From the start, let me say this thread is just me being curious as to the mindset of members here over any hints and inside information.

In short, don't read anything into this. I'm just being curious.


Lets assume that GM does infact wave a magic wand & the new 5th gen Camaro weigh about the same as the 4th gen, right around where the current Mustang weighs. And the "Super Camaro" that's almost certain to be in the pipeline follows the Shelby GT350 in marketing position.

Two choices.


Choice 1:
Say (much like the GT500) it gains a version of the supercharged, intercooled V8 in the upcoming Corvette "SS", something that's bound to add well over 100 pounds alone.

Because it's no expensive featherweight Corvette Z06 (alumunum chassis, carbon fiber body, weight under 3200# and a $65K pricetag), it's going to need weight increasing heavier duty components (like the GT500) to deal with that massive horsepower and torque.

In the end, we have a 500 horsepower Camaro that holds up to a GT500, but also weighs roughly as much. GM tunes the thing at Nürburgring, so despite it's weight, it still handles extremely well.

Choice 2:
Instead of going the route of the supercharger and pinning 500 horsepower and torque, GM instead goes for all round balence in a Super Camaro. Instead it has a normally aspirated, more modest 425-430 horses. Still hella-potent.

The components in this instance are designed not for high torque and drag racing, but is also tuned at Nürburgring for handling at the track, but does a stellar job because of less weight. On the street, Shelby GT500s hand you your lunch till both cars are well above 100 (which pretty much translates to every time you race one), but on the track, this Super Camaro can run circles around a GT500 and can run with the current Z06 in tight courses.



1st choice, the physicological 500+ horsepower some people here seem to need for their mental wellbeing, but at the cost of weight. Makes full use of the blown Corvette engine under development.

2nd Choice, having a phenominal all-round performance car that has more balence and emphasizes race course prowess over brute acceleration at the drag strip. Makes full use of the Zeta suspension (especially the IRS) that was engineered for BMW like handling.

 

personally, i'd rather own choice #2.. but i do think choice #1 is necessary.. can't let the stang guys have horsepower bragging rights, despite the GT500 being grotesquely overweight

 

I'd rather have choice 2 but would like to see choice 1. My reasons are...
1) Of course we don't wanna let the Mustang have bragging rights. Easy enough to understand.
2) Going fast in a straight line is fun, moreso when you can beat just about any other car on the road by doing it.
3) Anybody looking for handling can get a Vette. Considering they'd be pretty comparable in price range, you can either get the heavy Camaro or the lighter Vette. Already you can see both choice 1 and 2 in both the heavy Camaro scenario and the current Corvette.

So while I'd rather drive the lighter car, I think it'd be better to see option 1.

 

I would want choice 1....


...but it all honesty I want the Camaro to be better than the Mustang at both handling and drag racing....in a sense I want my cake and I want to eat it too

 

how about a #2 with factory ported and polished heads and an optomized cam and a few small internal (read light) tweaks to the drivetrain for more like 450-475 hp?

 

Why can't I have a 500+ HP road course carver?

I just don't see a supercharger bolted to an LS3 adding 100-lbs. Or am I missing something?

I know that such a Camaro wouldn't weigh 3200-lbs, however none of your answers is the Camaro I desire.

 

What's the weight difference between A & B?

 

Give me something with 450 horses that I can mop up STI's, EVO's, and GT500's around the track with

 

i'd like to see the camaro top of the hp charts but option #2 for me. The 500hp number seems ridiculous in many aspects for a stock car.
I'd rather pay for less weight, tuned suspension, better brakes, etc.

 

Give me the car that handles the best

 

I'm guessing the size of the blower you'll need to feed a high capacity V8, the intercooler, the related piping and/or cooling hoses, as well as some beefing up to reliably take the added power.

The blown SS Cobalt is about 100 pounds heavier than a loaded LS. Thunderbird SCs run about 150-200 pounds over loaded V6 birds. Lightnings are nearly 200 pounds heavier than regular 2WD 5.4 stepsides.

Assuming there's only modest changes to make, I'd guess 150 pounds is probally a good optimistic starting guess as to the weight gain, and that's with a car that already has these heavy duty items already (doubtful since it would be pretty porky coming out the door in base form).

But if we are talking about jumping from 425 to 500+, I'd say with additional upgrades it's going to need, like the GT500, we're probally talking a minimum of 200+ additional pounds.

Remember, according to GM officials, the joke was that they "called Jenny Craig" to get weight off the 5th gen.

Translation: If the car was already weighing in the same ballpark as the last 4th gen (and current Mustang), weight wouldn't be an issue or a new obsession.

Nope..... you don't need me or even a backstage pass to GM's engineering department to figure out that meant the 5th gen Camaro (or at least a version of it) was significantly heavier than the 4th gen..... or even a comparable current Mustang.

So another related question:

How important is that 500 number to you (or even more by the time it finally comes out) if it means the weight of GT500 and the bigger Dodge Challenger starts looking pretty routine?

 

It means that I never want to see another 500 hp car

 

I was a fan of the Camaro during the 80's when it handled better but the Mustang was faster. It sucked. Give me a red #1 please.

That said, I won't track mine, it will be purely a nice weather only daily driver, and I want the coolness factor, sorry. I'm far more likely to nail it on a highway on the way home from work at night than I am of testing the limits of it's adhesion on the exit ramps, so as long as it handles "extremely well" out of the box, as the OP said it would in the first post, I'll take my 500+hp and not have to deal w/ Shelbys harrassing me every friggin time they see me. For some of you young-uns on here, being a Camaro fan in the 80's was like being a Mustang fan in the late 90's/early 00's. You had a nice car, but you KNEW that any 5.0 Mustang could hand it to you. I think some people have forgotten that in the last 15 years, what it feels like for the other guy to be faster. And everyone, the press, your friends, the guy driving one next to you, knows it.

Now that said, I could be perfectly content w/ a mid level V8 car, but who doesn't aspire to the top performer? Same as I would choose a Z06 over a C6, were it not for financial considerations. I'd take the 500+hp monster just because I'd want it, not because I needed it.

 

Don't give a damn what its rated at. Power to weight is more important than raw power for those 'in the know'.

I'll take none of the above - but would gladly trade factory HP for less factory weight.

 

It appears my comments have been a bit persuasive? Even to the guionm