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Originally posted by Car and Driver Sept 08 Issue
2010 Chevrolet Camaro - Car News
Neo-retro? Déjà new? Chevy freshens the bloodlines of an old breed.
BY TONY SWAN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM FRENAK
July 2008
So here it is, the third and final entry in the 21st-century pony-car-revival derby. Get your bets down early because we don’t expect to see any more resurrections of famous makes from the galloping go-go Sixties—Barracuda, Firebird, Javelin, et al.—and even gloomier, we think it likely that, given fuel prices and other concerns, this revival is likely to lack the fervor and duration of the original movement.
The first production version of the new Camaro we’ve seen and touched is this yellow car displayed in our gallery. “Touched” includes sitting in, briefly, but did not include driving. And “production” means production sheetmetal but not a showroom-ready car. That happens much later. New Camaros will appear in Chevy dealerships in March, arriving as 2010 models. Convertibles (softtops, no folding hardtop) are due about a year later.
While we have not had our first Camaro driving experience, here’s what we know. Like rival offerings from Ford and, more recently, Dodge, the latest Camaro was inspired by one from the golden age, specifically the 1969 SS model owned by GM design chief Ed Welburn. However, unlike the other revivalist ponies, Chevy’s isn’t a slavish stylistic rerun of the original. Like the Camaro concept that appeared at the 2006 Detroit show—all but identical to it, in fact—Chevy’s neo-retro approach, brought to production readiness under the supervision of Tom Peters, adds plenty of fresh touches, most notably the front end and the dramatic fender creases and character lines, touches that had die-makers tearing their hair and muttering dark curses.
“Those shoulders at the rear have the deepest one-piece stamping we’ve ever done,” says Al Oppenheiser, chief vehicle engineer on the project. “It took us 10 or 12 iterations to get it right.”
This is a much bigger coupe than Welburn’s ’69 SS, and it’s bigger than the current Mustang, though the Dodge Challenger, riding a slightly abbreviated Charger sedan platform, dwarfs them both. Like the Challenger, the Camaro has some sedan in its structural résumé, too, elements of the Zeta I platform developed by Holden, in Australia, that give the Pontiac G8 its eager road responses. But there’s enough difference in the Camaro version—shorter wheelbase and stiffer overall, particularly from the A-pillar forward—to justify a Zeta II designation.
At 112.3 inches, the Camaro’s wheelbase is 2.5 inches shorter than that of the G8, and overall length is 6.5 inches shorter than the Pontiac from Oz. Also, the Camaro team moved the front wheels forward 3.0 inches (part of the Zeta II program), and the coupe’s 63.7-inch front track is an inch wider than the G8’s, as is its overall width—at 75.5 inches, it’s a smidge narrower than the otherwise much bigger Challenger.
Like the G8, the Camaro uses struts up front and a multilink arrangement at the rear. However, the engine rides an inch further toward the front, and the steering rack sits ahead of the front axle. Chevy will offer 18-, 19-, and 20-inch wheel choices for the Camaro, but the tires that wrap these rims will share a common rolling diameter—28.7 inches. This touch, new for a GM car, keeps the wheel wells nicely filled and also makes for simple speedometer calibration. The battery stows in the trunk to enhance weight distribution, which Chevy reports as 52/48. Three trim levels will be offered: LS, LT, and SS. Curb weights range from an estimated 3741 pounds for an LT V-6 manual to 3913 for an SS V-8 automatic.
Which brings us to powertrains. A 300-hp, direct-injection 3.6-liter, DOHC 24-valve V-6 with variable valve timing will be standard in the LS and LT models, while the Camaro SS will be available with one of two 6.2-liter pushrod V-8s. Camaro SS's with an automatic tranny get the 400-hp L99, while manual-transmission cars get the 422-hp LS3—we'd say 22 extra horses is a fine reason to opt to row your own gears. The L99 features cylinder-deactivation.
No one at Chevy will discuss the rumor of a possible future turbo four. Ditto hybrids. Fuel economy for the V-6 is being reported as 26 mpg highway, while Chevy claims as high as 23 mpg on the highway for the V-8. Decent figures, especially considering the available power, but they fall far short of the lofty numbers many consumers expect these days.
The six will come with an Aisin six-speed manual or a GM 6L50 six-speed Hydramatic also used in the Cadillac CTS. V-8 transmissions will be a Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual, essentially the same gearbox employed in the Corvette, or a GM 6L80 six-speed automatic.
What kind of performance can we expect from the bad-boy pony? The Camaro kids weren’t ready to talk specifics yet but were willing to say they expect their car to be quicker than the Challenger SRT8 (0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds, 13.3 at 108 mph in the quarter-mile), and further, that it’ll deliver the same kind of exemplary dynamics that distinguish the G8, except more so.
Like the exterior, the inner Camaro revives some sense of yesteryear, but its furnishings are thoroughly modern. Credit a design team headed by Jeff Perkins.
The deeply bolstered bucket seats are both supportive and comfortable, the instruments feature a bluish illumination that would have prompted UFO alerts back in ’69, and the steering wheel has the array of auxiliary switches for audio and cruise control that we take for granted today. One distinctly retro touch is the quartet of small gauges mounted just ahead of the shifter. Three of them provide info that was common in the ’60s but rare today—oil pressure, oil temperature, and ammeter. The fourth is a readout for torque. Torque? Yes, torque.
An available RS appearance package can be added to the mid-level LT and the top-spec SS, and nabs HID headlamps, a spoiler, unique taillamps, and 20-inch wheels.
The materials in our primary photo subject, which we expect to be the basic Camaro, are high quality, and the list of standard equipment appears to be extensive. The word “basic” doesn’t really seem relevant, and chief engineer Al Oppenheiser admits that Camaro pricing will “be more expensive than Mustang.” How much more expensive obviously remains to be seen. But we’ll make this fearless forecast: With 300 horsepower and Zeta II responses, the new V-6 version figures to be the performance bargain in the Camaro corral, as well as neo-ponydom at large.
Hey, can we get this nag to the starting gate? We’re ready. America’s ready.
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe or convertible
ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $25,000
ENGINES*: DOHC 24-valve 3.6-liter V-6, 300 hp, 273 lb-ft; pushrod 16-valve 6.2-liter V-8, 400–422 hp, 395–408 lb-ft
TRANSMISSIONS: 6-speed automatic with manumatic shifting, 6-speed manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 112.3 in Length: 190.4 in Width: 75.5 in Height: 54.2 in
Curb weight: 3750–3900 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST, V-8 ENGINES):
Zero to 60 mph: 4.8–5.1 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.3–13.9 sec
PROJECTED FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city driving: 15–17 mpg
EPA highway driving: 23–26 mpg
*Horsepower and torque figures are manufacturer’s estimates
Neo-retro? Déjà new? Chevy freshens the bloodlines of an old breed.
BY TONY SWAN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM FRENAK
July 2008
So here it is, the third and final entry in the 21st-century pony-car-revival derby. Get your bets down early because we don’t expect to see any more resurrections of famous makes from the galloping go-go Sixties—Barracuda, Firebird, Javelin, et al.—and even gloomier, we think it likely that, given fuel prices and other concerns, this revival is likely to lack the fervor and duration of the original movement.
The first production version of the new Camaro we’ve seen and touched is this yellow car displayed in our gallery. “Touched” includes sitting in, briefly, but did not include driving. And “production” means production sheetmetal but not a showroom-ready car. That happens much later. New Camaros will appear in Chevy dealerships in March, arriving as 2010 models. Convertibles (softtops, no folding hardtop) are due about a year later.
While we have not had our first Camaro driving experience, here’s what we know. Like rival offerings from Ford and, more recently, Dodge, the latest Camaro was inspired by one from the golden age, specifically the 1969 SS model owned by GM design chief Ed Welburn. However, unlike the other revivalist ponies, Chevy’s isn’t a slavish stylistic rerun of the original. Like the Camaro concept that appeared at the 2006 Detroit show—all but identical to it, in fact—Chevy’s neo-retro approach, brought to production readiness under the supervision of Tom Peters, adds plenty of fresh touches, most notably the front end and the dramatic fender creases and character lines, touches that had die-makers tearing their hair and muttering dark curses.
“Those shoulders at the rear have the deepest one-piece stamping we’ve ever done,” says Al Oppenheiser, chief vehicle engineer on the project. “It took us 10 or 12 iterations to get it right.”
This is a much bigger coupe than Welburn’s ’69 SS, and it’s bigger than the current Mustang, though the Dodge Challenger, riding a slightly abbreviated Charger sedan platform, dwarfs them both. Like the Challenger, the Camaro has some sedan in its structural résumé, too, elements of the Zeta I platform developed by Holden, in Australia, that give the Pontiac G8 its eager road responses. But there’s enough difference in the Camaro version—shorter wheelbase and stiffer overall, particularly from the A-pillar forward—to justify a Zeta II designation.
