Is the Chevrolet Camaro More of a Corvette Than the Corvette?

If you’re looking for a new V8-powered, rear-wheel drive sports car with a manual transmission, Chevy only has one option. Camaro. And it’s about to go away.

Are you one of those folks that feel that the new C8 is not a ‘real’ Corvette? Yes, the performance of the C8 can’t be questioned. But many enthusiasts have lamented the lost manual transmission. And the missing front-engine V8. On top of that, the C8 Corvette pricing, especially in Z06 and E-Ray trim, has been going upmarket, making it less attainable than previous generations. All of which combine to move the current Corvette away from its roots. But Chevy does still make a Corvette that sticks to the original formula. Only they call it the Camaro.

Now, before I get too much flack, I know the Camaro is not a Corvette. Prince never wrote a song about a little red Camaro. The Corvette is THE American sportscar. I am not disputing that.

But hear me out. If you want a brand-new Chevy with a powerful V8, rear-wheel drive, and manual transmission, you need to buy a Camaro. The C7 was the last Corvette that could offer you this configuration and that has been out of production for nearly four years. Which leaves the Camaro as the last holdout of the old-school Corvette formula. At least until January 2024 when Chevy kills the sixth-generation Camaro.

Camaro Performance

The Camaro SS packs a 6.2L V8 making a healthy 455 horsepower. (It’s the same LT1 from the C7 Stingray.) The Camaro SS will get you to 60 mph in 4 seconds flat when hooked up to the 6-speed manual. If you want the 10-speed auto, it will do the deed a couple ticks quicker. The Camaro will top out at about 165 mph. If we all put our egos aside for a moment, that is plenty of performance for the street. If you need more, you can step up to the bonkers Camaro ZL1.

It packs 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. The horsepower number is down just 20 compared to the C8 Z06 but the ZL1 makes a whopping 190 more foot-pounds of torque. And even in ZL1 trim you can still get a manual transmission. The ZL1 will get you to 60 in the low 3-second range and top out at 190 mph.

It is also no slouch around the track. At the Road and Track ‘Lightning Lap’ competition, the automatic version of the ZL1 put down a 2:45.0 lap time (the manual did a 2:45.7). That is just four-tenths of a second slower than the C7 Z06. The ZL1 was also faster than a Ferrari 488 and a 2017 Ford GT. Yes, the C8 Z06 is faster still, but the ZL1 is 4 seconds faster than a C8 Stingray Z51. You can’t call the ZL1 slow.

Price

A new Camaro with the V8 engine starts at less than $38,000. Even a ZL1 with the 1LE Extreme Track Performance Package comes in at under $80K. Yes, the interior is not that great, but that is a hell of a lot of performance for the money. Sound familiar? That used to be exactly what people said about the Corvette. But nowadays people are spending nearly a quarter of a million dollars for a new Corvette Z06. Amazing performance for sure, but the bargain train has left the station. And for as amazing as the new Z06 is, the flat-plane crank engine does not sound like a traditional Corvette. The LT1 V8 in the Camaro was shared with the C7 Corvette. It is as close to a traditional Corvette today as you can get. For a fraction of the price. That goes for maintenance costs as much as the purchase price.

And we know there is a market for folks who miss the traditional Corvette layout. Look at C7 values. They have remained strong. Yes, all car prices are inflated, but many people view the C7 as the last real Corvette generation. There will always be a market for those cars.

C7 Comparison

No one will argue that the C7 isn’t a real Corvette. So, let’s look at some of the C7 specs and compare them to the Camaro SS. Corvette: 455 horsepower, 0 to 60 mph 3.9 seconds, 12.2 seconds in quarter mile, 177 inches long, 3,444 pounds. Camaro: 455 horsepower, 0 to 60 mph 3.9 seconds, 12.2 seconds in quarter mile, 188 inches long, 3,788 pounds. The Camaro is a bigger and heavier car. But the performance stats are bang on with the C7. At least in a straight line. On a road course, the Corvette will be quicker, but not by large margins. The Camaro will keep it close.

Buy a Camaro

If you are not ready to give up your manual transmission or V8 engine sitting up front, and you want the performance on par with a Corvette, then buy yourself a new Camaro. It is a hoot to drive, as quick as it needs to be and a massive savings over a C8. And looking longer term with these being the end of the line Camaros, they will likely hold their value quite well over time. Sure, the Camaro might not be a Corvette. But at the same time, it might be more of a Corvette than an actual Corvette.