Congratulations to David Frisk of Rapid City, South Dakota, whose Trans Am photo (shown) was recently selected as the top entry in our GM High Tech Performance/Mantic Performance Clutches Photo Contest. For his efforts, Mr. Frisk will receive a $2,500 check from Mantic.

Many car enthusiasts dream of one day taking their cars to the limit at the historic Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah. However, The Flats, the name given to a 45-square mile area of flat barren land coated with a salt crust, are rapidly deteriorating. Located where Lake Bonneville once existed, the salt crust is rapidly depleting and today only about an inch of salt remains. The Bonneville Salt Flats have served as the location for numerous Land Speed records, and are a vital part of the history of American automotive performance. Here's how you can help "Save the Salt!"

What appeared to be, at the outset, an anticlimactic mid-year refresh for the fifth-gen platform, turned out to have a surprising twist. General Motors dropped a figurative bomb at the 2013 New York Auto Show, revealing the 2014 Camaro Z/28. The leaked LS7 engine codes for the 2014 model turned out not to be a hoax when the Z/28 appeared from back stage and was pronounced Chevrolet's 4-passenger king of the track. Recaro seats, 6-piston carbon ceramic brakes, huge tires, weight reduction, and a dry-sump LS7 - what more do you need to say? The Z/28 is a car built for enthusiasts. Congrats GM, it's nice to feel like you are listening.

Behold the C7. It is radical in every aspect of its styling, yet its technology and underpinnings represent the latest evolution in the Corvette's design. Some naysayers have called it anything from a Ferrari to a GTR and Viper knock-off with a Camaro rear end. To be fair, the 2014 Corvette Stingray's front-end is no more a Viper knock-off than the Viper is a knock-off of the C6. While it is hard to deny the similarity to the Corvette's new rear end and the fifth-gen Camaro, or to the Ferrari 599's overall shape, is that a bad thing? It would stand to reason that there would be some continuity in style within the same brand, and if you are going to imitate the style of anything-why not a Ferrari?

Would you like $2,500 cash? Yeah, that's what I thought. Who wouldn't? Well, guess what? Now is your chance, thanks to the good folks at Mantic Clutch. And it won't cost you a dollar.

Happy holidays from GM High-Tech Performance! Let this holiday gift guide steer your shopping needs in the right direction. From hot go-fast parts to everything you need to look shiny, clean, and sharp. Buy yourself or your loved one the ultimate gearhead gifts this holiday season. -Scott Parker

Looking at the Gen 5 LT1 V-8 as a complete package, the specifications are impressive. With 6.2-liters of displacement, 11.5:1 compression, direct injection, continuously variable valve timing, active fuel management, variable displacement wet or dry-sump oil control, an advanced combustion system, and an estimated 450hp, the Gen 5 LT1 doesn't just set the bar, it becomes it. This is, without a doubt, the most advanced small-block engine platform that GM has ever designed and we believe the changes, both evolutionary and revolutionary, will continue to keep GM poised atop the sports car market well into the foreseeable future. However, the new engine design hasn't come without its fair share of criticism. Fans of single and dual overhead camshafts, along with the three- and four-valve-per-cylinder contingent, have already slammed GM's choice to retain an "archaic" cam-in-block, two valve pushrod design. And they may have a point, although the merits of the traditional small-block are hard to argue, if it wasn't for the massive amount of R&D that GM has poured into the Gen 5 design. No technology was spared, and none used for the sake of making headlines, in the new Gen 5 LT1. Each piece was selected, tested, refined, and tuned for maximum power in a lightweight, durable, robust, and efficient engine package. What the Gen 5 represents is a class leading 450/450 engine with all of the refinement you would expect from a world class design. And it'll reportedly propel the 2014 Corvette to 60mph from a dead stop in under 4-seconds, which will excite even the most cynical of techno-nerds. So, what's inside the new LT1 small-block? Let's dig in and find out.

SS Performance Sedan On the Way

Farewell Bruce

Marking the 45th Anniversary of the Camaro, Chevrolet has announced the Anniversary Edition (RPO: H45) for the 2012 model year, which will be available on the 2LT and 2SS models (in both the coupe and convertible). This package will feature a number of unique elements to the exterior including: Carbon Flash Metallic exterior color, newly designed 20-inch Deep Silver painted aluminum wheels, Brilliant Red and Medium Charcoal 45th Anniversary stripe package and side body logo, the RS Package's high-intensity discharge headlamps with LED "halo ring," and body-color roof ditch moldings on the coupe or black top on the convertible. The interior has been enhanced as well with black leather-appointed seating surfaces with the 45th Anniversary logo embroidered into the front seats; red, white, and blue interior accent stitching; and white instrument and door panel inserts with the 45th Anniversary logo present on the passenger side of the instrument panel insert.

Z28 Prototype Spotted
A s early as February and as late as August, just prior to publication of CN, a presumed Z28 prototype has been spotted around Michigan. Its presumed existence is designed to crush GT500s under the weight of its massive Goodyear Eagle F1 tires mounted on 20x10 and 20x11 wheels. The prototype was disguised typically, though, it seemed apparent that the front fascia, hood and intake have been revised from the SS model as well as adding quad-tip exhaust. The brakes appear to be a 6-piston (front) setup that look strikingly similar to the Cadillac CTS-V's, and the rear brakes appear to duplicate the SS's Brembos. A sticker on the dash also revealed "2012 Camaro" as well as "6.2L SC V-8" and "6AT," which would support previous theories that the Z28 will be available in late 2011 with an LSA motor and even an automatic trans. For those not familiar with the LSA, it is a beefier version of the LS3 with a forged crank, 9.1:1 compression and TVS 1900 supercharger that makes 556 hp and 551 lb-ft of torque in the Cadillac CTS-V. As reported by sister publications Hot Rod and Motor Trend, Karl Stracke recently admitted as much in a visit to the West Coast as well as that the next-generation Camaro would be based on the Alpha platform to improve ergonomics, among other things, and hopefully reduce weight. Check out sister mag, GM High-Tech Performance to find out how to stuff an LSA into your '10 or '11 and beat GM to the punch (where this photo was stolen).

