New info from Bob Lutz, Monday October 06, 2008

[13F20]

Lutz: GM mulls 4-cylinder engine for new Camaro Monday October 06, 2008
By RICHARD TRUETT, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

Chevrolet Camaro conceptNEW YORK -- General Motors is considering a four-cylinder engine for the new Chevrolet Camaro as a response to rising fuel prices.

Speaking on the sidelines of the New York auto show, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said the drivetrain under consideration for the Camaro is the same high-performance one used in the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky roadsters. It’s a 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder rated at 260 hp. Lutz said that if fuel prices continue to climb, the four-cylinder Camaro could see production.

GM has said it plans V8 and V6 versions of the Camaro but otherwise has been secretive. Lutz confirmed to Automotive News that the V6 version of the Camaro will be powered by the same high-tech V6 used in the Cadillac CTS. It’s a direct-injected, 3.6-liter four-cam V6. In the CTS, the engine is rated at 304 hp.


Low-priced version dropped
In the Camaro, the 3.6 liter’s horsepower should be around 260, Lutz said, Fuel economy, he said, will be around 17 mpg city and 25 highway. That would place the V6 Camaro among best in class for a performance car.

Lutz said GM has dropped plans to offer a low-priced, entry-level Camaro with one of GM’s low-tech V6s. GM will position both the V6 and V8 versions of the Camaro as premium cars compared to the Camaro’s chief rival, the Ford Mustang.

The base model Mustang uses a 4.0-liter overhead-cam V6 rated at 210 hp. The base model Dodge Challenger, due in the fall, will use a 250-hp, 3.5-liter V6.

Most enthusiast attention has focused on the Camaro’s V8 engine, which is likely to be a 6.0-liter with about 400 hp. Lutz said the V8 will have a cylinder cutoff system that shuts down half the engine when the car reaches cruising speed. That will help it get better fuel economy.

But Lutz said he thinks most buyers will opt for the V6 because the performance will be strong, especially when the engine is combined with a manual transmission.

“Back in the old days, if you wanted a muscle car, to get a decent one, you had to buy the V8,” Lutz said. “And if you bought the V6, you got a fairly rough, unrefined pushrod engine with low horsepower and weasely performance.

“This time, the V6 is 260-odd horsepower, four overhead cams, very smooth and decent 0-to-60-mph times. And now the V6 is in its own right a very fast, very legitimate car.”


'We are going to be above Mustang'
Lutz said that with the V6, the Camaro achieves a nearly perfect 50-50 weight distribution: “With the V6, it is not a heavy car. The Camaro will be a very lively and engaging car,” he said.

Lutz would not talk specifically about the Camaro’s pricing. The car is scheduled to go on sale next February as a 2009 model, but Lutz did say GM views the Camaro as better equipped than the Mustang, and the price will be higher.

The Mustang V6 coupe has a base price of $20,235. The V8 GT coupe begins at $26,825. Both prices include shipping.

“We are going to be above Mustang,” Lutz said. “We have a very sophisticated suspension system and, frankly, a much nicer interior. We are not going to try and match the Mustang on price. We are going to be premium-priced compared to the Mustang.”

[stovt001]

Hate to burst your bubble, but this is an insanely old article with a new date.

[13F20]

Originally Posted by stovt001

Hate to burst your bubble, but this is an insanely old article with a new date.

there is so much info out there, you cant blame a guy for trying.

[fbird777]

So the v6 will only have 260bhp???

[FenwickHockey65]

In fact, they've already tested it, and Lutz said that there wasn't much improvement over the 3.6L V6.

[stovt001]

Originally Posted by 13F20

there is so much info out there, you cant blame a guy for trying.

Nope, don't blame you at all. I just wanted to preempt anyone who would be rude about it.

Originally Posted by fbird777

So the v6 will only have 260bhp???

Negative Ghostrider. We're definitely looking at at least 300, if not more. When this article first came out there was a lot of talk of Bob getting a few numbers mixed up.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by fbird777

So the v6 will only have 260bhp???

No. The V6 will have 300 HP. Like someone said, this is an old article released way before the official specs were announced.

[Camaro_Corvette]

304 i think, oodles of hps, while still getting 26 miles to the gallon highway!

[joes3rdcamaro82/91/2010]

Camaro5.com is all the researching you need to do!

[nester7929]

“We are going to be above Mustang,” Lutz said. “We have a very sophisticated suspension system and, frankly, a much nicer interior. We are not going to try and match the Mustang on price. We are going to be premium-priced compared to the Mustang.”

Huge mistake; I still hope they aren't planning on this.

[headpunter]

Originally Posted by nester7929

“We are going to be above Mustang,” Lutz said. “We have a very sophisticated suspension system and, frankly, a much nicer interior. We are not going to try and match the Mustang on price. We are going to be premium-priced compared to the Mustang.”

Huge mistake; I still hope they aren't planning on this.

old article is old.

[Tal]

Old news, but it still might make sense to use the Turbo 4 in export models intended for countries with goofy displacement based car taxes.

[TAG UR IT]

Article is old.

Information is flat out wrong.

304 is the current hp rating for the V6.

Premium to the Mustang? Yeah...

All around better than the Mustang? HELL YEAH....

Oh, and Al said 27mpg's were the latest from the V6.

[radz28]

I believe it's been said a "premium" could be a couple hundred bucks, or something along those lines. I mean come on; if it were a thousand or two it would still be worth it. The kind of cars Camaro will be compared to are likely to be even more expensive, so I wouldn't get worked-up about pricing. JM.02