The 21st century pony car competition is hotter than ever now that there's a new Ford Mustang and heavily revised Dodge Challenger coming to showrooms very soon. While the Chevrolet Camaro still has its legions of fans, there's no question it's showing its age more than ever. It's built on the same rear-wheel-drive (and heavy) platform as the Chevy SS (which is really a rebadged Holden Commodore). GM is currently at work on an all-new Camaro which is slated to debut sometime in 2016.

We knew before that it was going to switch to GM's lighter and newer Alpha RWD platform, which underpins both the Cadillac ATS and CTS. We assumed that the shorter ATS version would be used, but it turns out we were wrong. A new report coming from Automobile Magazine is claiming that the longer CTS version will underpin the new Camaro. The car will feature a longer wheelbase (by 2.3 inches) than the current Camaro, and a full 7.5 inches longer than that of the new Mustang's. The Alpha platform is also narrower. Overall, the 2016 Camaro is expected to shed several hundred pounds compared to its predecessor. Now, you may be asking yourself: "Why the long wheelbase?"

Good question, and the answer may be that Chevy wants to one day launch a smaller Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S fighter, potentially based on the Code 130R Concept from 2012. It's still uncertain whether that car would be RWD or FWD. What will power the next Camaro? Sources indicate that both the small-block V8 and 3.6-liter V6 will return. However, to compete with the Mustang EcoBoost, Chevy will likely offer a turbocharged four-cylinder, likely a version of the ATS's 272 hp 2.0-liter turbo. Styling wise, it's possible cues will be taken from the second-gen Camaro, which launched as a 1970 ½ model. We'll hopefully learn more details in the weeks and months ahead.