Chevrolet Camaro – What you need to know

Update: With effect from August 18, 2020, the Walkinshaw Automotive Group has officially announced it will cease converting the Camaro to right-hand drive for the Australian market.

After decades of transforming ‘fleet’ Holden Commodores into fleet Holden Commodores, HSV forged anew its future with the Chevrolet Camaro at the end of 2018.

Born in 1967 the Chevrolet Camaro, now in its sixth-generation and re-manufactured by HSV, is available in two variants – the 2SS and ZL1.

Both variants boast a 6.2-litre V8 under the bonnet, with 339kW powering the naturally-aspirated entry model 2SS, while the ZL1 produces a whopping 477kW, thanks to a supercharger. Taking the powertrain variants to four, there’s a choice of six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic, and drive is via the rear wheels.

Now we’ve whetted your appetite, let’s go shopping.

For $86,990 (plus on road costs) the Chevrolet Camaro 2SS manual features the following standard equipment:

Options are limited to premium paint, with the good news being just two of the 10 palette colours attracts a premium of $850.

All Chevrolet Camaros sport eight airbags plus stability and traction controls and anti-lock brakes, but no autonomous emergency braking. A reversing camera, auto headlights and tyre pressure monitoring are standard, as are driver-assist aids including rear park assist, rear cross traffic alert, forward collision alert, blind spot warning and cruise control.

Nestled in the centre dash of the Camaro is an eight-inch colour infotainment touchscreen that accesses Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a rich-sounding nine-speaker BOSE audio system and satellite navigation, plus the usual bluetooth phone and music streaming. Wireless phone charging is available, but you’ll have to dig deeper into your pocket as it is exclusive to the ZL1.

All variants come with dual zone air-conditioning, heated exterior mirrors and powered driver and front passenger seats, (driver with memory function that remembers the heated exterior mirror settings) and a choice of 24 colours for the interior lighting, plus a folding rear bench seat.

Do you like the feel of suede in your hands? While the 2SS Camaro opts for a leather-clad steering wheel, the ZL1 has a flat bottom suede-wrapped sports steering wheel along with a pair of heated and ventilated body-hugging Recaro pews up front. And only the ZL1 features sports alloy pedals.

Some might see remote engine start as a novelty, but it is also a convenience, and both variants have it, so long as you choose the automatic transmission.

How about a carbon-fibre bonnet with air extractors and a rear wing so your Camaro stands out... a bit more? Then tick the ZL1 box and you’ll also get HID headlights, lower profile tyres and dark graphite 10-split-spoke, forged alloy wheels in place of the five-spoke alloys on the 2SS.

Underneath, the ZL1 benefits from an electronic limited-slip differential, bigger six-piston monobloc front (four-piston on the 2SS) and four-piston rear Brembo brakes and four-inch quad exhaust outlets.

As mentioned earlier, both variants run a 6.2-litre V8 with the choice of a six-speed manual or 10-speed auto.

The 2SS produces 339kW (identical to the Mustang) and 617Nm, with drive to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox or a 10-speed automatic (like the Mustang).

At your disposal in the ZL1 is a whopping 477kW and 881Nm of output from its supercharged 6.2-litre V8.

Pricing
Chevrolet Camaro 2SS manual – $86,990
Chevrolet Camaro 2SS automatic – $89,190
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 manual – $159,990
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 automatic – $162,190

As soon as I clamped my eyes on the Camaro I was hooked, and like the Mustang, it’s a soul-stirring emotional car, bought by the heart not the head.

It has a high waist line and compromised visibility through narrow apertures, and that adds to its aggressive looks, and the V8 soundtrack through the bi-modal exhausts is epic.

The price hike to get into the ZL1 doesn’t make sense to me.

Sure the power is stratospheric and so is the price, but unless you go to a track you can’t realistically use that potent performance. Besides, 339 kilowatts and 617 newton metres is more than enough to grab your attention.

Therefore, I’ll happily settle for an automatic 2SS. Kicking a heavy clutch pedal in endless stop-start traffic appeals as much as drowning and the 10-speed auto isn’t lacking when you open the taps and play up and down on open country roads.