Top 10 things you need to know about the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, SS sprints to 60 in just four seconds

You’ve heard it over and over already, but Chevrolet has been bragging that the new, incoming 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS is the fastest Camaro SS ever produced, but they never substantiated such a claim with official performance figures…until now, along with the factory test numbers for the V6 and turbo-four versions.

Click here for more news on the Chevrolet Camaro.

So how fast is the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro? Well, to keep things simple, we’ve compiled a list of the Top 5 most important facts you need to know about the new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. Being muscle car, the new Camaro has muscles to flex, which means some pretty considerable performance figures.

Here’s what you need to know about the latest and greatest muscle car from the General.

Top 10 things you need to know about the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro

  1. For the first time in the Camaro’s history since the third generation F-Body, the 2016 Camaro comes with a four-cylinder engine and for the first time in all of the Camaro’s history, that four-banger is blown by a snail to compete with Ford’s latest EcoBoost Mustang. That mill is GM’s most recent 2.0L turbocharged EcoTec LTG four, the same mill serving duty in the Cadillac ATS, CTS, and even the new 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. It makes 275hp, serving up a not-so-shabby 0-60 time of just 5.4 seconds with the six-speed manual.
  2. The V6-powered 2016 Chevrolet Camaro isn’t much of a slouch either, with 335hp and 284 lb-ft of twist available from 3.6L of naturally-aspirated goodness. The V6 Camaro sprints to 60 in just 5.1 seconds with GM’s latest eight-speed automatic. That of course means the V6 Camaro won’t be the butt of many jokes as being the muscle car weakling.
  3. The top-spec 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS is the most powerful Camaro SS ever, boasting the same 6.2L LT1 V8 as the current Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, all 455hp and 455 lb-ft of twist included. When paired with the eight-speed automatic, 60 happens in just four seconds flat. For those who like to live life by the quarter mile, the SS will blast through the 1,320 feet in just 12.3 seconds. It’s a 12-second car alright.
  4. All the powerplants for the Camaro can be had with either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic.
  5. The 2016 Chevrolet Camaro benefits from a significant diet in all forms, with the highest reduction ringing in at 390lbs less than the outgoing model. Less weight equals less to lug around, which means better handling and performance all around.
  6. The weight saved comes thanks to extensive use of aluminum, particularly in the suspension, with a five-way multilink setup at the back and a multilink MacPherson arrangement with a double-pivot design up front, optimizing handling and agility, as well as road feel.
  7. GM’s famed Magnetic Ride Control is available on the Camaro SS for the first time ever.
  8. All Camaros benefit from Chevrolet’s Drive Mode Selector, providing up to four modes that adjust eight parameters within the Camaro, according to the driver’s choice. Those modes are Snow/Ice, Tour, Sport, and Track, the latter of which is only available on the SS model.
  9. According to GM, the 2.0L turbo Camaro is as fast as the Camaro Z28 from 1993-1995 with similar performance figures.
  10. The 2016 Chevrolet Camaro is priced to start at $26,695.

All in all, the sixth generation Camaro is making out to be the fastest, most powerful, and most capable Camaro ever. And we can’t wait to try it out.

For full details, check out the press release below.

———————————-

Lighter 2016 Camaro Delivers Benchmark Performance

2016 Camaro SS delivers 0-60 acceleration in 4.0 seconds; 0.97 g cornering grip

2015-09-14

DETROIT – Less weight and more power is the combination for performance success and engineers of the 2016 Camaro have the numbers to prove it. With weight savings of up to 390 pounds (177 kg), the all-new Camaro delivers performance numbers that reset the benchmark for the segment.

Chevrolet testing shows the all-new, 455-hp (336 kW) Camaro SS coupe – the most powerful Camaro SS ever – sprints from 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds and covers the quarter-mile in 12.3 seconds, when equipped with the all-new eight-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission.

