rear have been modified to resemble the original 1969 design. Added to an original Synergy Camaro, which is a rarity unto itself, it is a truly unique modern Camaro. But “unique” is a different thing to different people. 

While the fascia is literal to the 1969 Camaro, that doesn’t mean it looks right on a contemporary Camaro. Or good. And the same thing applies to the rear, with the added chrome bumper. 

While it is easy to bonk a heritage design on a retro vehicle, it is not so easy to have it come out as a popular change. Because the front end pulls in tight ahead of the front wheels, the adaptation of the classic 1969 nose looks too narrow. It also accentuates the length of sheet metal ahead of the front wheels. 

Chopping off the front overhang would have helped. But then it might not have been legal as to crashworthiness. In the rear, the added chrome bumper, which mimics the 1969 design, looks like an added element that is unnecessary. Instead of being a clean revision, it just looks like it shouldn’t be there.

From our 2022 perspective of car design, the slanted fascia has been the predominant design direction for decades. The 1969 Camaro’s front end is perpendicular to the ground. That, too, was the predominant design direct for the late-1960s. Think 1969 Mustang, Charger, AMX, and many more. And they’re muscle car classics. 

The Synergy Special Edition added $2060 to the price of a standard Camaro in 2010. The main feature was, of course, the Synergy Green paint. GM only made 2,245 examples, making these limited edition Camaros rare. 

So, was it good or bad that this owner decided to personalize his Synergy Camaro with the classic 1969 design elements? Like we said, beauty us in the eye of the beholder. With these green Synergy Camaros already rare, then adding this conversion kit, it is definitely rarer. The question becomes, does rare trump bad aesthetics?

Is this unique Camaro more valuable, or will its value be diminished by the modifications performed thus far? We love the 1969 Camaro design, as we do the new 2010 version. The question is, should it look beyond what it was and is?

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