Contrary to popular perception, there is not just one higher-performance Chevrolet Camaro on the way, but two thumpers. It is �perhaps instructive to look, as Chevrolet has, at the current Ford Mustang lineup. In addition to the bread-and-butter V-6, V-8, and convertible versions, the Mustang �corral includes the ground-pounding supercharged Shelby GT500 and the track-oriented, naturally aspirated Boss 302.
Chevrolet will match Ford move for move, first with what company insiders call the �HP� edition. This is the model that until recently had been assumed to get the Z28 badge. It carries the Cadillac CTS-V�s supercharged LSA V-8 engine making at least 550 horsepower, bolted to a six-speed manual. The CTS-V also donates an updated version of its magnetorheological shocks and asymmetrical half-shafts (differing diameters) to reduce axle hop. From the Corvette comes an active exhaust system with a flap that opens at high engine speeds to reduce back pressure. It�ll carry massive, track-ready, two-piece Brembo rotors and new high-perform�ance Goodyear tires, at 285 mm front and 330 mm rear. It should get to 60 mph in less than four seconds. The monster engine will be covered by a bulged and louvered hood, the center section of which is made of that fastest of materials, carbon fiber. The top-shelf Camaro will also have a higher, trunklid-mounted spoiler and a unique front fascia with a deeper chin. Owing to this car�s overwhelming power, the company decided to change its name to the more historically consistent ZL1 badge, as that model was a big-block bruiser, not a track-tuned road racer like the Z28. The ZL1 will go on sale in February of ?2012.
More interested in track days than high-tech dampers? Chevrolet plans to have you, and the Boss 302, covered. Around April of ?2012, Chevy?will release what so far has been referred to by insiders as the �Track Pack.� This significantly stiffened Camaro will be the hard-core version, with handling as its primary focus. That doesn�t mean it won�t get a power upgrade, though. The �Track Pack,� which might inherit the Z28 moniker, could have an uprated iteration of the standard V-8 or a version of the LS7 7.0-liter V-8 from the Corvette Z06. Both high-performance models will�like all 2012 Camaros�carry revised interiors, too
0 comments:
Post a Comment