Leno Camaro

For as long as muscle cars have existed the powerful V8s hiding under the hoods have made a name all for themselves in terms of overall horsepower and torque...and poor gas mileage. This holds true for the new Chevrolet Camaro SS, with its 426bhp engine producing nearly 400 torque. The SS, being the most powerful trim level for the new Camaro, averages about 19 mpg which isn't all that bad considering all that power. But in contrast to the SS model, the LS and LT model, which are powered by V6s, average an astonishing 23 mpg! Even if you decide to be a bit more mindful of the economy and purchase a V6 powered Camaro you wont be disappointed with the overall performance considering both the LS and LT models have 304bhp and 273 pounds of torque. Now I'm certainly not saying that driving the V6 is more of a thrill than the eight cylinder, however, the overall handling of the V6 dominates that of the V8. The two extra cylinders found in the eight add significantly more weight to the front of the care which causes a few handling issues; in fact the V6 out performs the V8 in many handling tests (Edmunds). So the real question is do you prefer overall power or overall handling; or what if you could have both?...

GM has teamed up with the late night legend and major car enthusiast himself, Jay Leno, to build a Camaro that will surely break the muscle car mold. What has been name the "Leno Camaro" was first seen at the SEMA auto show this past year and got a whole lot of buzz. Now of course from the exterior the Leno Camaro has all the hood intakes, over sized air-dams, and shiny wheels you would expect to see on a concept but its one particular modification that had people really wondering whats going on under the hood. The front fascia is nearly twice the size of the one found on the standard Camaro, and for good reason. The V6, yes I said V6 and not V8, found under the hood has been gracefully modified to run with two Turbonetics T-3 turbochargers. The twin-turbo V6 puts out 425bhp (torque figures not mentioned) which is only one shy of the monstrous V8 found in the SS. The kicker is that you are getting all the same V8 power with the gas mileage of a six cylinder!


Unfortunately the Leno Camaro will most likely never see production because it will share the same power as the SS but have a higher price tag. However, GM has made a move in the right direction given the oil "crisis" and looming economy which will inevitably push gas prices up come summertime. I have to say that a true muscle car should have a huge gas-guzzling V8 under the hood but, speaking realistically, that is going to be out of the question in a few more years. People, no matter how much they love hearing the roar of a V8 when shredding the tires off in a burnout, will come around and realize that it is truly impractical and uneconomical to own Detroit muscle. Thanks to GM, we now have a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of muscle car survival!