Camaro 2.0 L Turbo Four Ready To Dominate Mustang’s 2.3 L Ecoboost

In the Blue corner is Ford’s Ecoboost and in the Red Corner is GM’s inline four cylinder turbo.

It hasn’t been since the early eighties that the Camaro has seen a four-cylinder in its engine bay, but for 2016 that’s obviously going to change with the introduction of BM’s 2.0 Liter Turbocharged LTG stuffed in the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. According to Autoblog’s exclusive interview with the Camaro’s Chief Engineer that dropped earlier today (July 8. 2015) Ford’s Ecoboost Mustang had better get ready for a fight because Chevrolet will absolutely bring it. A quick read through the interview reveals an entirely different take on the whole “four cylinder in a muscle car debate.” GM isn’t putting in a turbocharged four cylinder because they HAVE TO, it’s because they WANT TO.

"We’re not doing it just so we have one. We’re not doing it because like in gen three you’re forced to do it because of fuel economy. We’re doing it because it belongs in the car. It has a distinct character."

This bodes well for millennials who grew up in an era dominated by efficient power delivery and MPG’s reigning king. GM’s 2.0 Liter LTG well make 275 HP and 295 lbs-ft of torque at a maximum boost of 20 psi. Compare that to Ford’s 2.3 L EcoBoost which makes a whopping 310 HP and 320 lbs-ft of torque at 18 psi. When it comes to weight, the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro may well be a tad bit lighter. Although no weight figures have been announced, we can look to the Cadillac ATS, which will share the same platform and engine. We can assume that stripped of all its luxuries, the Cadillac will weigh a bit more than the Camaro and the Cadillac comes in at 3,479 lbs compared to the Mustang’s 3,657 lbs.

"It’s actually a fun car to drive. It’s got a really good balance of turbo noise and exhaust note. We don’t offer the valve exhaust on that because we didn’t want to chase a turner-car sound. This is a more refined sixth gen. We wanted to make sure that there’s a no-excuse four-cylinder."

Big news from Ford was that they finally put in Independent Rear Suspension in the Mustang, but the Camaro has had IRS since they introduced the 5th gen Camaro in 2009 as a 2010 model. Now with a new chassis underpinning the Camaro, things should be a lot more fun for the 2016 Camaro.