C000700001H
Uploaded by
aaves21C000700001H
Uploaded by
aaves21Friday, February 4, 2011
test drive
theprovince.com
driving | C7
the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro convertibles rather bland interior is more than compensated for by the styling on the outside
Camaro with stiffened resolve
ragtop: No twisting or shaking; this boulevard cruisers bolstered structure sees to that
By DaviD Booth
Postmedia News
submitted photo
saN diego, Calif. Theres no great mystery to evaluating a convertible, at least not a convertible with a sedan or coupe sibling. Other than niggling details such as how well the droptop roof seals and how well the outside world rain, snow, noise, etc. is isolated by the removable top, youre basically searching for what performance compromises have been made in order to satiate the quest for al fresco motoring. Said compromises used to and still often do come in the form of reduced body control. Lopping off the roof of a perfectly good automobile is much like cracking the top off a soft-boiled egg. What was once an incredibly rigid structure is now but pardon the bad pun a shell of its former shelf. Similarly, an automobiles chas-
sis now sans toit becomes a far more flimsy framework, the loss of the roof allowing the body to twist and shake like Jerry Lee Lewis in full Great Balls of Fire form. Manufacturers construct all manner of reinforcements to compensate. There are strengthening beams below the chassis, suspension tower struts atop and all manner of thicker steel throughout the body to try and compensate for Humpty Dumptys more fragile state. Despite the extra metal, however, its almost impossible for a convertible to match its coupe siblings stiffness (usually referred to as torsional rigidity). Rarer still are the convertibles that try to do so with the same stiff suspension as their more rigid siblings. No wonder then that Chevrolet is making much of the fact that the suspension of its newly decapitated Camaro is exactly the same as the hardtop version. To compensate for the reduced
structure of an open car, engineers often will make the suspension softer, making the convertible a boulevard cruiser, says Al Oppenheiser, the Camaros chief engineer. Instead, we took the more difficult but better path of bolstering the structure rather than softening the suspension. We didnt change a strut, bushing or spring rate from the Camaro coupe. Indeed, these are fairly straightforward changes, yet, according to Chevys engineers, the Camaros chassis is stiffer than the comparable Mustang and equal to that of the much-vaunted BMW 328 Cabriolet. General Motors bean counters contend the V6-powered Convertible is less about performance and more about style. But the V6 model deserves better, if for no other reason than the fact the V6 is plenty sporty. Its 312 horsepower would have been the equal of the V8-pow-
ered Mustang GT a few years ago and, more importantly than just the numbers (it also pumps out 278 pound-feet of torque and accelerates the 1,808-kilogram LS to 100 kilometres an hour in just 6.2 seconds, only 0.2 of a second behind the hardtop) is that it feels sporty. Indeed, I am going to commit a sacrilege here and say that the 3.6-litre actually sounds better than its mega-horsepower V8 alternative. The V8, of course, is sportier. With 426 hp on tap (400 in the L99 automatic version), the LS3 V8-powered SS has enough moxie to warrant the Camaro nameplate. Traditionalists need not fret that GM has watered down the Camaro as even the heavier convertible version of the SS blasts to 100 kilometres an hour in five seconds. I would, however, recommend sticking with the manual-equipped SS. Not only does it boast 26 more hp and a noticeably more evocative
exhaust note, but the V8s six-speed autobox is not nearly as sophisticated as the V6s automatic. The last part of the equation, for any convertible, is styling. Here, the Camaro impresses. Unlike the interior, which is somewhat bland, the Camaros exterior is always striking whether in hardtop or convertible format. With its roof up, the Convertible looks every bit as menacing as the hardtop that wows in the Transformer movies. Top down, its a little more feminine, probably a good thing since females are a large part of the prospective audience. Said droptop roof may be stylish, but it is not as convenient as it could be. Yes, its electrically powered, but it still needs manual removal of the tonneau cover and manual connection to the windshields header. The Camaro ragtop will go on sale next month and will start at $33,995.