No longer a concept or a vehicle development mule; the Chevrolet Camaro you see here is the real deal. Packing a V6, the Camaro will be no slouch. Each of its 296 horsepower should be tasked with carrying around just 12.5 pounds or so.
As for the V8, well…. hold your horses. Or rather, let’em loose. Chevrolet sure did. The 6.2L V8 The Good Car Guy enjoyed in the Corvette is only slightly down on power. 416 horsepower sounds frightening as far as the Shell filling station frequency goes but fortunately, the V8 makes use of cylinder deactivation.
After watching TLC’s Overhaulin’ just last night where Chip Foose worked with a numbers-matching Camaro of the 60s, it is a slight letdown to see this, what many will call a retro pastiche. To the eye of The Good Car Guy, the ’09 Camaro packs a visual punch that’d seem even more punchy if it weren’t for the new Dodge Challenger. Dodge’s muscle car adds handsomeness to its aggression. Chevy’s car doesn’t yet seem finished.
Don’t take that to mean the Camaro imagery is ugly, just a little below lofty expectations. Indeed, even the Challenger is far more of a sight on the road than in pictures. Recalling the recent past, it is the Chevrolet that will out-drive its competitors, namely the Challenger and the Ford Mustang.
