With the upcoming Camaro Convertible to be available next month in dealerships, production cars are being spotted on the road now. For example, this GM test fleet car in Cyber Gray was spotted in Savannah, Georgia, late last month. An admiring Camaro5.com member chatted up the driver to find out that he was a GM employee on vacation, heading back to Michigan.

The driver also mentioned that he had been part of a convoy of test convertibles that passed through Columbia, South Carolina, a few weeks back and they had encountered an enthusiastic and receptive response from Camaro lovers in the Palmetto State.

The new convertible begins production in this month and will be offered in configurations similar to the Camaro coupe, including a standard 312-horsepower direct injection V-6 engine version delivering 29 mpg highway. An SS model will feature the 6.2L V-8 engine producing 426 hp. A six-speed manual transmission will be standard, with a six-speed automatic version optional.

Convertible pricing starts from around $30K with nine production exterior colors available and tops offered in black or tan. Experience at Ford Motor Company, with the Mustang, suggests that convertible sales could represent 30% of the nameplate total. The open question is whether or not sales of the new convertible will take away from demand for the hardtop, or supplement it.

In the latter case – as is largely suspected – the boost for Camaro sales will represent a clear challenge to the rest of the ponycar establishment to bring their best game to market this year.