Spotted: The New 2016 Sixth Generation Chevy Camaro!
Our government connection West Virginia Legislator Delegate Gary Howell sent us these pictures today. Apparently Gary was eating at a Chick-Fil-A and noticed that a disguised vehicle was sitting in the parking lot. He managed to snap a few pictures before the the car's driver sped off in it. If you look close you can see his reflection in the glass! We think that the heavily disguised vehicle is the new 2016 Camaro. In fact, we're just about sure it is.
Although there are photos floating around on the net showing the vehicle more uncovered than this, we cannot be sure if they are Photoshop enhanced photos or not because many of them seem just too good to be spy photographs. We can assure you that these are the real deal and the amount of disguise on this car seems typical of shots we have seen of the Gen 6 Camaro to date.
The main thing we did not like about the 5th generation Camaro was its bulk. It was a big car with a 112″ wheelbase and a curb weight as high as 4350 lbs. The current Camaro feels huge and heavy while driving driving it even though it is quite capable. Other big fat cars like the Nissan GT-R don't feel big. Perhaps it's the current cars high dash and beltline that obscures the drivers view that gives some of this feeling. Some of this largeness is because the current Camaro is built on GM's full size RWD Zeta platform. In looking at the disguised mule, it appears that the front end has a much lower overhang than the current car. We think the front end will look pretty similar under the tarp with narrow headlights and grill to keep the Camaro DNA. It is pretty obvious that there is stuff on top of the front of the hood under the tarp to disguise the cars profile but a sleeker front end is hiding under there.
In this side view, you can see that although the car is covered in tarping, it oozes Camaro DNA. The good news is that it's obvious that the wheelbase is much shorter, perhaps around 105-106 inches. The roof line also appears to be much shorter. This suggests that the new Camaro is built on GM's new compact RWD world class Alpha platform that was recently introduced underpinning the Cadillac ATS. This bodes well to the enthusiasts and this means we can expect a much needed 300 to 500 weight reduction. With the weight reduction, it means that the Camaro's already potent performance will become just that much more awesome. The test mule sports big 20″ wheels but nothing extra in the braking department suggesting that the powertrain is not one of the more potent options that are rumored to launch with the car.
One thing we didn't like about the old car was the poor all around visibility for the driver, this gave the car a feeling of bigness and bulk. This may change in the new car. In looking from the rear of the car, you can see that the rear of the roof will have more of a sleek fast back look and more glass than the current car. Dual exhausts suggests that the V8 is not going anywhere but the tips small internal diameter means that this car might be sporting a V6. The Chevy 6 Gen Camaro website shows an exhaust manifold with 4 primary pipe as a teaser so we know that the V8 is not going anywhere. The V8 will probably be a version of the Corvette direct injection LT1 engine which has 460 hp in the C7 and will probably be rated a little lower for the Camaro if history repeats itself. With a possible lower curb weight, will the Camaro outdo the C7?What we don't know is what optional engines the new Camaro might have besides a V8. A turbo V6? A lightweight turbo 4 like the Ecoboost Mustang? What we do know is that we cannot wait for the car to be released and the performance enthusiast will not be disappointed.
