Camaro flexes its muscle

In the Camaro’s seven year absence, its lover’s hearts must’ve grown fonder with the anticipation preceding its re-introduction, building to a fervour that hasn’t abated yet.

Our test car is a screaming red, testosterone-laden, hairy-chested SS model boasting a 426 horsepower, 6.2 litre powerplant and a husky, basso-profundo exhaust note.

Historically, big and brawny V8 muscle cars existed because of the bread-and-butter V6 models that sold in quantities enough to fund the limited production of high-horsepower, gas-guzzling, completely impractical halo cars (such as the SS models). Yet surprisingly, despite today’s fuel-conservative climate, the V8 Camaro is outselling the lesser-engined V6 models.

Although the reborn Camaro looks nothing like the original or even the later models in its past, it carries forward some of the design cues that project the essence of its iconic ancestor - the long hood and short rear deck and the side “gill” vents all harken back to the pony car’s glory days. But this is a considerably more evolved incarnation than the primitive road-warriors of the ’60s, which boasted admirable straight-line prowess but didn’t really stop, nor turn, very well.

Based on the Pontiac G8 platform, the new Camaro has independent suspension all around, Brembo brakes for hauling back all that horsepower and all the amenities the equally-evolved boomer enthusiast now expects in a mid-life crisis toy.

For a big car, the Camaro is well balanced and surprisingly stiff, displaying very little body roll. That stiffness is a drawback for some –who may find the Camaro’s firmness over bumps a little less than comfortable – a bonus for others. And of course, there are those great big gobs of barking horsepower that propel the SS from 0 to 100 km per hour in 5.2 seconds.

The shifter is notchy but precise, although the Computer Aided Gear Selector (which increases fuel economy by locking-out 2nd and 3rd gears below a certain rpm during slow acceleration) is annoying. Of course, the wily enthusiast aftermarket set has already come up with “Skip Shift Eliminator” kits to bypass the feature.

The Camaro’s chopped and lowered roofline may project all kinds of cool, but it also results in visibility that’s truly abysmal. Parallel parking and backing-up are challenging to say the least and the available audible parking assist is appreciated.

The retro-modern cockpit is a long way from the plastic wood veneer and cracked vinyl of original muscle cars, but otherwise unremarkable. The little quad-pack cluster of gauges (voltmeter, oil pressure, oil temperature, transmission fluid temperature) on the centre console in front of the shifter is a tad silly and almost impossible to see while driving.

Leather-clad bucket seats are cushy and supportive but rear seating is rather cramped. It’s surprisingly quiet inside, with the cockpit well-insulated from wind, road and exhaust noise.

Like the icons of old, the Camaro sports a deep-dished steering wheel that’s rather cool looking, but its design and spoke placement made correct hand position difficult. Eventually, I conceded – using one hand on top of the wheel with elbow resting on the window sill, the way God intended muscle cars to be driven.

Steering itself though, is accurate with a great on-centre feel.

Everywhere we went, my tester turned heads and attracted fans that peered inside its dark cockpit and snapped cell phone pics of its wide, chiselled grille.

The Camaro has flaws that to some would call “character”. It’s a no-compromise car that’s slightly impractical but exudes passion - exactly what a muscle car is all about.