6th Gen Chevrolet Camaro: 2017 ZL1, Z/28

[88GTA]

Those are ridiculous numbers for a Camaro SS. The 1LE is going to be awesome!

 

[YSSMAN]

Stupid-fast is a good way to put it.

I remember thinking the '02 25th Anniversary model was so incredibly fast when its numbers started dipping into the low 5s, but this is bumping into serious sports car territory. I suppose that extra $5k over the Mustang GT is starting to make a little more sense.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

ZL1 spy shots

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1025721_2017-chevrolet-camaro-zl1-spy-shots

 

[AudiMan2011]

I'm betting the 640hp supercharged LT4 will remain unchanged for the new ZL1.

 

[Cale]

Stupid-fast is a good way to put it.

I remember thinking the '02 25th Anniversary model was so incredibly fast when its numbers started dipping into the low 5s, but this is bumping into serious sports car territory. I suppose that extra $5k over the Mustang GT is starting to make a little more sense.

That 5K basically includes things equivalent to the track pack Mustang, so the real difference isn't that great.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

ZL1 on the 'Ring.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

Different video of the ZL1.

 

[catamount39]

Different video of the ZL1.

I'll take 10.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

I'll skip until we know how those plastic suspension arms will endure..

 

[05XR8]

The skinnier the lights, the skinnier the "windows".

 

[GTboyz]

Part of me figure it could be a Z/28 but i guess the bodywork doesn't look track-aggresive.

 

[McLaren]

Part of me figure it could be a Z/28 but i guess the bodywork doesn't look track-aggresive.

That & the brakes don't look to be carbon ceramics; a nice-selling point on the Z/28 I can't see Chevrolet not carry over onto the next-gen.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

1LE on the 'Ring.

 

[YSSMAN]

Car and Driver has their first instrumented test up:

Our test car, an SS with the General’s new eight-speed automatic (a $1495 option), rocketed to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, a noticeable half-second quicker than any current Mustang GT we’ve tested. It makes it through the quarter-mile in 12.3 seconds, close to a second quicker than the Mustang GT. At 455 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque, the Camaro SS’s 6.2-liter small-block produces 20 more horses and 55 lb-ft more thrust than does the GT’s 5.0-liter. The Chevy’s pushrod V-8 also makes great wads more grunt down low than the Ford’s overhead-cam engine.

Perhaps more remarkable: The Camaro’s impressive dynamic fidelity doesn’t render its ride uncomfortable. Even wearing low-profile run-flat tires (245/40ZR-20s in front and 275/35ZR-20s at the rear), the Camaro manages to chamfer off the edges of sharp road irregularities. Surely, our car’s optional, $1695 magnetorheological dampers aided in this feat. Those tires, Goodyear Eagle F1s, helped the car deliver an impressive 0.98 g of lateral grip on the skidpad. And allied with four-piston Brembo calipers front and rear, they also help deliver stops from 70 mph in a stunning 147 feet. That’s a shorter stop than we’ve recorded for at least a couple iterations of the current Porsche 911.

Yeesh. Then you get to the sticker on their tester - just shy of $48,000. Still, this thing is stupid fast compared to all the previous high performance Camaros. That's solidly in the neighborhood of the ZL1 and Z/28, knocking on the door of the Stingray. Makes me wonder what the next 1LE or Z/28 will do, but also makes me hope GM gets around to doing a "poor man's SS" with a stripped options list and a V8 (think Dodge's Scat Pack).

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Darn, it's not even out yet and I'm already impressed with the 6th generation Camaro.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

I guess GM really let Oppenheiser and his team loose with this car. I'm curious to see the numbers that production SS Camaros put down. I also really want to see what the production versions weigh to compare the production 6th gen weight to that of the 5th gen.

 

[Ddrizle]

2016 COPO Camaro at SEMA

Spoiler

 

[SlipZtrEm]

The C&D test is precisely as impressive as the COPO is unimpressive. Seriously, it looks like the Camaro got dumped, and has been doing its best Goldie Hawn impression from Death Becomes Her:

 

[Keef]

Car and Driver has their first instrumented test up:



Yeesh. Then you get to the sticker on their tester - just shy of $48,000. Still, this thing is stupid fast compared to all the previous high performance Camaros. That's solidly in the neighborhood of the ZL1 and Z/28, knocking on the door of the Stingray. Makes me wonder what the next 1LE or Z/28 will do, but also makes me hope GM gets around to doing a "poor man's SS" with a stripped options list and a V8 (think Dodge's Scat Pack).

$20 says those tires are a special Goodyear compound designed just for this car. Lots of the high-end brands do that and it's one secret to conspicuously high mechanical grip in all directions. You'll probably be seeing people replacing this car's tires after 20,000-25,000 miles of normal street driving, about the same distance the Nitto NT05s went on my RX7. New tires from the dealer will also be conspicuously expensive which is why most of these cars won't be getting factory rubber as replacements.

 

[YSSMAN]

$20 says those tires are a special Goodyear compound designed just for this car. Lots of the high-end brands do that and it's one secret to conspicuously high mechanical grip in all directions.

