Notes from three Days with the 2016-2017 Camaro (6th gen) [Updated with sound clip]
 

Updated with sound clip:

There is a 'Vette behind it and the Camaro sounds about a thousand times better than the Vette, I am not joking. It is throaty as hell. Upon reflection, some of it could have been induction noise as well as exhaust, intake air can be very loud. Regardless, it sounded awesome, it is going to be another great car to look forward to.

Admin note: the photos used are from this earlier prototype sighting
at the Nurburgring - http://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=379197

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob75pv9TzEk



By sheer stroke of luck it so happened I spent time over the past three days literally feet away from where the new Camaro was being R&D'd and test driven by a team of GM engineers and techs. Out of respect I won't divulge specifics (they were stuck with me being there, so could not "hide"). I'm a mighty happy Z/28 owner and I was able to spend some time chatting with the GM guys. An amazing experience and opportunity for me! I'll offer some bullet points from my experience, all of which were gleaned via observation or deduction, obviously the guys would disclose NO details about the car.

* They are veterans of previous Camaro developments.
* "Car guys" through and through, no doubt.
* The new car even with the camo has lovely lines. It is going to be stunningly good looking. Just like current gen, there is not a bad angle on the car.
* I'd guess it is roughly 10-15% smaller in overall size than current gen.
* One could extrapolate from that it'll be lighter (10-15%?) than current gen.
* The car I saw was a NA V8 (based on the sound). Listen to the video clip above.
* At least one version will have MR shocks.
* They are a hard working bunch! At it very early and working very late every day. Paychecks are well-earned!

There was a current gen Z/28 "x"-VIN mule being used as part of this testing. So car guys and technical types could read something into that if they wanted to. Funny aside- the poor Z/28 looked absolutely abused beyond belief. One exit on each side of the dual exhaust was burned pure ash white, the exit adjacent to it was black and thick with carbon. I though that was pretty wild. That car was going to the crusher after the testing. Wild.

Oh yeah, last thing, a comment was made that the 6th gen was anticipated to "destroy" a 350r Mustang. So sit back and enjoy the journey to the release date with confidence and anticipation :nod:

That's all I know, there are no pictures or other details.

6th Camaro fans are in expert, capable hands. I can't wait to see the product unveiling.

That will be awesome if it comes with MR shocks at release! Hopefully it won't be limited to some limited production $55k+ version. This is a feature I really want.

Good. Something we already knew, but is reassuring to hear.

What do you mean by 'overall size'?

In terms of overall length, a 10-15% reduction from 190.6" would mean a car measuring between 162" and 171.5". In other words, a car in the FR-S/BRZ range (166").

I don't think so. The camo'd cars don't look anywhere near that small.

You did take a "rough guess" and use it for calculations, so it could be a fair amount smaller, just not FR-S small

Well, square area wouldn't require such a drastic reduction in just one dimension, even less so if you factor in height.

Thanks for the positive comments and congrats on your relationship with Chevy. (You sort of went off the grid for a while, and I re-call "they" did request some sort of input from you).....Very nice....

Don't get frustrated at the inevitable inquisition that will soon follow....lol...

Thanks again for some real-world info....

dang I was hoping for some info we didn't already know.

actually, your experience does shoot down the conspiracy theory that there is some major problem with the 6th gen that is "delaying" the reveal, so thank you for that.

I'm still holding out hope, and based on Z-fats post, that the styling will be more of a surprise than what the camos and renders are showing as being similar to the 5thGens...

Sounds better than "just not any heavier" than the 5thGens...

Smaller, lighter, more powerful....All great things for the 6thGen....

This thread is worthless without PICS!!!!:bellyroll:

I am glad that you respected to not tell any specifics! :)

Don't want anyone getting fired or in trouble.

Glad you got to see them in person. Im hoping I run into a prototype around here winter testing lol

The "they" situation progressed deeply, but has not resulted in anything publicized as of yet. Not sure what direction it goes. And that had nothing to do with this happening. Just to clarify. I want to make clear my experience was due to me being at the right place at the right time which otherwise had nothing to do with Chevy. A person who is not a Camaro guy would have had no idea as to the significance of what was going on around him.

No secret to say they were, among other things, doing seriously exhaustive tire testing. Mount/destroy, mount/destroy, ect ect. This should not be taken to mean Goodyear tires will come on the new car because the reason you test is to choose from choices :D

There was a current gen Z/28 "x"-VIN mule being used as part of this testing. So car guys and technical types could read something into that if they wanted to. Funny aside- the poor Z/28 looked absolutely abused beyond belief. One exit on each side of the dual exhaust was burned pure ash white, the exit adjacent to it was black and thick with carbon. I though that was pretty wild. That car was going to the crusher after the testing. Wild.

Oh yeah, last thing, a comment was made that the 6th gen was anticipated to "destroy" a 350r Mustang. So sit back and enjoy the journey to the release date with confidence and anticipation :nod:

That is a good way to interpret my comment.

Believe me I understand :thumbup:

Lol! :happy0180:

Good read, thank you.

Thank you for this...Very cool, few people get to see testing of a whole new exciting car