Published
on 4
Oct 2008
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All rights reserved. |
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Chevy follows the footprints of
Mustang and Challenger to relaunch its pony car label...
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Following
Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger, Chevrolet Camaro is Detroit's third
act of pony cars revival. To American patriotic car lovers, Camaro is
hardly a stranger. General Motor's Chevrolet division created it in
1967 as a response to the huge sales success of Ford Mustang. Since
then it was continuously in production through 4 generations until
2002, when sales finally slided below break-even point. A few years
back, Detroit started reviving historic American icons to strike back
imports. History repeats itself. Ford was again the first to relaunch
pony cars with its new Mustang in late 2004. It was therefore rewarded
with good profit. Chrysler followed suit with Dodge Charger and more
recently Challenger. GM was late to the party again. It didn't show the
new Camaro to the public until the Detroit motor show in Jan 2006, and
that was concept car only. However, the reaction was so overwhelming
that it was soon greenlighted for production. The production car will
go on sale in March 2009.
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Reborn icons are often made retro for
the sake of retro. Not so the Chevy...
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The
Chevy may be late to the market, but in return it is better developed
than its rivals. GM built it on the Zeta platform of Holden VE
Commodore thus it gets all the modern ingredients - strong chassis,
independent multi-link rear suspensions, all-wheel disc brakes,
variable ratio steering, multi-valve aluminum V6, 6-speed manual and
6-speed automatic gearbox... In the eyes of Bob Lutz, GM's product
boss, a retro design is not an excuse for outdated technologies and low
build quality. Under its iconic enclosure must be modern underpinnings.
I am totally agree with him.
Reborn icons are often made retro for the sake of retro, so they look
outdated and unpractical by modern standards. Camaro is much better in
this aspect. Although its 0.35-0.36 drag coefficient is far from
modern, its styling is by no means retro. While it shares some visual
features with the 1969 (1st generation) Camaro, it adapted those
features smartly into a modern proportion with long wheelbase, short
overhangs, strong shoulders, big wheelarches and nice detailing. This
is a wild and highly expressive design. Simultaneously, it provides the
form and functions of modern coupes. Its cabin is also much more
stylish and well built than those in Mustang and Challenger.
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Limited visibility and tight rear room
aside, the interior is attractive...
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Still,
you can criticize Camaro for its poor packaging efficiency. A 2+2 coupe
has no right to run a 2852mm wheelbase. Nor it should weigh in excess
of 1700 kilograms. Although it is smaller and lighter than Dodge
Challenger, it is considerably larger and heavier than Ford Mustang. It
was conceived at a time when economy was good and gas price was low. It
was derived from a robust platform developed by people from an equally
high-consuming country (Australia). In short, its fundamental had no
sense of fuel economy.
When oil price surged, GM responded by equipping the base Camaro with a
relatively efficient engine - Cadillac CTS' 3.6-liter DOHC VVT
direct-injection V6. This really caught me a surprise as I didn't
expect such a sophisticated engine for GM's pony car. It produces a
remarkable 304 horsepower in a willing manner. Redline is a very modern
7000 rpm. Of course, its bottom-end torque is no match with a big V8.
That's why the flagship Camaro SS will be powered a 422hp / 408 lb-ft
6.2-liter push-rod V8 from the latest Chevrolet Corvette. However,
expect the majority of sales will go to the V6, especially when it can
do 0-60 mph in a decent 6 seconds. We cannot rule out the possibility
for an even more frugal four-cylinder engine (e.g. Pontiac Solstice's
260hp 2.0 direct-injection turbo), but for sure it won't arrive in the
first model year.
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GM was late to the party again. Is it
too late to launch a new pony car ?
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At
the
time of writing, the "99 percent completed" prototype has been driven
by many American magazines although it is still being subjected to fine
tuning. Testers were impressed by its rigid chassis, good damping and
agile handling. Its body control and bump absorption leaves Mustang
(with its live-axle rear suspension) for dead. It corners far more
stable and nimble than the cumbersome Challenger. It is easily the most
accomplished pony car to date. This is hardly a surprise to those
knowing Holden Commodore. The Camaro could only be better because of
its shorter wheelbase and stronger 2-door structure. Moreover, seeing
the recent Saturn Aura, Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac CTS, I am
confident of GM's development commitment these days.
No matter from styling, mechanicals or early impression, Camaro is
likely to deserve greater success than Mustang and Challenger. However,
its rivals are not limited to those cars. Audi TT, Nissan 370Z, Hyundai
Genesis Coupe and Mazda RX-8 are also its competitors in the US market.
Under economic recession and high fuel price, will the pony car revival
be short-lived ? We shall see in a few years time.
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Verdict:  |
| Published
on 27
Jan
2011 |
All rights reserved.