I wouldn't doubt it. Mitsubishi used to pull the same trick with the Evolution, and I was under the impression that both Porsche and McLaren were doing the same with the 918 and P1 respectfully.

 

[Keef]

I wouldn't doubt it. Mitsubishi used to pull the same trick with the Evolution, and I was under the impression that both Porsche and McLaren were doing the same with the 918 and P1 respectfully.

It's a pretty common tactic between Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Corvette, Viper, all that sort of stuff. The Bridgestone RE040s from a Nissan 350Z only lasted about 15,000 miles when a friend who works at a dealership got them for cheap and put them on his Mazda 3. I know a couple people who have that much mileage on their off-the-shelf R888 R-compound tires. If you look at some of these tires on tire rack, there will be a couple different versions of the "same" tire, but one of them will be brand-specific while the other won't.

Modifying the compound to make them generally softer allows the tire to grip better in all situations, especially in wet weather which is important for a factory sports car driven by average drivers. It will also make them quieter, and of course not last nearly as long.

 

[YSSMAN]

2016 Camaro wins Motor Trend's 2016 Car of the Year award

Even as a GM guy, man, this was absolutely surprising. I completely figured that the Honda Civic or Mazda MX-5 would have taken the title home, not a specialized sports coupe. Apparently it drives really, really, really well. Okay?

 

[88GTA]

This is the best part:
"When new for 2015, the Ford Mustang GT gained 196 pounds. The new Camaro SS is down more than 200 pounds compared with the car it replaces, 3,672 pounds versus 3,908 for the V-8. The V-6 comes in at only 3,461 pounds, with an automatic! Weight is the enemy of performance, and you can easily see this when you note that the new SS is nearly as quick in a straight line (0-60 mph in 4 seconds flat, quarter mile in 12.4 seconds) as the outgoing and more powerful Z/28. Lower weight plus the superlative Alpha bones make handling measurably mega; the SS runs our figure-eight track in 24.1 seconds, two-tenths off a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S."

 

[catamount39]

The Camaro fanboy-ism is strong with that one. It's a not a bad car but come on, it's not worthy of any car of the year award.

 

[Tornado]

So they gave it car of the year because the car happened to replace one that was always known as a lardass? What about the Miata, which weighs as much as the Miata from 25 years ago?


I really like how the entire thing is written like a high school book report instead of a professional magazine article.

This is the best part:
"When new for 2015, the Ford Mustang GT gained 196 pounds. The new Camaro SS is down more than 200 pounds compared with the car it replaces, 3,672 pounds versus 3,908 for the V-8. The V-6 comes in at only 3,461 pounds, with an automatic! Weight is the enemy of performance, and you can easily see this when you note that the new SS is nearly as quick in a straight line (0-60 mph in 4 seconds flat, quarter mile in 12.4 seconds) as the outgoing and more powerful Z/28. Lower weight plus the superlative Alpha bones make handling measurably mega; the SS runs our figure-eight track in 24.1 seconds, two-tenths off a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S."

Nah, this is:

Wheel to body, gesture, and overall graphics add to a very nimble appearance, especially the rear three-quarter view.

 

[Adamgp]

Kind of surprised the Camaro won COTY, but don't see how the Miata is any more deserving of the award.

Still an awesome car though. Curious to see Chevy's answer to the GT350.

 

[Keef]

Show me a picture of the new Camaro's trunk opening and I'll tell you if Motor Trend got paid off to make this decision or not. Seriously.

They have all sorts of pictures but, conveniently, none of them show the trunk opening which is so impractical it renders the trunk virtually useless. My cousin had a 2015 rental car for SEMA and he couldn't even fit his big (i.e. normal) suitcase in the trunk because the hole simply wasn't big enough. He had to put it in the back seat. Two carry-ons did make it through the opening, however.

You can't call a car the best of the year if a damn normal suitcase won't even fit the trunk.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Show me a picture of the new Camaro's trunk opening and I'll tell you if Motor Trend got paid off to make this decision or not. Seriously.

They have all sorts of pictures but, conveniently, none of them show the trunk opening which is so impractical it renders the trunk virtually useless. My cousin had a 2015 rental car for SEMA and he couldn't even fit his big (i.e. normal) suitcase in the trunk because the hole simply wasn't big enough. He had to put it in the back seat. Two carry-ons did make it through the opening, however.

You can't call a car the best of the year if a damn normal suitcase won't even fit the trunk.

Here you go.

It does look just as small and pointless.

 

[Keef]

Here you go.

It does look just as small and pointless.

It is preposterous that they can pick this as the car of the year. Freaking insane. How the hell are are gonna have a car with a decent trunk that you can't fit anything in because the hole is too small? Imagine dating a supermodel who had a cast around her hips. What the hell you gonna do with that? Get outta here.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

It is preposterous that they can pick this as the car of the year. Freaking insane. How the hell are are gonna have a car with a decent trunk that you can't fit anything in because the hole is too small? Imagine dating a supermodel who had a cast around her hips. What the hell you gonna do with that? Get outta here.

I disagree. I don't think there's anything better than squeezing your luggage through a really tight trunk opening.