The current sixth-gen Camaro sits on GM's Alpha platform shared by the Cadillac ATS and CTS. Those two have recently been replaced by the CT4 and CT5 , which are based on an updated version of Alpha imaginatively known as Alpha 2. Sounds like just the thing to build a seventh-gen Camaro around, right? Apparently not.

Just weeks away from the long-awaited debut of the mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette C8 , a rumor has surfaced regarding the Bowtie's other two-door performance car: the Camaro. And unfortunately, the news isn't great. According to Muscle Cars & Trucks , anonymous sources inside General Motors claim that development of the next-generation Camaro has been "suspended," and the nameplate will "likely be shelved again" after the current car is discontinued in 2023.

As with all rumors circulating the industry (and the Internet), this isn't official, and a request for comment sent to Chevrolet didn't provide us with a definite answer.

“While we will not engage in speculation, we will remind you of our recently announced updates coming to the Camaro lineup this fall," a Chevrolet spokesperson told The Drive via email, listing off the new LT1 V8 trim and the redone SS fascia that does away with its controversial droop-nose design.

If an upcoming Camaro hiatus does happen, it wouldn't be the first time Chevy's Mustang-rival takes an extended break. After the fourth-gen car's life ended in 2002, Chevy didn't produce a Camaro in production form until 2009 for the 2010 model year. That version of the Camaro sold extremely well, consistently logging more than 80,000 cars per year and became a bit of a modern pop culture icon thanks to its starring role as "Bumblebee" in the Transformers movies.

Fast forward to 2018 and things aren't so hot. The 2019 model year facelift garnered relentless criticism, that Bumblebee standalone film made less money than any other movie in the series, and Chevy reportedly moved less than 51,000 Camaros. That's 25 percent fewer than in 2017, prompting chief engineer Al Oppenheiser to go as far as admitting "[the Ford Mustang's] been eating our lunch" in an interview last September.