2016 Chevrolet Camaro Prototype First Drive

2016 Chevrolet Camaro Prototype First DriveLighter is BetterImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: Josh ScottImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: ChevroletImage Credit: Chevrolet2015 CamaroMSRP$23,705ShopReviewsMore Photos2016 Chevrolet Camaro Reveal2016 Chevy Camaro2016 Chevrolet Camaro Leaked Images2016 Chevy Camaro Teasers2016 Chevrolet Camaro Body Teaser2016 Chevrolet Camaro TeaserGreg Migliore

Vital StatsEngine:3.6L V6Power:335 HP / 284 LB-FTTransmission:6-Speed ManualDrivetrain:Rear-Wheel DriveSeating:2+2Chevy swears the 2016 Camaro is lighter, faster, and put simply, better, than its ancestors. And after a couple of hot laps around Detroit's IndyCar race course, our reply is simple. We agree.

The 2016 edition is a demonstrative step forward for the Camaro. Carmakers always say their products handle better, especially sports cars. But in this case, it's true. Chevy cut more than 200 pounds from the Camaro's curb weight, and it shows. The new platform makes a major difference, too. The result is the 2016 Camaro drives more like a sports car than its predecessor, which feels bulky and dated in comparison.

As General Motors car-guy-in-chief Mark Reuss said, "It is wicked fast and extremely nimble."

We experience that first hand during our brief test drive, which only served to whet our appetite for future seat time. Less than 24 hours after the sixth-generation Camaro was revealed, we return to drive V6-powered pre-production prototypes (the V8 and turbo four cylinder are not available). Clad in camouflage, the cars still look imposing, their head- and taillights shining beneath the black-and-white tape at the starting line of the track.

We select the middle car in a group of three. It has the Tremec six-speed manual. Excellent, we muse. A GM test driver leads the group out of the pits and our speed builds. We work through the gears, but settle on third and fourth most of the time. The exhaust note sounds good at wide-open throttle. It rumbles at low speeds and howls when prodded. It's hard to believe this is a V6.

As we navigate the tight course, the Camaro shows its stuff. The platform, called Alpha, is also used by the Cadillac ATS and CTS. It's agile and stiff. We feel that when we aggressively dive into corners. The Camaro is poised and takes what we throw at it. The new electric power-assisted steering system has a better, more communicative dynamic than the old car, thanks to a quicker ratio. We note the stout brakes, which help cover our mistakes and provide confidence.

We get one lap in this car, and it's a memorable one. Our encore comes in another prototype with the eight-speed automatic transmission. It has paddles, but with only one more lap ahead, we let the Camaro decide when to shift, which it does smartly. It downshifts aggressively when we want it to, but on the brief straightaways the gearbox smoothly gets us to a high velocity.

After driving both, it's almost surprising how much better the 2016 model feels than the '15 we tested first for comparison. It stays buttoned-up at times when the old car would have been all over the place. The new Camaro is also about two inches shorter in length and wheelbase. It's hard to quantify that during a couple of hot laps, but judging by the car's improved reflexes, it seems to have helped. The last generation relied on raw power and sophisticated engineering to compete with the sporty Ford Mustang, but it also felt closer to Dodge's hefty Challenger. Now, the athletic 2016 Camaro is much more in step with the 'Stang.

Though the new car is said to be more than 200 pounds lighter, that's a blanket number that applies to the entire Camaro range. The V6 model is actually about 300 pounds lighter, and that difference is apparent in our back-to-back drives. After all, the 335-horsepower six-cylinder has only 12 more ponies than last year's V6, but it feels much stronger and more capable.

It's a little strange to evaluate a brawny American muscle car on its weight-loss program, but slimming down the Camaro was Chevy's goal from the start. Chief engineer Al Oppenheiser wanted to "remove the stigma of mass," from the car to help it reach its full potential, which it feels much closer to than before.

Our time in the Camaro also allowed for a brief inspection of the interior. Like the C6 Corvette, the last Camaro had an aging cabin with mediocre materials. The C7 received its upgrade, and the Camaro now follows suit. These prototypes, clad in red and black leather, look surprisingly sharp. The eight-inch screen in the center of the instrument panel was smartly positioned and easy to read, at least during our quick glances while in pit road. Like the car's driving character, the interior is sharper in every way.

Conversely, the outside looks like the fifth generation. This is still the Camaro, there's no doubt about that. It takes a close eye to see the differences, which are more apparent when the cars are sitting side by side. The 2016's headlights squint a little bit more, and the lower front air vents are more prominent. In back, the taillights are shaped differently, and the fascia is creased. There are more differences. They're subtle, to say the least.

But the 2016 redesign wasn't about cosmetics. Chevy already had the Camaro styling down cold, anyway. It wasn't a problem. The car's handling was, and Chevy has fixed it. It drives better, and with more energy than before. "My favorite part of the car is the vehicle dynamics," Reuss said. We only had two hot laps in the car, but we agree wholeheartedly.

