Chevrolet have just released the performance testing results of the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. All three engine configurations were tested equipped with automatic transmissions and the row-your-own variety – the base model 275-hp 2.0L turbo, the 335-hp V6, and the 455-hp 6.2L V8.
One thing to note before we move on is the whopping weight savings in the sixth-generation Camaro over the previous generation. In some cases, the Camaro is 390 lbs or 177 kg lighter than the 2015. I don’t need to tell you how much of a difference that much of a diet can have on performance – not only in straight line acceleration, but in the handling department and perhaps even more relevant to many of today’s economy-minded buyers – the savings at the gas pumps.
The new entry level four-cylinder 2L turbo runs to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds and traps the 1/4 mile at 14.0 seconds when equipped with the six-speed manual. In the auto, the turbo Camaro runs the 1/4 in the same 14 seconds. The 2L with 18″ Goodyear Eagle Sport all-season tires is good for pulling 0.85 G on the skidpad.
Bringing up the mid-level trim, the 335-hp 3.6L V6 equipped with the eight-speed automatic, the Camaro runs up to 60 mph in a respectable 5.1 seconds and down the quarter-mile in only 13.5 seconds. In manual guise, 60 mph is reached in 5.2 seconds and the 1/4 mile E.T. is 13.7 seconds. The 3.6L V6 RS package-equipped Camaro with 20″ Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric all-season run-flat tires is good for pulling 0.89 G on the skidpad.
The flagship 455-hp 6.2L V8 in the form of the Camaro SS, makes the trip to 60 mph in 4 seconds flat, and blasts through the 1/4 mile in 12.3 seconds in automatic form. In manual form, the trip to 60 takes 4.3 seconds and you lose .2 seconds down the 1/4 mile – still, a 12.5-second 1.4 mile run in an out of the box car equipped with a manual transmission and a full warranty is no slouch. The SS with its 20″ Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric all-season run-flat tires is good for pulling a very respectable 0.97 G on the skidpad.
As stated previously, much of the claimed performance gains can be attributed to the massive weight savings. The Camaro was always the fat kid on the bus, and the new diet doesn’t put it in the lithe supermodel class yet, the extra weight loss is good enough for its weight to be less of a locker room joke. The base curb weight for the 2016 Camaro is 368 pounds (167 kg) lighter than the previous model. The 1SS model is 223 pounds (101 kg) lighter, while offering 29 more horsepower, for a 14% improvement in its power-to-weight ratio.
An interesting tidbit to show just how far technology has come and to perhaps shush some of the 2L naysayers up is the 2016 Camaro 2.0L Turbo’s 275 horsepower rating matches the output of the 1993-1995 Camaro Z28’s 5.7L V8 – and offers comparable acceleration performance… if not better.
