American Iron: Chevrolet Camaro GT3
With almost eight litres of racing V8 at its pointy end, the M-Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro GT3 is a real V8 SupercarWe keep saying GT3 is varied and the Camaro is proof of that. Developed by the independent German outfit Reiter Engineering with the approval of Chevrolet, this is the car in this test that has been taken the furthest from its production roots.
The 7.9-litre naturally-aspirated V8 engine is proof positive, considering the biggest donk in the just-superseded fifth-generation Camaro road car was a still sizeable 7.0 litres.
And once you take the bodywork off, the mid-forward engine mounting, aluminium chassis and obviously modified suspension look a lot racier than even we expected.
Yet maybe it’s no surprise Luke felt there was some real familiarity about the Camaro drive experience after his thundering laps.
“It feels like a V8 Supercar would with a better tyre and aero,” he mused.
But it sounds different -- ground-shakingly different – from the other three GT3s in this test.
“It’s mega. It sounds awesome. How good does it sound? It sounds like a real race car should,” he enthused.
The thing is the Camaro’s engine made so much power down low that driver Justin McMillan and the Interlloy-sponsored M-Motorsport team elected to restrict output at lower revs to make it more manageable.
“I expected it to have more power down low, but it has been restricted so it doesn’t have much till about 4000rpm. Then it goes,” said Luke.
“Before that [restrictor was fitted] it was pretty much undriveable, even in the high-speed stuff. Even now it battles to put all that power down.
“Coming from a V8 background we have that power and it’s up to us to feed that on. I can see what they are doing, but you have to be quite aggressive with it.
“But once it goes, it goes that’s for sure…
“It’s so much fun. It’s a lot better than I thought. I really enjoyed that. Very cool.”
M-Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro GT3 specifications:
Engine: 7.9-litre naturally-aspirated V8
Displacement: 7883cc
Bore x stroke: 104.78x114.30mm
Max power: 485kW
Max torque: 800Nm
Transmission: Holinger six-speed sequential, paddle-operated
Suspension: Double-wishbone front and rear
Dampers: Racing
Brakes: Six-piston front callipers, four-piston rear callipers
Wheels: 19x12.5-inch
Tyres: 310/710 R19
Length: 4944mm
Width: 1988mm
Height: 1200mm
Wheelbase: 2852mm
Weight: 1290kg
Weight distribution: 55:45
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