There are few things in life more entertaining than coming up with new project ideas. Whether you are hanging out with your friends wrenching on cars or daydreaming by yourself when you’re supposed to be working, coming up with new and creative ideas is one of enthusiasts’ favorite pastimes. We do it here at GMHTP World Headquarters a lot (probably more than we should we do have work to do, you know), and have recently started to collect some of our favorites to put into print. The goal: to inspire someone to build one of these projects, or, if none of them are your cup of tea, to motivate you to get back to work on your own project, so we can see it come to life. Whether it means buttoning up the final touches on an install or starting a brand-new one-off project from scratch, we hope you can find inspiration within these pages to get back out there and build something that makes you happy. As you will see on the following pages, we love a variety of crazy builds here at GMHTP and, with the help of some very creative readers, we have tweaked a couple of really good ones and teamed up with Eric Brockmeyer of Brockmeyer Design to bring them to the next level.

NEWS?

V-6 Swaparoo
I was wondering if you could do an article about swapping an LSX into a '98-'02 V-6 Firebird. I am sure a lot of people out there would like to put an LS1, LS2, or LS3 in, including myself. I own a 2000 Firebird coupe with an auto and V-6. It is starting to get a few miles and I would like to drop in an LSX. I'd like to know what I would need to do the transplant such as crossmembers, mounts, if the stock trans would hold up, suspension, etc.
-Derrick Wagers
London, KY

Staff Column

Muchos Gracias
Steven Fereday's 7-second, 209-mph run at St Louis made the long trip from northwest Oklahoma all worth it! I can't explain how cool it is to see someone put down numbers like that in that class of vehicle. I'm a 20-year follower of NHRA, but now am a newfound and AVID follower of the LSX wars. You see it all there, and do these guys put on a show! (Gals too!)

Kansas City, Missouri, January 3, 2011

Miramar, Florida, January 13, 2011 - Torq Speedlab, LLC announced today the launch of its online store at www.gettorq.com.

News?
Please send all news and corrections to: scott.parker@sorc.com, or mail to: GM High-Tech Performance, 9036 Brittany Way, Tampa, FL 33619.

New Sports Sedan?
In lieu of GM's success, the rumor mill has certainly been churning with talk of new models. Certainly the Camaro Z28 is at the top of the list, but what about a Zeta-based rear-wheel-drive sedan to replace the G8? The latest is that the revised 2012 Holden Commodore will serve as the basis for a new Chevy "SS sedan" to be imported from Australia in limited runs, and in a high-performance version only (akin to the former G8 GXP, which Holden was also responsible for). If said plans go into effect, the sedan would be a 2012 model meaning it would hit showrooms between August 2011 and January 2012. Word is that the "Premium Zeta" chassis is also still in development, which would provide the foundation for a flagship Cadillac sedan.

Editor's note: Any political viewpoints expressed herein are those of SEMA and do not necessarily represent those of the author or GMHTP.

News?
Please send all news and corrections to: scott.parker@sorc.com, or mail to: GM High-Tech Performance, 9036 Brittany Way, Tampa, FL 33619.

All Hale LS3
Dear GMHTP,
Congrats on a great magazine, first of all! I would like to know how hard it would be to put an LS3 in an LS1-powered 2001 Camaro SS, or is this even possible? Thanks for any info that you may be able to provide in this time of need!
-Mickey Blankenship
Hale Center, TX

Bye-Bye Northstar, Hello New Chassis
By the time you read this the last Northstar engine will have ceased production as Cadillac marches forward with new powerplants, chassis, and even a new flagship model. The all-aluminum, overhead cam Northstar V-8s were among the quietest, most refined, and technologically advanced motors GM has ever produced. However, they may soon give way to the more efficient and powerful LS engine family as well as V-6 and hybrid designs that are more CAFE-friendly. The Sigma platform is also scheduled for retirement by 2013 according to some sources inside GM, in favor of a new Alpha platform for the DTS and CTS. Meanwhile a new rear-wheel-drive flagship model is said to be in the works, which would purportedly draw upon another (larger) platform design as yet to be named. This model is said to replace another that was in the works prior to filing bankruptcy, but scrubbed to cut cost. In the first half of the year, Cadillac sales are up 33 percent from last year (and up 39 percent in the month of June alone) with sales of the new CTS coupe yet to factor in.

No doubt by now you are probably sick of hearing about this oil spill debacle and its affect on the Gulf of Mexico, the wildlife that inhabit it, those that make their living connected to it such as fisherman, and those who live along the coastline. Unfortunately you will now have to suffer through my gripes as well ... as I try to come to grips with how this debacle started in the first place, and how poorly it has been handled since then. As we enter hurricane season it is only getting more difficult to clean up the worst spill in U.S. history. Gas prices are now on the rise, unpolluted fresh local fish is on the decline, and some of my favorite beaches here in Florida may soon be off-limits. With the Phillies in the crapper, this has me hanging by a very thin thread. If by some bizarre turn of events the National Hockey League is shut down, I will go rogue like my new hero Gary Brooks Faulkner.