If you’re in the market for a Camaro, you’re in the minority because General Motors has a pretty hard time selling the storied pony car. The Dodge Challenger outsold it last quarter in the U.S., and the same can be said about the Ford Mustang.
Even though it has seen better days from a commercial standpoint, the ‘Maro still is one of the most inspired choices in the segment. Mr. Regular from Regular Car Reviews had the opportunity to drive a brand-new SS 1LE, and in his own words, this fellow “is a monster.”
SS is the name of a V8-engined trim level, and 1LE is how Chevy refers to a performance package that adds a load of track-focused goodies to the pony car. A coupe with the six-speed manual and in this specification will set you back $37,500 plus $7,000 for the go-faster option and $995 for freight.
Although they measure 305/30 by 20 inches, “the rear tires can’t be wide enough for 455 pound-feet of torque” according to Mr. Regular. The summer-only Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar 3 rubber shoes are included in the 1LE package that “makes this Camaro handle like an FR-S but way sharper” than the Japanese sports car.
That’s really high praise when you think about it, yet “unlike an FR-S, the forgiveness is way less.” The SS 1LE is a hairy machine on the raggedy edge of grip, but then again, what did you expect from a heavier and torquier sports car than the FR-S?
Emphasis on sports car, not pony car. Regular Car Reviews believes that “its competition isn’t the Mustang anymore. It’s the BMW M3 or M4. That’s how Chevy would like for it to be anyway.” The host does have a point, but still, the SS 1LE isn’t a viable alternative in the eyes of a BMW M customer.
Mr. Regular actually refers to the SS 1LE as “a Corvette for people who hate that the Corvette is now mid-engined.” From this point of view, categorizing the Camaro as a sports car doesn’t sound as ridiculous as it did before.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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