Mark Reuss - 6th gen Camaro weight "not going to be heavier"
 

MotorTrend

Motortrend: You brought up the recent ponycar comparisons. How fair is it for us to compare your current, mature Camaro to the all-new EcoBoost Mustang? I remember when Camaro first came out and we were pretty critical of it, and to your credit, your team fixed a lot of things very quickly. What does this say about the next-generation Camaro? Will it come out of the gates swinging or need some time to mature?

Mark Reuss: No. It's not going to need any of that. And that's the maturity that I think we have as a company, from the engineering talent and execution standpoint. The first-gen Camaro was a bit of a tortured birth because the architecture was something that was sort of loosely based on Zeta at the time but then brought into the United States, and we made a Camaro out of it -- off of a concept car that wasn't completely architected yet.

Flip over to what we're going to next on Camaro. The next-gen Camaro I can tell you after driving it extensively and then taking it onto the autobahn and Nurburgring in Germany a week before last -- that car out of the gate, the SS version, with a great powertrain -- which you can imagine what that might be -- off a very mature and exclusive architecture, is not going to be heavier. There is some physics here. Look at what some of the competition did on their next-gen -- it's heavier; it doesn't quite perform as well as the last one. I can tell you that. If you think about Z/28 and ZL1, SS -- think about the satisfaction that a ZL1 offers you today off of current Zeta. Think about that satisfaction moved down from an accessibility and model-range standpoint. Think about that. If you like the ZL1 today, you're going to love the SS tomorrow. Think about that from a philosophical standpoint.

YESYESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was ironic timing! I was just discussing weight!

Look at what some of the competition did on their next-gen -- it's heavier; it doesn't quite perform as well as the last one. I can tell you that. If you think about Z/28 and ZL1, SS -- think about the satisfaction that a ZL1 offers you today off of current Zeta. Think about that satisfaction moved down from an accessibility and model-range standpoint. Think about that. If you like the ZL1 today, you're going to love the SS tomorrow. Think about that from a philosophical standpoint.

That statement right there is huge. It makes me very excited for the next generation.

I just came!!!

Thanks for posting. Nice find.

This is really really good news. We have just confirmed the camaro is at least not putting any weight on. For him to state that, this means it will instead loose some. Whether it will be 1lb or 100lb is uncertain. But it's not getting fatter. That was probably the most inportant aspect of the new camaro.

This is nice.. I already feel better for the future camaro now. Thanks GM

Is it just me or is he saying that the base 6gen SS will have current 5gen ZL1 performance levels? That would be pretty amazing.
With much less horsepower in an LT1 v8 compared to the LSA v8, this means the weight will have to drop significantly to offset the lack of LSA power. Thats 110hp less the new camaro will have to suffice with yet still be as fast or faster than the ZL1.

Exciting times

This is very bold talk. Reuss is basically promising that the performance of the new SS will be on par with the current ZL1. If true, that's really amazing. And, indeed, this would be a HUGE leap forward in what he refers to as "an accessibility and model-range standpoint." Think about that... the SS retails for what? $34K? Compared to $55K for the ZL1?

Not totally sure what Reuss means by "some physics," but I suppose that he's referring to the smaller, lighter platform. Thoughts?

Sounds good, bring it on. I'm ready to see that bad boy C6 Camaro.

I don't think anybody whose been following the performance side of GM the past few years should expect anything less than a knockout from the next Camaro.

For an LT1 equipped SS to outperform a current ZL1 would take a very significant weight loss to achieve. I'm sure somebody on here could do the math. If he means around a road course it wouldn't take much as the 1LE isn't too far behind considering the HP differential. If he means an SS can beat a ZL1 on the strip that is a very powerful statement. Exciting times!

Boy, I'm really ready now. Bring on the Gen 6 convertible SS.

ZL1 = 4120 lbs / 580 HP = 7.1 lbs/HP

LT1 450 HP x 7.1 lbs/HP = 3,200 lbs to be equal

That's not going to happen so...

Performance improvements come from reduced weight and 8 speed auto traction management

Or

"Satisfaction" equal to ZL1 means handling. Ie track times

I LOVE the direct Chevy has taken!!! Yes sir...

I don't take his statement to mean an SS will take down the ZL1. I take it as the SS will be a big step in performance like the ZL1 was.

Depends on what the meaning of satisfaction is.

Sounds to me like Z/28 and ZL1 levels of performance are moving into 1LE and SS price range

He never said that the new SS would 'take down' the current ZL1. No one should expect the new SS to eat the old ZL1 for breakfast. However, Reuss does pretty strongly imply that the new SS will offer COMPARABLE performance to the current ZL1 when he makes this statement:

I don't know how else to take that other than to pretty much expect the new SS to be on par with the outgoing ZL1.