[bubbajan21]

Check out the videos and writeups C&D just posted!

Source: http://www.caranddriver.com/features...at-vir-feature




V8 1LE:




Lightning Lap 2016: Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE
Don't tell the SS 1LE that it's not a bona fide exotic.

Class: LL2
Lap time: 2:54.8
Base price: $44,400
As-tested price: $45,700
455 hp • 3743 lb • 8.2 lb/hp
Tires: Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3
F: 285/30ZR-20 (95Y), R: 305/30ZR-20 (99Y)

There’s nothing apparently exotic about a Chevy Camaro SS 1LE. It weighs 3743 pounds. It lacks carbon-ceramic brakes and a dual-clutch transmission. Carbon fiber? Not a strand. Turbos? Nope. A mid-engine V-8 that revs like a dentist drill? Not here. So what is this Camaro doing lapping right behind the Porsche Cayman GT4 and ahead of the Audi R8 V10 Plus?

It finds itself thusly positioned because, in the world of Camaros, the SS 1LE is indeed an exotic. The 1LE package brings magnetorheological dampers, stiffer springs and anti-roll bars, an electronically controlled limited-slip differential, big 14.6-inch front brakes with six-piston calipers, and forged aluminum wheels with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3 rubber. Foreign supercars, beware; in Turn 1, the SS 1LE matches the 1.11 g’s of grip of the Ferrari 488GTB. In the uphill esses, the Camaro manages a higher average speed (121.6 mph) than the McLaren 570S.

The new Camaro behaves like the Z/28 we lapped two years ago, and most of its sector times are right on the heels of the Z/28’s, not to mention the cars in LL4 and LL5. It has the same supernatural grip and stability and the same super-accurate wheel control, but the 1LE isn’t as nervous as the Z/28. It doesn’t leap and skip over curbing as the Z/28 did, and in slow corners, such as Oak Tree and Bitch, the 1LE’s front end resists breaking free and just sticks. It’s only when the tires get hot and greasy that the Camaro will wag its tail or plow. Even then, it all happens in a progressive and nonthreatening manner.

Like the Cayman GT4, which is less than a second quicker, the SS 1LE lacks any bad dynamic habits. The body control, damping, brakes, and steering all feel right when the nose is aimed into the uphill esses at 129 mph. You’re left to curse the annoying sightlines and concentrate on quick shifts.

To look at the price, it’s clear the SS 1LE doesn’t know it’s not a bona fide exotic. We won’t tell if you won’t.




V6 1LE:




Lightning Lap 2016: Chevrolet Camaro 1LE

The new king of LL1 class.

Class: LL1
Lap time: 3:04.0
Base price: $34,495
As-tested price: $43,185
335 hp • 3516 lb • 10.5 lb/hp
Tires: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric3 RunOnFlat
F: 245/40ZR-20 95Y, R: 275/35ZR-20 98Y

The 2006 Nissan 350Z Track lasted nine Lightning Laps and withstood 38 challengers before its LL1 class-record 3:12.5 lap fell. A Ford Mustang V-6 matched the Nissan’s time in 2011, but it’s the Chevy pony car that finally dethrones them both. The Camaro V-6 1LE does not merely claim the fastest LL1 time in the 10-year existence of Lightning Lap, it blasts the old record with eight sticks of dynamite.

Coming within $504 of the LL1 cap, the $34,495 Camaro 1LE steals more than eight seconds from the previous LL1 record holders. In doing so, it leaves in its wake a parade of more powerful and more expensive cars, and it absolutely stomps its current Blue Oval rival, the Mustang EcoBoost equipped with the Performance package. Were they on the track at the same time, the boosted Mustang would only be exiting Hog Pen onto the front straight as the Camaro crossed the start/finish line at 3:04. The Ford needs an additional 11.6 seconds to complete its lap. And it gets worse for Mustang acolytes: Despite a 100-hp deficit, the 1LE laps VIR faster than the eight-cylinder Mustang GT.

The first six-cylinder in the 28-year history of the 1LE badge, this Camaro offers far more grip than go. There’s so much stick and stability in corners that, through the spaghetti-noodle infield, the 1LE punches above its 335-hp rating with a quicker time in sector four than the Jaguar F-type Project 7, the 10-cylinder Audi R8, and the 707-hp Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, among others. At the limit, the Camaro defaults to a slight and manageable front-end push that makes the chassis feel imperturbable. Weighty steering places the front tires exactly where you will them.

LL1 competitors often demand frequent cool-down laps (and immense self-control) to keep from glazing the rotors, melting the pads, or chunking the tires. Not so with this Camaro. The 1LE kit is a bona fide track package with indefatigable brakes (Brembos up front) and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric3 rubber that wears progressively. The $4500 package also brings engine-oil, differential, and transmission coolers; a limited-slip differential; and a firmer suspension with rear toe-control links that trade bushings for stiffer ball joints.

The guttural 3.6-liter V-6—the same heavily revised engine as in all other six-cylinder Camaros—charges to 7000 rpm with a boisterous enthusiasm that’s seemingly been lost in all but the most exotic six-pot engines. It’s a fantastic engine, and also this car’s greatest shortcoming. The chassis simply deserves more power. Chevy already has the fix: the Camaro SS 1LE.

[Bhobbs]

You just beat me to post these.

[HumanWiki]

Looks like the V6 1LE does indeed have both buttons for seat heat and seat vent. I'm guessing it's 2LT with that and the lighting in the door trim (adding in the ZN2 package) which is only on 2LT V6s.

Did not see the same on the V8 1LE

[FNxR3DNECK]

How about the links for the rest of the cars? I would like to see the ACR and Vette!

[SS 1LE]

They put the camera on the dudes head? I expected better execution...but still, cool video.

[HumanWiki]

Originally Posted by FNxR3DNECK

How about the links for the rest of the cars? I would like to see the ACR and Vette!

Click on the link in the Desc of the vid and it'll link you to all of those.

[FNxR3DNECK]

Originally Posted by HumanWiki

Click on the link in the Desc of the vid and it'll link you to all of those.

yep saw them!

[Kobra_Klutch]

Originally Posted by SS 1LE

They put the camera on the dudes head? I expected better execution...but still, cool video.

I almost threw up watching that...had to cut it off. BRB...

[BradfordCamaro]

Cool. Thanks.

[sdmcss]

[kesbar]

the as-tested price for the V6 was just shy of the SS 1LE base price. ugh.

[mjk3888]

Originally Posted by kesbar

the as-tested price for the V6 was just shy of the SS 1LE base price. ugh.

2LT 1LE has all the goodies

1LT 1LE will get you the best bang for your buck.

[mcsoul]

What's the weight difference between the 1LT and the 2LT?

[bballr4567]

Anyone notice how "easy" the SS reacts to changes? Hardly any back and forth on the steering wheel and its either on or off with the throttle.