The 2016 Chevrolet Camaro Is Faster And Lighter Than Ever Before
By Paulo Acoba
A strict weight paring strategy has paid dividends for the 2016 Camaro.
Official weights and performance numbers for the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro have officially been released and it looks like the rumors of a 200-pound weight reduction were underrated. According to an official press release that Chevrolet dropped earlier yesterday ( Sept. 14, 2015) the base model Camaro stripped 368 pounds from the previous model. In addition acceleration numbers peg the fastest Camaro, the 6.2L V8 running to 60 MPH in just four seconds flat. That just might be enough to nip the Shelby GT350R with its 5.2 L Flat plane crank V8!
The base 3.6L V6 packs 335 HP and 284 lb-ft of torque. If you pair it with an automatic transmission the V6 weighs in at 3,435 pounds which is a 294-pound weight savings over last year’s Camaro. The sprint to 60 MPH takes 5.2 seconds in the manual and 5.1 seconds in the automatic.
Step up to the 2.0-liter four cylinder turbo and you get 275 HP and 295 lb-ft of torque. Since this is the first year a four-cylinder turbo is being added, there’s nothing to compare it to weight wise from its own lineup but the turbo hits the scales at 3,339 pounds. It takes 5.4 seconds to hit 60 MPH with the manual and 5.5 seconds with an automatic.
Finally, the 6.2L V8 packs a whopping 455 HP and 455 lb-ft of torque. Weighing in at 3685 pounds, it’s 223 pounds lighter than the last year’s V8. You can hit 60 MPH in four seconds flat with the automatic and 4.3 seconds in the manual.
"The 2016 Camaro 2.0L Turbo’s 275 horsepower rating matches the output of the 1993-1995 Camaro Z28’s 5.7L V-8 – and offers comparable acceleration performance."
It looks like the Camaro has benefited greatly from essentially sharing a similar chassis to the Cadillac CTS-V. You can chalk up the major weight savings to such measures as switching the instrument panel from steel to aluminum ( nine pounds lost) as well as aluminum front and rear suspension links ( 29 pounds lost.) Thanks to an all new modular design, 12 chassis components can be combined and reconfigured to meet certain model needs. Check out the infographic below to see what they mean.