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2016 Chevrolet Camaro Prototype Drive: Early Indications Are, Um, Positive

When the current, fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro arrived as a 2010 model, it ended the nameplate’s seven-year absence from the market and finally banished the Camaro’s image as a crude muscle car. With its independent rear suspension, solid structure, and strong powertrains, the fifth-generation Camaro was thoroughly modern.

Yes, it was still large and heavy, and its high beltline combined with its chopped roof gave it somewhat of a cartoonish image and compromised visibility. But it successfully incorporated cues from the original, 1960s Camaro and was instantly recognizable, and appreciated, by Chevy enthusiasts. Not only did the fifth-gen model sell well over half a million copies during its six-year production run, but it also outsold its crosstown rival, the Ford Mustang, for the first time in memory.

Unmistakably a Camaro

As a result, Chevrolet has concluded that Camaro buyers aren’t looking for styling innovation. “From every angle, you’ll never mistake this for anything but a Camaro,” says Tom Peters, Camaro design director. That’s for sure, but the new model also looks both more muscular than before and a bit cleaner. For example, the pseudo vents punched into the sheetmetal forward of the rear wheels are gone, but the dip in the middle of the roof is more pronounced. This seems opposite to the direction that Ford has taken with its new Mustang, which is decidedly busier looking than its predecessor.

The close aesthetic resemblance between the gen-five and gen-six Camaros might suggest that the new car is simply an upgraded version of its predecessor, but nothing could be further from the truth. While the old model was built on GM’s Zeta platform, which originated in Australia and also underpinned the late Pontiac G8—and the current Chevrolet SS—the new Camaro is built on GM’s Alpha platform, which debuted on the Cadillac ATS three years ago.

The Alpha platform is both stiff and light. As a result, the new Camaro’s body-in-white—basically the bare body shell before any suspension, interior, or exterior panels are attached—weighs 133 pounds less than the previous-gen equivalent.

An aluminum dashboard crossbar saves a further nine pounds, and the suspension is 26 pounds lighter thanks to extensive use of aluminum and carefully optimized steel components. Overall, the Camaro SS is said to shed about 200 pounds despite a slightly heavier upgraded V-8 engine, while the Camaro LT is more than 300 pounds lighter, according to Chevy, thanks to the new standard four-cylinder engine. We’re looking forward to quantifying the weight savings on our own scales soon.

New Base Four

Lest you be alarmed that this portends a return to the gutless, “Iron Duke”–powered Camaros of yesteryear, the new base engine is the 2.0-liter turbocharged four used in the ATS, developing 275 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. It will be available with either a Tremec TR3160 six-speed manual or GM’s new 8L45 eight-speed automatic—a smaller version of the 8L90 that debuted in the Corvette. It weighs 33 pounds less than its beefier big brother. Chevy promises that zero-to-60 times for the four-cylinder Camaro will be in the five-second range, with EPA highway fuel economy said to land in the 30s.

The middle engine option will be the company’s new 3.6-liter V-6. This engine is a thorough redo of the existing V-6 with its cylinders spread farther apart, a slightly larger bore, a quieter cam-drive system, and variable displacement. It’s lighter than the previous V-6 and will develop 335 horsepower and 284 lb-ft; it also will be available with both transmissions.

The SS model will come with the LT1 V-8, the latest iteration of the small-block V-8 that was introduced in the C7 Corvette Stingray. With direct fuel injection and variable cam timing, it provides an excellent combination of power and efficiency. It will also come with manual and automatic transmissions, the Tremec TR6060 and the GM 8L90. You’ll note that those are beefier versions of both transmissions to match the V-8's output of 455 horsepower and 455 lb-ft, increases of 29 hp/35 lb-ft over today’s LS3 V-8 and 55 hp/45 lb-ft versus the current L99 engine.

Preview Drive

We had no opportunity to drive the SS V-8, but we did get a few minutes behind the wheel of both manual and automatic LT V-6 models on the ride-and-handling loop at GM’s Milford Proving Ground.

Unfortunately, the development cars had so many squeaks and rattles that it was impossible to determine if they were any more refined than the perfectly-screwed-together fifth-gen cars on hand for comparison. In fact, these examples, at the end of their production cycle, were as smooth and quiet as any Camaros we’d ever driven.

However, we did determine that the TR3160 manual transmission is a smooth and satisfying gearbox, and we were particularly impressed by the new 8L45 automatic, which shifted smoothly and decisively, whether driven gently or aggressively. The eight-speed executes quick and slick full-throttle kickdowns, even when dropping four or more gears at a time.

