New GM LF3 Engine
Sorry I've been awhile for a while everyone. I went on vacation in my Camaro, but am very happy to be back and writing. An article concerning the trip itself will be coming soon. For now though, some GM news:
Apparently, the R&D boys over at GM have been hard at work (while I've been hard at play) putting finishing touches on their new, more eco-friendly, twin-turbo LF3. This V-6 TT engine is meant to be a direct competitor to the Ford 3.5L EcoBoost TT engine in both power and efficiency. At this point in time, no official HP or Torque numbers have been released, but it should be expected to be equivalent to or surpassing the 355 HP of the 3.5L Ford Ecoboost. This number doesn't seem too far-fetched either, considering the power that Chevy has been milking from their LS engines for so long now, and also applying the knowledge that this will be a Twin-Turbocharged monster. Of course, the TT does mean that some Torque will be sacrificed for the added HP boost. Only time can truly tell, but I can only imagine performance numbers of 350+ HP, possibly nearing the 400HP range.
Providing further merit to those HP speculations is the very recent (March 22nd) announcement from John Fitzpatrick, the head of marketing for the Camaro. Fitzpatrick hinted to MotorTrend that the 2011 Camaro's V6 HP numbers could exceed the numbers of the 2011 V6 Mustang. If not 2011, very soon. When asked if those HP matching numbers would be met in the next couple of years, Fitzpatrick was quoted as saying “you might see it sooner than that.” This show of faith in the future HP numbers of the Camaro engine lead me to wonder how those numbers will be achieved, and if the LF3 isn't destined for Camaro SS or Z28 designation as soon as it is finished and ready for production. I would love to see that LF3 hitting the Camaro sooner rather than later, but will also happily accept just some more HP from the base Camaro build. I do like the V8 and would be sad to see it leave, so I would hope that when the LF3 is done GM could find a means by which the two engines could live in harmony within the Camaro body. We'll see. Time will tell.
Happy Birthday Camaro!
That's right, today is the one year birthday of the official production run of the current Gen Camaro. Yessir, the Gen 5 Camaro is one year old. It has been a fantastic year for a fantastic car too! With over 100,000 Camaros produced this year, the numbers surrounding this car are fantastic! I'm not just talking the performance numbers either (even though that 420 HP is pretty damn impressive). This year has seen the Camaro win multiple awards, including Car and Driver's, MotorTrends, and MotorWeeks year end awards for Sports Coupe, as well as some of those same awards for best over-all car. The Camaro has also been deemed the best new car, and is in the final 3 spots for World Designer Car of the Year award. Beyond those numbers, Camaro sales have been largely responsible for the change of fortunes over at Chevy, while Camaro has also been deemed time and time again as the modern-day muscle car champion. So, with a year like that behind us, I am excited to see what the year ahead offers! Here's to the 5th Generation Camaro, and to it's first birthday! May it have many more great birthdays ahead!
More news on Z28 Potential
Maybe those pictures from a few weeks back were the real deal, I myself am still skeptical, but more rumours are flying in about the return of the Z28. According to one Camaro5 Forums member, a friend working in a GM driveshaft supply house had an order placed for a dozen Camaro driveshafts built for higher HP output. He calls them Z/28 driveshafts, but I imagine they have no official title yet and are in fact driveshafts designed for the Camaro body proportions and built withstand 500+ horsepower. That's normally how these machine housing orders come through. A new driveshaft, possibly to fit the LSA from the CTS-V? Maybe for a new iteration of a different engine model? Perchance a non-naturally aspirated LS3 with a higher output? Only time will tell, but for now we have a "friend of a friend" report towards the increased performance driveshaft for the Camaro.
Here's the actual post from the Camaro5 Forums:
2010 Camaro now in Top 3 for World Car Design of the Year
Recently, I updated that the 5th Generation Camaro had been put on the short list for World Car Design of the Year. The award finale is coming up on April 1st, and the Camaro looks like a very strong contender for the win. The list of 4 had been:
Chevrolet Camaro
Citroën C3 Picasso
Kia Soul
Toyota Prius
World Car finalist Prius has been eliminated, which almost seems laughably obvious now based upon the recent news of runaway Priuses bombarding CNN, Fox, and every other news source around and inbetween. The Kia Soul is a nice little car, especially considering the price tag, but it is nowhere near the same class of car as the Chevrolet Camaro. The C3 Picasso is a little trickier to judge though, as I've never seen one in person here in America. Of course, the images I've seen of it, do not inspire much desire or awe:
In fact, it looks like a car Scion has been making for years now. Based upon the competition, I truly think it would be a travesty if the Camaro lost this prestigious award. Seriously, if you want fantastic design, just look at this:
That's a masterpiece right there, and a clearly deserving winner. Here we go Camaro, let's try and add this award to the shelf!
Camaro Police Car in Texas Now
Well, American now has its first Gen 5 Camaro fully marked Police Cruiser, and its a great looking Camaro. I'm sure the boys out at the Haltom City Police Department argue about who gets to cruise in the Camaro now, because it is far and away the best looking cop car I've ever seen. While they could have just changed the paint and thrown some flashing lights on the thing, they decided to take it a step further and commissioned Classic Grapevine Chevrolet to build the one if a kind Camaro Cruiser.
The black and white, with the low profile LEDs on top and the in-grill blue lights, all make for one fantastic looking cruiser. I sure wouldn't want to try and outrun this beast with the Camaro SS 420HP beast powering it. Sorry street racers driving Mustangs in Texas, there's no out-running this cop.
Click thumbs for full size images:
100,000th Camaro Produced
Yesterday Chevrolet officially reached a very impressive milestone with the production of the new Camaro. What is that milestone? The 100,000th Camaro officially rolled off of the assembly line. An Inferno Orange Metallic 2SS, the 100,000th Camaro is an incredible achievement for a vehicle, especially when reached with the vehicle's first year of production. That's right, in less than 12 months of the Camaro's life, 100,000 of them have been produced. The VIN was officially assigned and stamped, this is 100% legit. So, now that you've reached that milestone Camaro, what's next? 100,000th Camaro SS? 100,000th Camaro Convertible? Great work GM, keep it up, we love seeing numbers like these!
Camaro Sales Numbers for the Month of February
Well, for the 9th month in a row, the Camaro has outsold the Mustang (and continually by a large margin). The model year for the Camaro ends this month too (March 16th), so we'll soon get to see its total year sales numbers. Lets hope these numbers continue strong for some time to come.
Delivery (sales) Stats:
Camaro February 2010 Deliveries (actual sales): 6,482
Total January 2010 - February 2010 Deliveries: 11,853
Mustang sold 5,115 units in February 2010.