The other Gen Six Camaro coupe models are commensurately quick, with the 275-hp (205) 2.0L Turbo delivering 5.4-second 0-60 performance and a 14.0-second quarter-mile, with the six-speed manual. With the available, 335-hp (250 kW) 3.6L V-6 and eight-speed automatic, the Camaro zips to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and down the quarter-mile in only 13.5 seconds.

“The performance of the Camaro 2.0L Turbo will challenge many of the iconic muscle cars from the 1960s, while the Camaro SS’s performance – including 0.97 g cornering – makes it one of the most capable 2+2 coupes on the market,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “The performance numbers only tell half of the story, because the lighter curb weight also makes the new Camaro feel more responsive and agile behind the wheel. It brakes more powerfully, dives into corners quicker, accelerates faster and is more fun to drive than ever.”

With standard 18-inch wheels and Goodyear Eagle Sport all-season tires, the 2.0L Turbo delivers 0.85 g in cornering grip and 60-0-mph braking in 129 feet. With the RS package, which includes 20-inch wheels and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric all-season run-flat tires, the 3.6L V-6 delivers 0.89 g in cornering and 60-0 mph braking in 124 feet. The Camaro SS features Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 run-flat summer-only tires, enabling 0.97 g in cornering and 60-0 braking in 117 feet.

2016 Camaro
 coupe
0-60 mph
(sec.)
Quarter-Mile
(sec. @ mph)
Grip (max. lateral) 60-0 mph braking (feet)
2.0L turbo
w/18-in. tires
5.4 (man.)
5.5 (auto.)
14.0 @ 100 (man.)
14.0 @ 99 (auto.)
0.85 g 129
3.6L V-6
w/20-in. RF3 tires
5.2 (man.)
5.1 (auto.)
13.7 @ 102 (man.)
13.5 @ 103 (auto.)
0.89 g 124
6.2L V-8
w/20-in. RF4 tires
4.3 (man.)
4.0 (auto.)
12.5 @ 115 (man.)
12.3 @ 116 (auto.)
0.97 g 117

 

Lighter, stronger architecture
Much of the Camaro’s performance can be attributed to the development team’s focus on reducing vehicle mass and improving structural stiffness. They invested 9 million hours of computational time looking for opportunities to make the chassis lighter and stiffer. That computer-aided engineering led to a modular architecture strategy that tailored the chassis to each model (see accompanying infographic).

“Every Camaro model offers exceptional chassis strength and rigidity, but the modular design made the architecture more adaptable and mass-efficient, because we didn’t have to compensate for the unique demands of, say, the SS convertible when building a 2.0L Turbo coupe,” said Oppenheiser. “The result was an elegant engineering solution: 12 chassis components that could be combined to meet the structural requirements of each specific model, without adding unnecessary mass to other models.” 

Consequently, 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-percent improvement in its power-to-weight ratio.

  2.0L Turbo 3.6L V-6 6.2L V-8
2016 Camaro 275 hp / 295 lb-ft
3,339 lbs (auto)
12.1 lbs/hp
335 hp / 284 lb-ft
3,435 lbs (auto)
10.3 lbs/hp
455 hp / 455 lb-ft
3,685 lbs (man)
8.1 lbs/hp
2015 Camaro N/A 323 hp / 278 lb-ft
3,729 lbs (auto)
11.5 lbs/hp
426 hp / 420 lb-ft
3908 (man)
9.2 lbs/hp
Change 390 pounds lighter than 2015 V-6 294 pounds lighter
12% lbs/hp improvement
223 pounds lighter
14% lbs/hp improvement

 

The 2016 Camaro goes on sale this fall, with a suggested retail price of $26,695 for the Camaro 1LT and $37,295 for the 1SS.

FAST FACT: The 2016 Camaro 2.0L Turbo’s 275 horsepower rating matches the output of the 1993-1995 Camaro Z28’s 5.7L V-8 – and offers comparable acceleration performance. 

– By: Chris Chin

 

Chris Chin

Chris Chin is the Editor-In-Chief of egmCarTech and is a regular contributor to Automobile Magazine.

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