Refreshed 2019 Chevrolet Camaro revealed in the US
Chevrolet's muscle car squares up to the recently updated Ford Mustang and ever-popular Dodge Challenger
Chevrolet’s sixth-generation Camaro has just undergone a major mid-life update in the US, where it will have to do battle with the also recently upgraded Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger. Available in the UK in left-hand-drive form only, the Camaro is still a very rare sight on local roads. This will likely continue, too, as Chevrolet has no plans to manufacture the current model in right-hand drive, for the current generation at least.
The biggest change to the new model is its reformed styling, treading further away from its retro-pastiche past and adopting new, more complex elements. V8-powered SS models pick up the most dramatic styling changes, including the new flow-tie badge, which swaps the traditional gold finish of the bow tie for an open black badge sat in the middle of the front bumper.
> Read our review of the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 on UK roads here
New LED head and tail lights also feature – the former with extended daytime running sections that bleed into the grille area. New alloy wheel designs and a new bonnet complete the exterior changes. Inside, all models benefit from Chevrolet’s latest infotainment system, as well as new colour and trim options.
Under the skin the Camaro is largely unchanged, although SS models, which pack the 6.2-litre LT1 pushrod V8 engine under the new bonnet, are now able to be ordered with the ten-speed automatic gearbox that Chevrolet has co-developed with Ford. As before, turbocharged four-cylinder and V6 models are also available, whilst the madhouse 641bhp Camaro ZL1 remains unchanged.
First revealed in 2016, the then-new Camaro may have looked similar to its predecessor, but under the skin the Camaro was based on GM’s latest ‘Alpha’ platform, a compact premium rear-driven platform that was the foundation of the next generation of Cadillac models for the US. This change wiped hundreds of kilograms off the Camaro’s kerb weight model for model, earning it high praise as the most adept muscle car to drive.
> Click here for our review of the Ford Mustang GT
This new model aims to further this, by spreading the availability of the '1LE' handling package across the turbocharged four-cylinder models. The '1LE' package consists of stiffer, higher-specification springs, dampers and stabiliser bars across the suspension mounting points. Larger Brembo brakes, slight changes to engine mapping and driver modes, and sportier interior trim, also mark out cars fitted with this option.
The current Camaro SS costs a tad under £40k in the UK, so represents considerable value. The issue here, though, is the left-hand-drive-only availability, not to mention its limited dealer network.
