But he brings up a good point, that V-6 is their top of the line powerplant for many of the cars it will go into. A 250'ish hp v-6 I still think is very adequate. Remeber, the v-6 pony car buyer is buying on looks (and possibly a short pocketbook). If they wanted a screamer, they would buy a v-8.

Mustang's are runaway hits with the 200 hp v-6. I think the 3.9 (or whatever mid 200 hp v-6 they have) will be more than adequate, and still give the Camaro a competitive advantage over the Dearborn pony.

 

You wanna know the truth? I agree.

And I want a 5.3 as well. But I guess the question is, does it make sense? Because a 310 or 320 hp V8 is going to seem lame when, Japanese V6's are blowing it's doors off. So what should the 5.3's power level be then? 350? And if it's 350, is that too close to the next level 400? And so the debate goes....

 

Isn't GM moving towards a 6.2L iron block for their top truck motor soon? If so, I can see at least two levels of performance for a 6.2L aluminum block in the Camaro.

I have a had time calling 378cid a midlevel motor though.

 

You know, a 300+ hp V6 in a approx 3600lbs package would be a very well balanced and sporty machine. Maybe even a sleeper in certain events. Remember the 3800 powered 4th gens were priased in more than a few magazines for having a more neutral, balanced feell than the V8 cars.

Plus, would a V6 carry an insurance penalty. It's been stated here before it not only horsepower that determines the insurance rating. A V6 or any power will probably carry less a premium than a V8. And hey, if we're stomping the Mustang's V6 around at the same time...more power to us.

 

I had a conversation in Detroit at the unveiling of the Camaro with one of the lead engineers and he verified with me that the new Camaro will be based on the old premise of ordering what you want as an option rather than option clusters or groups as had been the practise recently. According to the public, they don't want that and they (GM) has listened. Conceiveably, I could order a bare bones Camaro with a std. transmission and an LS3 performance engine. So, yes the base Camaro will be a v6 in all likely hood and you go up from there. Is the top high performance drive train going to be cheap? Probably not, but then again neither was the 69 ZL1. Will you be able to get a Kick *** mid range high performance drive train? Yes, yes you will be able to. I am sure that just like in the first gens, there will be all kinds of combinations of powertrains to suite everybody. After all, isn't that what the original concept of the muscle car era was, light weight bare bones car with a thundering powertrain. We are working on all sorts of engines with different hp and torque specs. You will not be disappoited! As a famous man once said, "Keep the Faith"

 

Well, maybe the top end japanese v-6's (and not sure about "blowing doors off") will be able to outperform a v-6 Camaro. But it is my guess that the same person shopping a low-mid 20's Camaro is not shopping a 30k+ Nissan, Toyota or Mistubishi; let alone shopping a Sedan (which is where most of the screaming v-6's are slated, 350z notwithstanding)!

I think a mid range v-8 in the 325-340 hp area (very doable using the 5.3 architecture) is absolutely essential. So if you have a ~250 hp v-6, a ~330 hp mid level v-8, a ls-3 and then a 500+hp high dollar car, you have all bases covered. This formula has worked well in the past for the f-body, and most recently worked well for the sn95 mustang (v-6, gt, bullitt or mach 1 and cobra.

 

Since the argument for the base V8 was that the people who just wanted a V8 would be covered, then it won't be too much of a tragedy if that car is outrun by some other vehicles.

 

As stated before, the V6 in those cars is their TOP OF THE LINE engine, not the BASE engine in a vehicle. It doesnt matter one bit of a 30k+ Import V6 can outrun a low 20's Camaro with the BASE V6. And then if we have a base V8 with 330hp, the same hp as the imports, the Camaro will still be cheaper, look better, and win in the 1/4 mile. Why? Cuz of a V8's TORQUE

If GM wants to sell ALOT of Camaro's, they need a base V8 around 340hp give or take a few hp. The V6 should be around 260-275hp max. The V6 cars job is not to take on all competition and beat them. Thats the Z28's job

 

Where's the Mustang's V6 going to in the next few years?

 

Rumors are a 3.5L Duratec. HP of around 250, maybe more.

 

As I've stated before, the V6 vs. V8 insurance premium is a myth. When comparing the cost of insuring a 17 year-old male on similar year Mustangs (95-96), the V6 was double the cost of a V8 GT. Actually rates are based on history of that particular model. As this will be a new car, there may not be significant differences initially, and premiums will probably be based on purchase price.

 

as ive said before give me the bigger motor!

6.2 would be easier to tune for 87 and more hp for my buck when i start doing mods

i dont know about you guys, but i want a fast *** car. i will be modding my camaro after i buy it, and if i cant make it faster than my current ride, i see no point in getting it.

and no im not going to spend 40k to get one that will.

 

Who wants a modestly powered v8 coupe? Mid level V8s dilute the brand. No one wants a V8 unless it's fast. So if they do a "mid level" V8, it had better be faster than whatever the standard Mustang GT V8 is and be able to smoke most top of the line imports as well (WRX STis, Evos, etc..) If you do a "mid level V8" like the weak 3rd gen 305s, you're going to have a problem.

IMHO, i loved the 3rd gen, but one reason the mustang of that era was thought to be a better performance car is the 3rd gen's many different wussified "mid level" V8s. You could get a TBI 305, or even a TPI 305, and claim to have a "V8 Camaro" - but get smacked around by a 5.0 Stang. Now, the real V8 3rd Gen, the L98, could beat the Stang, but there was so much confusion because the slug like mid level V8s vastly outnumbered the L98 cars. Hence the perception that Mustang faster than Camaro. Because if you had an 86+ V8 Mustang, they were all "the fast one".

 

That's great for the hard core enthusiast but what about the casual cruiser that just wants the V8 rumble? Having a lower cost option certainly opens a few more doors.

 

Thats quite a ridiculous statement. The 305 3rd gens were awesome cars for one main reason....they SOLD ALOT of them. Thats the name of the game, selling cars. I mean, they could always offer only one engine, the LS9, and be done with it. But then youd have the car around for a couple years then gone again, prolly forever. If you want a Camaro around for a long time, it needs to be a profitable car, which means selling lots and lots of them, which in turn means offering a mid level V8 because there are LOTS of people out there that only want a V8 to have a V8, not cuz they want the fastest thing out there.