Chevrolet unveiled its long-awaited production version of the 2009 Chevrolet Camaro sports car Monday in the dome in Warren where it was designed, next to historic GM vehicles the ‘50 Corvette Stingray, the ‘51 LeSabre and the 1959 Camaro whose league it hopes to join.

General Motors Corp. believes there is still an ample market for the all-new Camaro, despite the fact that the U.S. consumer’s preference has changed dramatically to favor fuel-efficient cars and crossovers and smaller engines since the automaker revealed the concept version in 2006 to compete in the muscle car segment.

“The new Camaro is the 21st century sports car,” said Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper. “It is a driver’s vehicle, but at the same time a technological tour de force.”

Peper said GM knows the market has changed and believes the new Camaro will appeal to a large segment of buyers when it goes on sale next spring or summer: from traditional enthusiasts to people with more modern interests in technology and fuel economy.

The V6 version of the 3,700-pound vehicle has 304 horsepower and is expected to get 26 to 27 miles per gallon on the highway, Peper said. The V8 has 422 horsepower and is expected to get 23 mpg on the highway.

The question, analysts say, is whether that will be enough to add to the enthusiast ranks to raise the number of Camaro buyers to a large enough number for it to count as a success for GM.

“Since they launched it in 2006, there are other technologies that have emerged as the hot new product,” said analyst Kevin Tynan of Argus Research. “I think they just missed the window. The lead time from drawing room to showroom was just too long. I would be surprised if it sells well enough to warrant a redesign.”

But Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics, said the secret will be to squeeze a few more miles per gallon out of the vehicle.

For example, he said, 26 mpg may not be enough to get people on the fence into the car, but 28 mpg might be.

Still Peper is confident that there are enough consumers interested in the car that the combination of old-school muscle-car styling, new technology and fuel economy will make the car a success.

More than 600,000 consumers have indicated an interest in the vehicle to GM, said Peper, who doesn’t believe the sports car segment has been fully tapped by the Ford Mustang and Chrysler Challenger.

“A vehicle like this is a very emotional purchase,” Peper said. “At the same time, there are many rational reasons to purchase this vehicle, including fuel economy.”

Production of the vehicle is set to begin Feb. 16 in Oshawa, Ont. GM has not yet released the pricing for the vehicle, but Peper said “it will be the best value in the sports-car segment.”