Muscle car fans will celebrate the arrival of the sixth generation Chevrolet Camaro which has been extensively overhauled to offer greater performance and technology, yet be far nimbler thanks to a lower kerb weight.
“Redesigning the Camaro is thrilling and challenging all at once, but the secret is to offer something more,” said Mark Reuss, General Motors executive vice president of Product Development. “For Camaro enthusiasts, it retains iconic design cues and offers even more performance. For a new generation of buyers, the 2016 Camaro incorporates our most innovative engineering ideas with finely honed performance and leading design.”
The engineers started almost from scratch and shaved about 80kg by replacing steel components with aluminium ones, predominantly around the rear suspension. Helping the cause are more compact proportions and aero that is significantly less disruptive.
The 2015 Chevrolet Camaro will be offered with six powertrains; including turbo charged and normally aspirated engines. Manual and automatic gearbox options will be sold.
Those concerned about fuel consumption might go for the 2.0-litre four cylinder turbo with 205kW and 400Nm while higher up the range sits the 3.6-litre V6 with 250kW and 385Nm. Itching for that V8 thunder? The new 6.2-litre small block with direct injection churns out 339kW and 617Nm, earning it the title of fastest Chevrolet Camaro in history.
In the same vein as the lower weight, Chevrolet has aimed to improve circuit laptime by offering magnetic ride control active suspension. This automatically adjusts damper firmness – 1000 times a second. The system is built around the multi-link MacPherson strut front suspension and five-link independent rear suspension. . Structural rigidity is up by 28% and Brembo brakes fitted to all models.
“The driving experience is significantly different,” said Aaron Link, lead development engineer. “Immediately, you will notice how much lighter and more nimble the Camaro feels. That feeling increases when you drive the Camaro harder – it brakes more powerfully, dives into corners quicker, and accelerates faster than ever.”
However unlike the Ford Mustang which has been reengineered for right-hand drive markets, including South Africa later this year, the Chevrolet Camaro won’t be arriving anytime soon. That is unless the Mustang finds a lot of homes, in which case they might be forced to follow.
