The next gen Chevrolet Camaro drops 200 pounds for better cornering goodness

By Alexander Kalogianni March 30, 2015

2017 chevrolet camaro specs rumors news 2016 camarosix frontsuspension — Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s a new Chevrolet Camaro on the horizon. Naturally, we’re eager to see what improvements the next generation car will bring. The car has been praised as the most nimble of the muscle cars on offer from the American automakers, so It only stand to reason that this is where Chevy will be focusing its upgrade efforts. Challenged to further improve the handling and acceleration, Chevy started by trimming the fat.

In addition to the performance benefit, Chevrolet wanted to score fuel economy and the best way to improve all three is by reducing weight. In comparison to the current model, the sixth-gen Camaro will be 200 pounds lighter.

2016-Chevrolet-CamaroSix-AluminumBeam — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Much of the weight has been shed thanks to a new and more efficient architecture built by GM, in addition to other small weight saving changes.

As one can imagine, swapping steel for aluminum plays a big part in shedding the excess. 9.7 pounds were trimmed off by swapping the materials for the beam that supports the instrument panel as well as using the light metal for the front and rear suspension assemblies. This results in a 21-percent lighter suspension that’s structurally optimized to deliver the performance we’d expect.

Chevrolet seems to be pleased with the end result. “We kept the cornering confidence and control that make the Gen five Camaro 1LE so fun to drive, and added a greater sense of agility,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “The new Camaro brakes harder, flicks into corners more quickly, and drives out of the corner faster. We expect it will set the benchmark in the segment and give many sports cars a challenge.”

We’ll see the new 2016 Camaro first hand when its revealed to the public at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park on May 16th.

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Alexander Kalogianni

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…

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