At 112.3 inches, the Camaro’s wheelbase is 2.5 inches shorter than that of the G8, and overall length is 6.5 inches shorter than the Pontiac from Oz. Also, the Camaro team moved the front wheels forward 3.0 inches (part of the Zeta II program), and the coupe’s 63.7-inch front track is an inch wider than the G8’s, as is its overall width—at 75.5 inches, it’s a smidge narrower than the otherwise much bigger Challenger.
Like the G8, the Camaro uses struts up front and a multilink arrangement at the rear. However, the engine rides an inch further toward the front, and the steering rack sits ahead of the front axle. Chevy will offer 18-, 19-, and 20-inch wheel choices for the Camaro, but the tires that wrap these rims will share a common rolling diameter—28.7 inches. This touch, new for a GM car, keeps the wheel wells nicely filled and also makes for simple speedometer calibration. The battery stows in the trunk to enhance weight distribution, which Chevy reports as 52/48. Three trim levels will be offered: LS, LT, and SS. Curb weights range from an estimated 3741 pounds for an LT V-6 manual to 3913 for an SS V-8 automatic.
Which brings us to powertrains. A 300-hp, direct-injection 3.6-liter, DOHC 24-valve V-6 with variable valve timing will be standard in the LS and LT models, while the Camaro SS will be available with one of two 6.2-liter pushrod V-8s. Camaro SS's with an automatic tranny get the 400-hp L99, while manual-transmission cars get the 422-hp LS3—we'd say 22 extra horses is a fine reason to opt to row your own gears. The L99 features cylinder-deactivation.
No one at Chevy will discuss the rumor of a possible future turbo four. Ditto hybrids. Fuel economy for the V-6 is being reported as 26 mpg highway, while Chevy claims as high as 23 mpg on the highway for the V-8. Decent figures, especially considering the available power, but they fall far short of the lofty numbers many consumers expect these days.
The six will come with an Aisin six-speed manual or a GM 6L50 six-speed Hydramatic also used in the Cadillac CTS. V-8 transmissions will be a Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual, essentially the same gearbox employed in the Corvette, or a GM 6L80 six-speed automatic.
What kind of performance can we expect from the bad-boy pony? The Camaro kids weren’t ready to talk specifics yet but were willing to say they expect their car to be quicker than the Challenger SRT8 (0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds, 13.3 at 108 mph in the quarter-mile), and further, that it’ll deliver the same kind of exemplary dynamics that distinguish the G8, except more so.
Like the exterior, the inner Camaro revives some sense of yesteryear, but its furnishings are thoroughly modern. Credit a design team headed by Jeff Perkins.
The deeply bolstered bucket seats are both supportive and comfortable, the instruments feature a bluish illumination that would have prompted UFO alerts back in ’69, and the steering wheel has the array of auxiliary switches for audio and cruise control that we take for granted today. One distinctly retro touch is the quartet of small gauges mounted just ahead of the shifter. Three of them provide info that was common in the ’60s but rare today—oil pressure, oil temperature, and ammeter. The fourth is a readout for torque. Torque? Yes, torque.
An available RS appearance package can be added to the mid-level LT and the top-spec SS, and nabs HID headlamps, a spoiler, unique taillamps, and 20-inch wheels.
The materials in our primary photo subject, which we expect to be the basic Camaro, are high quality, and the list of standard equipment appears to be extensive. The word “basic” doesn’t really seem relevant, and chief engineer Al Oppenheiser admits that Camaro pricing will “be more expensive than Mustang.” How much more expensive obviously remains to be seen. But we’ll make this fearless forecast: With 300 horsepower and Zeta II responses, the new V-6 version figures to be the performance bargain in the Camaro corral, as well as neo-ponydom at large.
Hey, can we get this nag to the starting gate? We’re ready. America’s ready.
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe or convertible
ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $25,000
ENGINES*: DOHC 24-valve 3.6-liter V-6, 300 hp, 273 lb-ft; pushrod 16-valve 6.2-liter V-8, 400–422 hp, 395–408 lb-ft
TRANSMISSIONS: 6-speed automatic with manumatic shifting, 6-speed manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 112.3 in Length: 190.4 in Width: 75.5 in Height: 54.2 in
Curb weight: 3750–3900 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST, V-8 ENGINES):
Zero to 60 mph: 4.8–5.1 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.3–13.9 sec
PROJECTED FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city driving: 15–17 mpg
EPA highway driving: 23–26 mpg
*Horsepower and torque figures are manufacturer’s estimates
Just got the issue today so I thought i'd share
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