Three engines and four transmissions have been developed for the new Camaro. The intriguing alternative to Ford's turbocharged Mustang is GM's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, rated in production trim at 275 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque for what GM promises will be the most efficient Camaro to date, at more than 30 miles per gallon on the EPA highway cycle. It can be coupled to a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic, just like the rest of the lineup. Chevy predicts a 0-60 mph time of under 6.0 seconds.
The manual shifter is adapted from the same Tremec six-speed Cadillac uses, only with a slightly different gearset, tighter ratios and smaller steps between gears but with the same final-drive ratio. There's no hope for more speeds, though. Link says it just won't fit: "It's not a cost or image thing, or sharing with Corvette, it just wouldn’t fit in our tunnel."
You can give up any green dreams for the Camaro too--there won't be a plug-in hybrid system of any kind, for the same space reasons. "There's no room for battery pack and plug-in...it’s packaged pretty darn tightly."
A 3.6-liter V-6 sits in the middle of the lineup. With cylinder deactivation and direct injection, the six is pegged at 335 hp and 284 lb-ft of torque.
At the top of the lineup, the Camaro SS stocks an LT1 V-8, its 6.2 liters of displacement responsible for a ripping 455 hp and 455 lb-ft of torque and unspecified 0-60 mph times. GM says this application of the LT1 has its own exhaust manifolds and other adapted hardware, but still shares about 80 percent of its components with the Corvette installation. With the V-8, the available six-speed manual gets rev-matching that can be disabled for track driving. A sensor under the shift rail detects movement and blips the throttle for a smoother, cleaner gear changes--and the function can be disabled via steering-wheel paddles.
