Light and nimble new Camaro shines on track
A back-to-back spin on previous and new models displays dramatic improvements in latest version
DETROIT— Chevrolet unveiled the sixth-generation 2016 Camaro at the Belle Isle Indy-car race track in the Detroit River last weekend, at a party for about 1,000 Camaro enthusiasts who were invited to bring their own cars to celebrate the car’s heritage.
How better to guarantee a positive reception for a new car than to launch it in front of a captive audience of fans?
Some of the assembled multitudes were a bit dubious about the styling, given that it doesn’t look hugely different from the previous Camaro.
Dave Leone, under whose aegis the car was developed, said the intention was to retain a link to that highly successful car.
But the new model could look terrible and still be terrific to drive because it is based on the third iteration of GM’s ‘Alpha’ architecture, which also underpins Cadillac’s excellent ATS and CTS coupes and sedans.
It’s about as new as new gets, with only two badges being carried over from last year’s Camaro.
The new car is some 90 kg lighter than before. Weight being the enemy of every aspect of automotive performance, this yields benefits everywhere — in acceleration, fuel economy and braking most obviously, but also in vehicle dynamics because the suspension has less weight to manage. The structure is 28 per cent more stiff too, which again aids every aspect of chassis behaviour. The car is about five centimetre shorter overall. Rear seat room takes a bit of a hit, but nobody ever bought a Camaro with that as a prime criterion.
Perhaps the most dramatic improvement — at least until you drive the car — is vastly improved design, execution and materials in the interior.
Lots of new technology too, including a “mode selector” knob that allows driver choice of various settings for up to eight attributes, including throttle mapping, automatic transmission shift strategy, electric power steering calibration — even multicolour interior ambient lighting.
The aforementioned vehicle dynamics are further enhanced by a much more sophisticated, still fully-independent, aluminum-intensive suspension, with third-generation Magnetic Ride Control, previously available only on the full-boat ZL1, are now available on the SS as well.
(No ZL1-model has been announced for the new car yet. Bet on it . . .).
Three engines at launch, including the first turbocharged four-cylinder in Camaro’s history, the 2.0 litre (275 horsepower at 5,600 r.p.m. / 295 lb.ft. of torque at 3,000 - 4,500 r.p.m.) also shared with the Cadillacs; the corporate 3.6 litre V6 (335 at 6,800 / 284 at 5,300); and the mighty LT16.2 litre not-so-small-block V8 (455 at 6,000 / 455 at 4,400).
A Tremec six-speed manual gearbox with active rev matching or GM’s own HydraMatic eight-speed automatic are the transmission choices for all engines.
This platform does offer four-wheel drive in the Caddy variants; no men- tion of it for Camaro, but it is at least a possibility at some point. Only a coupe body style for now, but you know a convertible is not far behind.
It was announced some time ago that assembly of the new Camaro would be moved from Oshawa to Lansing, Michigan, where most other GM rear-drive cars are built — a bit sad for us but probably inevitable.
At least the aerodynamic engineering of the bodywork was done at GM’s Oshawa R&D centre, which led to a 30-per-cent reduction in aerodynamic lift, and the LT1 V8 is built at the St. Catharines engine plant.
When unveiling the car on Saturday afternoon, Mark Reuss, GM’s executive vice-president for product development, assured everyone that they’d be able to tell the difference between the old and new cars within the first10 feet of driving. At the time, we had not been told how soon we would get that chance.
The very next morning, after a press conference outlining the car’s technical highlights, we were going to drive the previous and new generations back-to-back on the race track. First, we’d do a lap in the former car, in groups of three, behind a pace car driven by one of Ron Fellows’ instructors from his Spring Mountain driving school in Nevada.
Then we would repeat the procedure in the new car.
I’m not good at estimating crowd sizes, but there must have been a couple hundred or more journos at the press conference. Sitting in the front row of the auditorium — that’s how I got the best pics of the unveiling — didn’t exactly put me on pole position for the 200 metres-orso stroll to the pit lane.
But using my best Groucho Marx imitation fast walk (or maybe John Cleese’s silly walk) I was in fact the first journo in line. This is actually key to a ‘lead-follow’ situation. You want to be right behind the pace car, show the driver that you have half a clue, which encourages him to pick up the pace a little.
If you get stuck behind some slow dude — and there are a lot of them in our fraternity, I am sad to report — you’ll never feel what the car has to offer.
Our pace was satisfyingly quick, and our pace car driver gave me a hearty thumbs-up at the end.
Then, into the new car, a V6 (the only engine on offer this day) with the manual transmission.
Reuss wasn’t kidding. On the first nudge of the steering wheel out of pit lane onto the track, the lightness and nimbleness were immediately no- ticeable. On the bumpy sections of this track — almost all of them — the improved ride quality was also noteworthy. We had driven down to Detroit in a fifth-gen SS convertible, and frankly, ride is not its strong suit.
The V6 performs strongly, and with the optional sporty exhaust system, sounds good too. The manual box shifted smoothly and precisely. Turn-in was crisp, grip level high, cornering felt composed.
Avery short ride, but a very positive impression.
I lined up for a second go, this time in an automatic V6. For this lap my pace car driver was none other than Rob Fellows, Ron’s brother, who is no slouch as a shoe either. He had given me a hot lap in a fifth-gen Z28 the day before — we weren’t going nearly that fast in the lead-follow sessions, but it did give me some hints as to where the racing line was. Rob too seemed pleased at how I was able to follow his line; nice to get positive feedback.
Not everybody got the message. A long delay at one point and the sudden disappearance of one of the new cars was followed by rumours bordering on reports that one of our folks had stuffed it. Nobody hurt, and the perp has not, to my knowledge at time of writing, been publicly shamed, but you really don’t want to be That Guy.
It is extremely rare if not unique for a car company to let journos into pre-pro cars this soon after the initial reveal. Hope this boo-boo doesn’t discourage the practice. And of course we are looking forward to a much longer time with the car in a few months.
The say first impressions are lasting. If so, it bodes well for the 2016 Camaro. Jim Kenzie is a regular contributor to Toronto Star Wheels. To reach Wheels Editor Norris McDonald: nmcdonald@thestar.ca