During this full-throttle work, the optional dual-mode exhaust leaves no doubt that the Camaro philosophy was first dictated in the muscle-car era of the 1960s. In fact, between the loud exhaust, the “sound enhancers”—essentially calibrated firewall noise leaks—and the bucket-of-bolts feeling of these prototypes, it was impossible to determine whether the new V-6 was any smoother at high revs than its thrashy predecessor.

There was no opportunity to explore handling, but we did get a sense that the new electric power steering is a decent example of the breed, delivering close to the steering feel of the hydraulic power steering in the current V-6 versions. And we picked up some hints of improved agility, thanks to the lighter weight and the upgraded suspension.

The driving position is much as it was before, with a high beltline and a narrow view out, although the cowl is about an inch and a half lower. This feeling of being buried in the cockpit is particularly strong if you lower the seat all the way, as it goes down farther than it did before. Taller drivers will appreciate this change. For the rest of us, it will pay to raise the seat roughly halfway. Also appreciated are the thinner A-pillars—they’re about an inch less thick front to rear and half an inch leaner from the side. Both changes provide a welcome improvement in visibility. For those who care, rear head- and legroom are slightly reduced thanks to the car's slightly smaller overall dimensions.

The traditional instrument cluster in a hooded binnacle is retained with the new Camaro, but the four minor dials in squarish housings just forward of the shifter are gone, replaced by a configurable LCD display between the speedo and tach. A second LCD display—an 8.0 incher—sits in the center of the dash when you order the navigation system.

Coupled with the strip of subtle heating and A/C controls, which include temperature-setting dials nicely integrated into the two low-mounted center vent registers, the overall interior ambiance strikes us as clean, uncluttered, and user-friendly.

We look forward to driving the fully developed versions of these cars, but for now, it’s clear that with this new Camaro, Chevrolet has stayed true to a successful formula while improving the car on many fronts. Camaro fans will be delighted.

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Ford Focus RS Prototype Caught Testing in the Mile-High City

We still have until spring 2016 before the Ford Focus RS lands in U.S. dealerships, but eagle-eyed reader Travis Hinde has spotted an RS prototype testing in Denver, Colo. Seeing the car under the bright lights of an auto show is one thing, but it's quite another to see it out in the daylight on American roads. More on Motortrend.com:2015 Ford Focus ST First Test The details that give this tester away as an RS model are the large, roof-mounted wing, multi-spoke alloy wheels, and unique rear bumper. Look closely at the wing and wheels and you can even see the RS logo stamped on them. Some kind of instrumentation can be seen on the roof, along with two probes protruding from beneath the passenger rocker panel. It's likely the mule was conducting high-altitude testing. Though we know a lot about the all-wheel-drive Focus RS, we still don't know its exact power output. Ford has so far only said the RS will make "well in excess of 315 hp." The hot hatch will be powered by a turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost I-4 derived from the unit found in the Ford Mustang, and will drive all four wheels using a multi-clutch all-wheel drive system that can vary torque from front to back and side to side. The RS will also benefit from brake-based torque vectoring. More on Automobilemag.com:2015 Ford Focus Titanium Hatchback Review Since we're still several months out from driving Ford's hottest hot hatch, seeing this uncamouflaged prototype driving on U.S. soil makes the RS seem so close and yet so far. Photo Credit: Travis Hinde More on Automotive.com:2015 Ford Focus Debut

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Bare-bodied Ford GT supercar prototype looks great on the street

This prototype isn’t as polished as a show car, but we think it’s way cooler

Yes, we realize the covers came off the 2017 Ford GT earlier this year, and there are plenty of gorgeous studio shots (and an increasing amount of technical information) for you to drool over ahead of the car’s release.

But there’s something special about seeing a new supercar on the streets for the first time. Maybe it’s the context -- even if it’s just a mule or a prototype, catching the car in the wild makes the whole program feel real.

Take these photos posted to fordgtforum.com. Pretty cool, right? Snapped in Allen Park, Mich., they show a mean-looking GT without any Ford badges (there’s an empty oval on the snout, though) and some gnarly looking tailpipes poking out the back. 

Note the empty oval on the snout. Photo by Fordgtforum.com

Car News Developing the Ford GT with science, psychology and secrecy

The Ford GT was introduced five months ago at the Detroit auto show. We can’t remember any car that received more attention in the following weeks. Ford is trying to keep that momentum high ...

As a forum member points out, this car isn’t camouflaged -- it's very likely bare composite body panels straight out of the Multimatic Motorsports molds. Note how the doors appear to be a slightly different color. Also, the headlights aren’t quite the same as the ones on the Detroit show car; whether this is a pre-production quirk or an indication of what we can expect on the real thing remains to be seen.

The deep-set vent-incorporating taillights seem to be in place, though, and the car appears to be wearing the same split-five-spoke wheels spotted on the show stand.

Thanks to fordgtforum.com for letting us repost these pictures -- be sure to check them out for tons of GT news, discussion and speculation.

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