Long before there was iPhone vs Android or Mac vs Windows, there was Mustang vs Camaro. Nearly 50 years after it began, the battle of the pony cars rages on in Detroit. The all-new sixth-generation Ford Mustang debuted in December 2013 and went on sale last four. In response, Chevrolet has just revealed its own sixth-generation, rear-drive, 2+2 sports coupe at a rainy special event at Detroit’s Belle Isle park.
After the surprise success of the original Mustang, selling more than a million examples in the first two years, Chevrolet quickly responded with the Camaro in 1966. Fans quickly fell on what side or the other with some stragglers opting for the Camaro’s sibling, the defunct Pontiac Firebird or the Dodge Challenger/Plymouth Barracuda. Despite a seven-year hiatus for the bow-tie-badged coupe from 2002 to 2009, fans love for the Camaro never really waned and it came back with a vengeance in 2010 with the launch of fifth-generation model.
With a combination of sixties-inspired, but not overtly retro design and often superior performance, the revived Camaro overtook the Mustang sales and maintained the lead until the latest Mustang arrived. While the last Camaro was derived from an aging, Australian-designed platform shared with the Holden Commodore, Pontiac G8 and Chevrolet SS, it’s independent suspension still offered superior handling to the live axle Mustang.
This time, Chevrolet has adapted a much more modern architecture, utilizing the Alpha platform that underpins the Cadillac ATS and CTS. One of the major complaints about the Camaro-5 was its weight, which was typically 300-400 pounds more than a Mustang. While the adoption of independent rear suspension and other modern features pushed the weight of a new Mustang GT up by around 180 pounds, Chevrolet is claiming that the extensive use of aluminum in the Alpha platform will drop the new Camaro’s weight by at least 200 pounds. This should put the two old brawlers roughly at parity going forward.
One of the favored aspects of the old Camaro was the exterior design and unlike the dramatically reworked Mustang, Chevrolet has seen fit to stick with what worked before. While no sheet metal has been carried over to the new model, this is a distinctly evolutionary model. No one familiar with Camaro will look at this car and see anything but more of the same and there is nothing really wrong with that.
Well almost nothing. While the Camaro looked great from the outside, the high belt-line and thick pillars at all four corners made it extraordinarily hard to see out of while driving. Apparently, current Camaro owners made it clear to Chevrolet that they would rather be seen than to see out of their cars. New driver assist features like a back up camera and blindspot warning will help, but actually being over to glance over your shoulder as well always helps.
As for the visual changes, they are surprisingly subtle, retaining most of the updates from the 2014 model refresh that adopted the slim composite headlamps and flush taillamps. The wide rear license plate pocket looks ready to accept a European license plate, so this new Camaro will likely be challenging the Mustang on European motorways as well as American interstates.
As expected in 2015, the shape has spent plenty of time in the wind tunnel getting tweaked for reduced drag and hopefully some downforce to go with its expected higher speeds. The rear deck appears to be slightly taller and shorter than the equivalent on the last Camaro and distinctly different from the lower-slung tail of the new Mustang. Although it’s not immediately apparent to the naked eye, an additional aero advantage the new Camaro has over its predecessor is a one inch reduction in height and width, reducing the frontal area and overall drag.
Under the hood
Just as the size and weight of the new Mustang were in part dictated by the need to retain a V8 powerplant, the same goes for the Camaro. A pony car without a V8 option just wouldn’t be right. The range-topping Camaro SS now gets the latest direct-injected version of the LT1 6.2-liter V8 from the C7 Corvette. With 455-horsepower and 455 lb.-ft. of torque, this beast should have no trouble keeping the Mustang GT at bay.
In the middle of the range sits the redesigned 3.6-liter V6 that was announced with the Cadillac CT6 in early April. This reworked mill now offers cylinder deactivation just like the V8 and should prove to be more fuel efficient while at the same boosting output to 335-hp and 284 lb.-ft.
At the entry point sits GM’s 2.0-liter turbocharged and direct injected four-cylinder mill with 275-hp and 295 lb.-ft of torque. Way back in the pre-bankruptcy days of mid-2008 when gas first hit $4 per gallon, GM talked about putting an earlier iteration of this engine into the Camaro-5. However, as fuel prices waned during the recession and GM’s engineering resources were choked off, that plan never came to pass. Now however, as GM and every other automaker scramble to keep up with the march to 54.5 mpg CAFE standards, downsized turbo engines have become inevitable.
While the powertrain lineup largely mirrors its Dearborn rival, Chevrolet has taken a different approach to packaging. The 3.7-liter V6 in the Mustang was retained as price leader option below the more expensive EcoBoost engine. It’s only available with a limited lineup of options and if you want to get into the fancier gear, you’ll have to pay extra to cover the cost of the more powerful turbo engine. Chevrolet on the other hand, has chosen to offer all three engines with a wide range of options so that even the turbo-four can be had in a well equipped form. Of course GM’s smaller four-pot is also 35-hp down on the Ford engine at what will likely be close to the same weight so it makes sense to set it up as the entry point. It will be interesting to see how the prices compare when they hit the streets later this fall.
Each of the engines can be paired with either a six-speed manual gearbox or GM’s new in-house eight-speed automatic, giving the Camaro an advantage over the Mustang which won’t get a gearbox with more than six ratios until at least the 2017 model year when a new 10-speed is expected to debut.
From the driver’s seat
Aside from the lack of visibility, the other major complaint about the Camaro-5 cabin was the cheap look and feel. Compared to refreshed Mustang that arrived at the same time, the Camaro was dominated by hard plastics and mediocre ergonomics.
This time, the Camaro is keeping up with the upgrades being applied to the rest of Chevrolet’s new models with dramatically improved fit and finish. Like many other contemporary performance cars, the steering wheel has a flat bottom for easier entry and exit and the control layout has been revamped for easier use and a more modern look. The latest edition of Chevrolet’s MyLink infotainment system as seen on everything since the Impala launched is also included with a central touchscreen display.
An interesting design element is the placement of the central air vents at the bottom of center stack ahead of the shift lever and canted toward the driver and passenger. Camaro designers have integrated the temperature and fan speed controls into the trim rims surrounding the circular vents.
Only time will tell how well the new Camaro works on the street and track but all of the changes appear to be in the right direction and it certainly started from a good place with the highly-regarded Alpha platform. Between Camaro, Mustang and the monstrous supercharged Challenger Hellcat, it’s a great time to be a fan of American performance coupes.
Click here for preliminary specs of the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro
