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The 2017 Chevrolet Camaro order guide was leaked on Camaro6.com, and there are a few surprises. First and foremost: it appears that, unlike the Cadillac CTS-V, the 2017 Camaro ZL1 will receive the same 650hp and 650 lb-ft of torque as the Corvette Z06. All three utilize the 6.2L supercharged LT4 engine, but the CTS-V is down-rated to 640hp and 630 lb-ft. In Chevrolet’s own press release, the ZL1 was said to produce “an estimated 640 hp and 640 lb-ft of torque,” similar to the CTS-V.
No official word has come yet from the folks at Chevrolet as to the change in power rating, but this has been known to happen. Unlike your typical engine builder, the manufacturers use a protocol set by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to dyno test the engines. The protocol includes installing all equipment that could affect the power output like the full exhaust and accessory drive system. The same engine with electric power steering, tubular Tri-Y headers and a full 3.0-inch exhaust system could easily make more than one with a pulley-driven power steering pump and a more choked exhaust system. And even when the dyno session is SAE-certified, there is a 1-percent tolerance between the observed test and the advertised figure to account for slight manufacturing variation. Bottom line: don’t worry about 10hp.
Speaking of horsepower, if you are concerned about putting this much power in the hands of a teen – all 2017 Camaros will come standard with a new “Teen Driver mode.” Vehicle settings can be programmed to associate with a particular key fob that can “limit certain vehicle features, and it prevents certain safety systems from being turned off. An in-vehicle report gives you information on your teen’s driving habits and helps you to continue to coach your new driver.”
New options for 2017 include the 50th Anniversary floor mats, illuminated sill plates, interior spectrum lighting, sport pedals, black bowtie emblems, a fuel door with exposed carbon fiber insert, body-color lower grille insert (SS only), four choices of rally stripes, body-color wing, 50th Anniversary car covers, and Camaro logo wheel center caps. What really caught my eye on the 100-page order guide was the 50th Anniversary Edition option for the 2LT and 2SS. Focusing on the 2SS version, the package includes: Nightfall Gray Metallic paint, “FIFTY” badging, anniversary aluminum wheels and center caps, unique stripes, body color front splitter, orange calipers, special trimmed leather seating with suede inserts and Orange stitching, and logos adorning the seatbacks and steering wheel. That sounds like an excellent consolation package for those of us without $60,000 [for a ZL1].
The Chevrolet Camaro was revealed fifty years ago today. Chevrolet’s 50th anniversary celebration includes tours of the Lansing Grand River plant where the Camaro is built (Aug. 18th), “Camaros and Coffee” in Detroit (Aug. 19th), and a Camaro heritage display at the Woodward Dream Cruise (Aug. 20th). If you are a Chevrolet Camaro fan and have always dreamed (no pun intended) of hitting up the Dream Cruise, THIS is the year to do it. The new 2017 Camaro ZL1 and 1LE models will be there.
Chevrolet has created an event website (click here) with more details and updates, so you can stay on top of what is happening with these three activities. Chief Engineer Al Oppenheiser will be at the Lansing Grand River plant, near downtown Lansing, Michigan for a discussion with various Camaro team members. A Camaro-only parking area will hold up to 500 cars, and there will also be an anniversary merchandise tent and on-site food vendors. Head over to www.CamaroFifty.com to reserve a spot. Camaros and Coffee takes place in the Joe Louis Arena Riverfront parking lot, with space for 500 cars on a first come, first serve basis. From there, a Camaro Rally to Woodward Avenue will be led by 50th Anniversary Edition Camaros.
Just like the 45th anniversary, Chevrolet has announced a special edition Camaro that includes distinct interior treatments with orange stitching and suede inserts, unique wheels, orange brake calipers, unique stripe package, unique grille, body-colored front splitter, and Nightfall Gray Metallic paint. The 50th Anniversary Edition will be available on the coupe and convertible 2LT with the RS Appearance Package and 2SS models.
The cat has been out of the bag for some time that Chevrolet has been cooking up a Gen6 version of the Z/28 as well as a mid-engine version of the Corvette. While a mid-engine Corvette could stay just a concept, as it has since the ‘60s, the Z/28 has already been spotted testing at the Nürburgring. The original speculation was that it would be very similar to the previous generation, but faster and powered by the supercharged LT4 Gen V V8 found in the upcoming 2017 Camaro ZL1 as well as the current Corvette Z06 and Cadillac CTS-V. However, after this video surfaced, it seemed to indicate that the track-born model will have a naturally aspirated Gen V V8 engine.
[Camaro fans note: don’t worry about the crash at the end, this car was back on the road the next day.]
Now you may be thinking that a naturally aspirated Gen V8 engine is the natural choice (no pun intended) for a car built for road racing like the new Camaro Z/28. So where did that original speculation even come from? Well back when the 2015 Corvette Z06 was launched at the 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), journalists asked Corvette engineers point blank: why not a 427 Gen V V8? The answer was that they could not make their performance target, assumed to be over 600 horsepower, and that the R&D costs did not justify the increase in power over an LS7. And without the flagship supercar to bear the cost burden of developing a large cube Gen V V8, it seemed unlikely that a 2018 Camaro Z/28 would have such an engine. From a cost perspective, it was more likely that the Z/28 would have either the ZL1’s LT4 or a slightly hopped-up version of the LT1.
The big BUT (there’s always one) is that the Camaro team never likes to play second fiddle to the Mustang. Since the Shelby is making 526 horsepower with its flat-plane crank 5.2-liter, that would be the obvious performance target for a new Z/28. It seems unlikely that Chevrolet would be able to extract that from a 6.2L LT1, which begs the question whether a 427-cube Gen V V8 is in the works. The counterpoint is that the Camaro is almost a hundred pounds lighter, and does not require as much power to equal or surpass a Mustang. And, in fact, one of the greatest benefits of the Gen V V8 engines over the Gen IV is average power, not peak. Anyone who has driven a C7 Corvette Stingray can tell you that the off-idle torque of the 6.2L LT1 is comparable to the LS7 in the previous generation Z06. A stark contrast from the high revving, dual overhead cam Ford motors. Could Chevrolet make a 427ci direct-injection engine that makes over 526 horsepower? I’d bet on it. But, will they?
As for the mid-engine Corvette, a prototype was spotted at GM’s proving grounds in early 2015. The Corvette team has been toying with the notion of making a mid-engine Corvette since Zora Arkas-Duntov was at the helm. The current mid-front layout with the transaxle was sort of a stepping-stone to optimum front to rear weight balance. As horsepower continues to climb, many engineers think that a mid-engine layout is needed for traction – hence why the fastest production supercars in the world use this layout. According to the latest rumors, the mid-engine platform will eventually replace the C7. However, it will first be unveiled as the new halo model. As a last hurrah, we could very well see the first twin-turbo production Corvette. Some have said it has a smaller displacement Gen V V8 (such as 5.5 liters), however a certain GM dealership claims it is a 6-cylinder with 700hp. The price could be over $150,000. Given GM’s need to separate the Corvette from the Camaro, its experience with twin-turbo V-6s and the release of the new Ford GT, all of this sounds entirely possible.