Chevrolet, via a Tweet from action film director Michael Bay, has released the first image of the heavily modified Camaro that will play the popular role of Bumblebee in the next big budget Transformers movie coming out in 2017.
Bumblebee has been a protagonist in all four Transformers movies and appears to making a return with a bold new look in the next flick, dubbed Transformers: The Last Knight, which will also star Anthony Hopkins, Mark Wahlberg, Isabela Moner and Jerrod Carmichael.
For those unfamiliar with the Transformers movies, the Bumblebee Camaro and several other vehicles besides are actually the last of a robotic alien race from the planet Cybertron, who have now sworn to protect earthlings and their frivolous dreams of happiness.
The Bumblebee character is so popular in fact that he'll reportedly get his own offshoot movie in 2018. So if you think this Camaro looks cool, stand by for an even cooler one in two years.
Chevy’s fifth-generation Camaro, which is based on the same Holden-designed Zeta chassis architecture as the Holden Commodore, appeared in the first Transformers film in 2007 – two years before its release in the US.
Sports cars have always been a fundamental element of the Transformers movie franchise, but it remains to be seen whether GM and Chevrolet will release a commemorative Bumblebee version of the car for public sales.
At present there are no plans to offer the Chevrolet Camaro in Australia, with talk that the next Corvette will be mid-engined and also produced in right-hand drive for the first time for a global audience including Australia.
The latest iteration of Bumblebee features a number of aerodynamic add-ons, including an angular rear spoiler, slimline wing mirrors and plenty of re-sculpting around the front-end.
Bumblebee's upgraded front fascia comprises a deep lower splitter that wraps up and around the car's flanks, above which sits a sharper, more angular cowling.
The bonnet also appears to have a power bulge and vents, suggesting it's powered by one of Chevy's more potent blocks – potentially the supercharged V8 from the secret Z/28 Camaro worth 480kW.
Wait a minute; aren't Transformers powered by energon…? So it's basically a Tesla then? We knew Elon Musk was up to something!