It seems like you should be required to scheduled track time as soon as you buy a new Camaro with the 1LE package on it. This is the only way you can, within the limits of the law, really see what this car can do and with it being offered in two forms, this is a car that you’ll want to head out to the track to see the lap times you can put down. This pair of performance monsters are a far cry from the drab days of the Camaro that was too heavy and lacking performance to play. Now, other brands are trying to keep up with this car.
What we have is a pair of cars that have used a simple formula. Chevrolet has taken the sixth generation Camaro and ripped out all the superfluous weight, improved the suspension, added larger brakes and put it on tires that almost glue it to the track. This is done with either the V6 model that uses the 3.6-liter engine that produces 335 horsepower and 284 lb.-ft. of torque or in the SS model. The SS gives you the massive 6.2-liter V8 with 455 horsepower and 455 lb.-ft. of torque. Both of these engines are attached to a six-speed manual transmission to give you the ride you want to enjoy.
The 1LE name came from an interesting part of the Camaro history. While the Camaro was fighting to catch up with other automakers and seemed to be losing on regular basis, the team tossed in a ton of performance additions to this car during its third generation. These additions included new gears, brakes, fuel system and suspension to put this car in the running with the others in its class. The only caveat to this was the fact that Chevrolet had to sell these parts to people in order to continue to compete. This led to the 1LE that was offered starting in 1989, but only if the right combination of parts were ordered on the SS.
Fast forward to today and we have a car that is amazing and it’s not just on one engine. the V6 1LE is able to make the sprint to sixty mph in only 5.2 seconds which is better than the standard 5.4 while the SS is improved by one tenth of a second to 4.2 seconds. The lateral grip is also a huge improvement. The SS can offer 1.02g of grip while the V6 produces 0.97 g. This is compared to the fifth generation model which was capable of reaching 0.91g.
Overall, these two have the improvements that make the 1LE the right track car for you to enjoy the drive. The expectation is more of us will like the V6 model because of its lighter weight and fewer cylinders it makes for a car that you’ll be more confident driving. The SS is going to be the performance beast, but if you want one for daily driving or at least weekend road trips, the V6 is probably your best bet. Chevrolet got it right with this pair of track hungry monsters.
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