Fire up the... Chevrolet Camaro Convertible

CHEESEBURGERS. Bottles of Budweiser. Episodes of Friends. Some American ideas, whether you love them or loathe them, just cross the Atlantic well.

Yet American cars, with the notable exception of Jeep, are the exception to the rule; for some reason we Brits just haven't taken to them to our bosom. Now it's the latest Chevrolet Camaro that's oversexed, overpaid and over here, but don't be too quick to dismiss the latest iteration of a Stateside icon.

Sure, the Camaro looks like something that should be in the Transformers movies - which, funnily enough, it is - but you can't deny it's a handsome son of a gun, blending the sculpted good looks of a Hollywood hunk with the bright colours, stripes and shiny bits of metal you'd expect in a Marvel comic. It's a just a shame the interior, which has leather everything and lots of toys to play with, looks a bit cheap by comparision.

Yet the biggest drawback about the Camaro is that in this country it's flummoxed by that other most American of institutions, the drive-thru, because you can only buy the convertible I tested and its coupe sibling in left hand drive. If you're frightened of driving ‘left hookers' on Her Majesty's highways and byways then don't be put off, because it's easy enough to master, but I still reckon it'll severely limit the big, bold Camaro's appeal with buyers over here.

Which is a pity, because Chevrolet have cracked setting up the previously all American Camaro for European tastes - while it's not BMW sharp it's fun to drive in a lazy, laid-back sort of way, the £40,000 pricetag makes it bit of a bargain for a convertible of its size, and because the 400bhp V8 can shut down its cylinders to save fuel it's even vaguely economical to run.

The Camaro is good looking, practical, oodles of fun to potter around in, and - thanks to it being a V8 muscle car - cast iron cool to boot.

Get that steering wheel switched over, Chevrolet, and I reckon you've got a hit on your hands.

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Chevrolet to offer cool Camaro to UK customers

AVEO, Captive, Cruze and Orlando. The names of these Chevrolets - now a familar sight on Britain's roads - aren't exactly evocative of the company's American heritage.

Things, however, are about to change if you mosey on down to your nearest Chevrolet showroom, after the company confirmed that UK buyers will now be able to buy officially-imported versions of the current Camaro for the first time.

Chevrolet UK, which can draw its origins back to the rather humbler roots of Daewoo's former operations in this country, is excited about having a model which can draw more directly on Chevy's all-American heritage in its showrooms.

A spokesperson for the company said this week: “There ain’t no muscle like Detroit muscle, and British fans of the iconic cars that ruled American roads throughout the 1960s can now place orders for the modern incarnation of one of the greatest muscle cars of all time – the Chevrolet Camaro.

”Priced at £34,995 for the Coupe or £39,995 for the soft-top Convertible model, the new Camaro exudes all of the attributes that made the original muscle cars famous – great performance, stunning looks and incredible value for money.“

The Camaro is one of America's best known muscle car brands, and trace its roots back to the mid 1960s when General Motors decided to take on Ford's all-conquering Mustang in a bid to bring younger buyers into its showrooms. Although the car's now something of an institution in the States, Brit buyers have long been denied the Camaro and the faster Corvette sports cars.

General Motors did import a small number of the previous generation Camaro into the UK in the 1990s, but despite its competitive price and ample power it failed to attract large numbers of buyers, but that was before Chevrolet established itself as a brand in its own right in this country and before the current, retro-styled generation arrived.

If you're up for an all-American muscle car which thumps out 432bhp from a 6.2 litre V8 - they don't do political correctness in the States - get yourself down to Chevrolet's showrooms in the spring.