Watching the Mustang be the pony car leader and nearly always having to respond to Ford with a model that many love but falls short has gotten deep in the craw of the Camaro design and engineering teams. So much so the new Camaro is built to hunt down and put many Mustangs to rest in a bold and brash manner that is only befitting true rivals in this class of sports cars. The sixth generation will showcase as car that brings in a build, look, design and power that is made to handle not only the Mustang, but also stand up to those pesky Hellcat twins over at Dodge.
With a brand new clean slate the Camaro enters 2016 bringing in this sixth generation as a serious player and featuring GM’s Alpha architecture which can also be found on the Cadillac ATS and CTS. This gives the Camaro a platform that has already been touted for its awesome dynamics and gives the new Camaro an amazing starting point. With this new architecture the Camaro is said to be 28 percent more structurally rigid than the outgoing generation and more than seventy percent of the components are unique to the Camaro with the only carry over parts are the bow tie on the deck lid and the SS badge.
This new structure gives us a car that is smaller at every angle than the outgoing model. This new Camaro is 2.3 inches shorter, 0.8 inches narrower, 1.1 inches shorter in height and has a wheelbase that is 1.6 inches shorter. This smaller dimension car allows a better handling than before, even if these small size differences don’t sound like much they can make for a huge improvement in overall performance of the car. Overall the car is more than 200 pounds lighter than the previous model with the body shaving 133 pounds by itself.
The suspension setup lost 26 pounds and is the GM Magnetic Ride Control with active dampers which is the first time it has been offered on a Camaro. This is the same suspension we have seen on the Cadillac models and with the weight loss, helps the Camaro offer an even more engaging ride than ever before. Brembo brakes and 18-inch wheels are offered with the ability to upgrade to 20-inch wheels to give an even better overall performance.
The engine lineup has been upgraded for the Camaro as well. Starting with a four-cylinder turbocharged engine and including a V6 and V8 in the lineup, the Camaro has an engine that will give you exactly the performance you want. The LT and 2LT will be offered with the smaller engines and the V8 is built for the SS. These engines are attached to a six speed Tremec TR3160 six-speed manual transmission or the 8L45 eight-speed variety GM has developed. Both these transmissions are built for speed and giving you the ability to easily pass a comparably equipped Mustang on the road or at the track.
Now the fun stuff we all love to discuss when it comes to a sports car, the power. The 2.0-liter turbocharged base engine will give 275 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque, a nice power offering for someone who is looking for a daily driver and some fun in an iconic sports car, but surely the Camaro has much more to offer. Moving up to the 3.6-liter V6 brings in 335 horsepower and 284 lb.-ft. of torque giving even more fun under the hood and dragging you around the track at excellent speeds this is the engine most Camaro shoppers will have under the hood. The SS, beast of the bunch has the awesome 6.2-liter LT1 V8 that has been in the Corvette and shows off a massive 455 horsepower and 455 lb.-ft. of torque giving this bad boy the power to easily surpass a majority of the other pony cars on the road or at the track.
To help the drive in any of the Camaro models, a Drive Mode Selector is in place to offer the choices of Snow/Ice, Tour, Sport and Track as well as giving launch control, shift mapping for automatic models, throttle sensitivity, exhaust sound, steering weight, stability control, magnetic shocks and interior lighting. With all this to aid the drive and make it much more intuitive how can anyone not love the drive in the awesome new sports car that carries on the name of Camaro?
The exterior continues to be a design that Chevrolet is going to continue to enjoy and carries over, especially with the Camaro outselling the Mustang every year since 2010. The overall appearance being the same the overall car has a much more athletic look. Add more LED lighting to the RS and SS models and several other exterior charms to the SS and you see how the Camaro is able to continue to be one of the best cars you can buy in 2016 and proudly has the iconic name we all have grown to love.
Even though the ZL1 and Z/28 models have not released details as of yet, and neither has the interior been fully enjoyed the Camaro is said to have a much nicer interior than before. With a ton of exterior colors to choose from and even up to 24 interior lighting color combinations the new Camaro is certainly poised to take on and continue to outsell the Mustang. If you are interested in a new pony killer, check out your local Chevy dealers starting this fall, they are sure to have a great stock of accessories to add to this awesome car that enters its sixth generation in style and power.
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.