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Camaro ZL1
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American pony cars used to
be known for a lot of bang for the buck. On the negative side, they
were just crap in all other aspects, such as handling, refinement,
build quality and attention to details. Some said you can't have the
best of both worlds. Recently, that conventional wisdom has been rolled
over by Ford Mustang Boss 302. This car is not only fast and affordable
but also handles and rides pretty well. More telling, it scores 4 stars
in our
rating, the first ever for an American pony car! It proves that only
the sky will be the limit to pony cars.
GM is not going to let Ford to rest on its laurel. Its new Chevy Camaro
ZL1 is meant to be the ultimate pony
car, or you may call the "Mustang-killer". Its performance attains a
level no pony cars have ever reached, thanks to an engine that is
not only larger than the Mustang's but also supercharged. Furthermore,
it
gets more sophisticated suspensions and electronic driving aids to
guarantee better handling and ride. At
US$56,000, it is the most expensive pony car you
can buy, but it still undercuts a properly equipped BMW M3 and Mercedes
C63 AMG Coupe by a good margin, let
alone those could match its 180 mph top speed and 4.0 seconds 0-60
mph acceleration.
Externally, the ZL1 differs from lesser Camaros by a few details.
Its larger lower intake enhances cooling to the engine. Its aggressive
front splitter and skirts cut aerodynamic lift, as is the air
extractors opened on the bonnet. These aero tweaks contribute to 30kg
net downforce at 150 mph, compare with 90kg of lift on the regular
Camaro SS. However, the biggest visual change must be the huge power
bulge built on its bonnet. It is introduced to accommodate the Eaton
TVS supercharger and integral intercooler sitting atop the 6.2-liter
LSA small-block V8. This engine is basically the same as that serving
Cadillac CTS-V, just with different intake and exhaust tuning to
extract a little bit more punch. (Note: it is also a close relative to
the LS9 on Corvette ZR1, though that engine gets a higher volume
supercharger, higher compression and exotic lightweight parts like
titanium con-rods and valves) Meanwhile, a two-stage variable exhaust
is borrowed from the Corvette to enhance sound quality. With 580
horsepower and 556 pound-foot of torque, the ZL1 overshadows many
performance cars that cost 2 or 3 times the price, such as Nissan GT-R,
BMW M5 and Porsche 911 Turbo S.
Nevertheless, its Tremec TR6060 6-speed manual gearbox is not as
effective as modern twin-clutch gearboxes to transform the horsepower
into acceleration. Coupling to the fact that the ZL1 weighs as much as
1852 kg, even the best test conditions can hardly get 0-60 and 0-100
mph much below 4 and 9 seconds respectively. While it is unquestionably
the fastest 2+2 car for the price, it is probably not as fast as we
expected. 15 years ago, TVR
Cerbera 4.5 was already capable of such performance.
But one thing the Chevy does very well – and unexpectedly
well indeed – is real-world performance. It lapped Nurburgring in a
best time of 7 minutes and 41 seconds, faster than track-oriented
specials like Corvette Z06, Mercedes C63 AMG Black Coupe and BMW M3
GTS! The eye-popping lap time does not come by luck, of course. It is
down to many elements, such as the large Brembo brakes (370mm discs and
6-pot calipers up front; 365mm discs and 4-pot calipers at the rear),
gripper rubbers (285/35ZR20 and 305/35ZR20 Goodyear Eagle F1), a
limited slip differential, a 5-stage selectable traction and stability
control and the latest Gen 3 magnetorheological adaptive dampers which
react faster than the ones on CTS-V, Corvette ZR1 and Ferraris.
Finally, the chassis tuning is fine polished by countless of test laps
in Nurburgring, just like the best European and Japanese performance
machines. It is such attention to engineering that makes the ZL1 so
good to drive.
On race tracks, you will be amazed by its agility that belies its
weight. The handling attitude is much more neutral than the Camaro SS.
There is excellent front-end grip to resist understeer in corner entry.
Despite of the tremendous torque available for disposal, the power
delivery is linear so that you can feed the rear wheels precisely. Even
if you switch the traction control to the sportiest mode, the ZL1 won't
bite you. Its handling is surprisingly tamed for such a powerful,
rear-drive car. Power oversteer happens but it is progressive and
controllable. Compare with Boss 302, the most obvious advantage is
suspension – multi-link versus live-axle, magnetic adaptive damping
versus manually set damping. Its ride is very absorbent, keeping the
car planted to the road thus making the power more usable. As a result,
the ZL1 can corner at higher speed. In addition to strong braking and
grip, the brake cooling ducts, transmission and differential oil
coolers, the car is surprisingly effective for track days.
On the downside, the ZL1 is still troubled by the fundamental flaws
associated with all Camaros – a cheap interior (despite of Alcantara
trim), flat front seats, mediocre headroom and poor outward visibility.
The latter makes its 1918 mm width all the more difficult to contain on
narrower roads. Such a lack of attention to details still distinguishes
the super pony car from the best of the class. We won't trade an M3,
C63 AMG or GT-R with the ZL1, but if you cannot afford those better
polished cars, the ZL1 would be a great option.
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