There is a lot of talk these days about the Chevy Camaro and what it can do to stay competitive with the Ford Mustang. One of the rumors circulating right now is that the 2014 Chevy Camaro will be available with the Corvette’s outgoing 7.0 liter LS7 engine. But with next-generation Camaro already under development, and due to hit dealerships in just a few more years, is GM really plotting such a bold move?

We don’t know for sure, but one authority on GM muscle cars gave his opinion to Torque News. Ken Lingenfelter, owner of well-known Corvette and Camaro speed merchants Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, talked to Torque News about the future of the Camaro and the LS7 engine.

To support the argument, Lingenfelter notes that GM has released the initial engine offerings for the 2014 Corvette, and they don’t include the LS7 engine. With GM moving to the new LT1 series of engines, this frees up engines like the LS7 to move down the ladder to the Camaro. Adding the 505 horsepower LS7 engine to the Camaro would add some “excitement” to the car, which has seen its substantial sales advantage over the Mustang narrow to just a few thousand units.

On the flip side, Lingenfelter notes that the LS7 engine won’t just bolt into a Camaro. Specifically, the dry sump system and the LS7 exhaust manifolds will not readily fit into the engine bay of a 5th-gen Camaro. It would also likely add a $4,000 premium to the Camaro’s price, and GM may have to detune the power output to meet emissions requirements. With less than 100 additional horsepower over the current LS3 engine, all the extra effort might not be worth it.

What do you think? Is the LS7 going into the Camaro, or is it just rumor-mongering?