A New Look at the Possible 2016 Chevrolet Camaro Engines, Power Figures

Since before we knew anything about the 2015 Ford Mustang or the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, the introduction of the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray with the new LT1 V8 offered a hint as to what might power the next generation Camaro. The Camaro has traditionally been powered by the same engine as the Corvette, traditionally a model year or two after the engine in question debuts in the Corvette so in this case I fully expect to see the LT1 V8 from the Corvette Stingray to power the 2016 Camaro SS.

It is common sense that the 2016 Camaro will also have a base model V6 for the LS and LT models along with a supercharged V8 that will power the future Camaro ZL1 or some other ultra high performance model. There is also the possibility of a 4-cylinder turbocharged model, but I have my doubts that we will see a turbo-4 right away.

We know what we can expect the engine lineup for the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro to look like, but what about power figures? Today, TorqueNews takes a look at what we could see from the 6th gen Camaro.

The Base V6
The current Chevrolet Camaro in both LS and LT trimlines is powered by a 3.6L V6 that is used pretty much across the entire GM vehicle lineup. If a Chevy, Cadillac, Buick or GMC brand has a V6 – it is some variation of the 3.6L mill that offers owners of the 2014 Camaro 323 horsepower and 278lb-ft of torque. That is a fair amount more horsepower and a similar torque output to the 2015 Mustang base V6 that offers 300hp and 280lb-ft of torque. That is also 13 more horsepower than the new Mustang EcoBoost, although the turbocharged 4-cylinder Mustang packs 22lb-ft more torque than the current Camaro V6.

Based on those numbers, I wouldn’t expect to see a big power increase for the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro LS or LT – unless GM opts to beef up the V6 to fight the EcoBoost. It seems unlikely that GM could tune the 3.6L V6 enough to squeeze out more torque than what you get from the turbo Mustang, but a touch more horsepower and a bit more torque could make a big difference.

I am expecting figures of 335 horsepower and 290lb-ft of torque for the base V6 in the 2016 Camaro.

The Camaro SS
I expect very much that the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS will be powered by the same LT1 that is offered in the Corvette Stingray. For 2016, I believe that the Camaro will offer a touch less than the 455 horsepower and 460lb-ft of torque that is featured by the Stingray – something like 450 horsepower and 450lb-ft of torque. This will allow the Camaro SS bragging rights over the Mustang GT, while still leaving a small gap between itself and the Corvette. Of course, there have been rumors that the Stingray will get a jump in power for 2016 to something in the area of 475hp, which would allow GM to give the Camaro SS 460 horsepower without any concern of the Camaro posing too much of a challenge to the Corvette.

Should GM get the Camaro SS up to 460-470 horsepower, it would not only have a significantly higher power level than the 2015 Ford Mustang GT, but it would also come very close to the new 2015 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack with 485hp.

The Super Camaro
While it is hard to say if it will still be called the ZL1, I expect to see a new super Camaro for the 6th generation...although it might not arrive for the 2016 model year. Much like Ford holding off on introducing the new Shelby Mustang, GM might keep the next Camaro ZL1 in their pocket until the interest in the 6th generation Camaro SS has faded a bit. In any case, I expect that the 2016/2017 Camaro ZL1 will pack the same LT4 that will motivate the 2015 Corvette Z06. This engine will deliver 650 horsepower and 650lb-ft of torque under the hood of the Z06 so even if GM detunes the LT4 a bit, it will still be a great deal more powerful than the current ZL1 with 580hp and 556lb-ft of torque. GM could load the ZL1 with something like 625 horsepower and 635lb-ft of torque and it would be much stronger than the current models. It would still be less powerful than the Hellcat Challenger, but I expect that GM will not go after the Hellcat with the Camaro until they have increased the power of the Z06 to more than 700hp.

The 4-Cylinder Question
The 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost is powered by a 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder that will offer 310 horsepower, 320lb-ft of torque and likely the best fuel economy by a muscle car ever. Some insist that since Ford is introducing a turbocharged 4-cylinder Mustang, General Motors will roll out a Camaro with a similar turbocharged engine. However, GM officials have stated that there would not be a 4-cylinder Camaro in the near future – and I’m inclined to buy the comments of the folks calling the shot before I buy the rumors.

Rumors also suggest that the next generation 2016 Chevrolet Camaro will be introduced at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit…but that isn’t official so it could debut before that in LA – or after the Detroit show in either Chicago or New York.