New Chevrolet Camaro steps up the Ford Mustang rivalry

The all-new Chevrolet Camaro is a car that must reckon with the also-quite-new Ford Mustang.

The 2016 Chevrolet Camaro pictured in Detroit. Courtesy Chevrolet

Maybe I've watched too many episodes of Twin Peaks or overdosed on Bob Dylan, but I'm always looking for signs. Not dull placards that limit the speed of vehicles on motorways. I'm talking about symbols that forebode the unravelling of a ­narrative.

Witness, for example, the misshapen street lamp outside the Ford UAW hall in Detroit, jutting from the pavement at an odd angle thanks to some hapless driver. It’s a curious thing to see en route to drive the all-new Chevrolet Camaro, a car that must necessarily reckon with the also-quite-new Ford Mustang. Could this be an omen?

Only time will tell, and I’m disinclined to credit the next quasi-­allegorical scene I witness on arrival at Motown’s Belle Isle Grand Prix: Mark Reuss, GM’s chief car guy (not his official title) has trotted over to his daily driver to retrieve some piece of personal kit: it’s a blade-silver 2015 Corvette, an admirable choice, but notably not a ­Camaro.

Actually, there’s a simple calculus to the fact that Reuss didn’t drive a Camaro to the Camaro launch party. For one thing, it would really blow the mystery if he parked the new car outside the tent; secondly, Chevy has a limited score of sixth-generation Camaros to offer. We’ll be driving camouflaged production mules on the track.

When they finally do roll out the new Camaro, I’m impressed; the new car shifts the goalposts on gen five, managing to be more superficially desirable on first glance, while referencing the all-important history of pony cars. Chevy hasn’t always got this right, and the elliptical 1990s-era Camaros represent a disappointing style detour on par with the sartorial choices made by a man (passing by me now – some member of the Camaro faithful invited to witness this unveiling) who sports a grey-streaked mullet, tank top and jean shorts. For some reason, he’s the first onlooker escorted up for a close look at the new car.

The new car looks great, and claims superior power and improved efficiency over the outgoing model. Today, we get our mitts on the new 3.6L V6, which is GM’s opening salvo at cylinder deactivation in a six-cylinder job, producing 335hp and 385Nm. Contrast this with the new Mustang, which produces 300hp and 380Nm – albeit in the base car, as Ford puts a 2.3L Turbo in the middle of the segment.

Out on the track, we take our first lap in the outgoing model. It doesn’t disappoint. It’s not exactly laser-sharp, and the suspension has a cushiony quality that would make BMW owners frown, but then, as stated, pony cars are really their own phylum anyway, and German car lovers generally look a bit cross.

Switching to the generation-six Camaro is immediately rewarding. Chevy wouldn’t have set up a head-to-head with its retiring model if it didn’t think the new car would win handily, and I have to agree with that assessment. Where the old car rolls appreciably in the corners, this new iteration feels stiffer and more compliant with lateral ­acceleration.

Chevy has revised the Camaro with a new multi-link ­MacPherson strut suspension that, while likely to appear in other products, has specific geometry designed for Camaro. The double-pivot layout makes the new car feel more precise than its predecessor, relaying more feel from the quick-ratio electric power steering system.

Assuming the cars that eventually grace our roads are as planted, articulate and decently powerful as the inscrutably clad production mules I experience in Detroit, it's safe to say Chevy has an excellent replacement for the already popular Camaro. Sure, my inner cynic wonders if the eventual floundering of the Transformers franchise might diminish a certain amount of Camaro hype, but it's a fair price to pay for anyone who loves cinema. Anyway, the new car doesn't need hype to establish its bona fides – it can establish its merit out on the road.

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