Finally we announce the arrival of and drive the Camaro convertible! I recently had the opportunity to drive the muscle car on the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, driving both engines: the 3.6 L V6 powered with 312hp and the 6.2 L V8 powered with 426hp. Here is the catch from our drive of this beast, keeping in mind that the Camaro has beaten the Mustang in its sales for the first time since 1985.
The Iconic Car
I slid behind the wheel of the Camaro convertible V6 first, which is extremely similar to the Camaro coupe. I admit that the V6 is much better than the V8 because the V8 always spins its wheels when dragging. The V8 is really quiet but when you kick the throttle the motor exhales its true muscle-car vibes. On twisty turns on the circuit it felt like the car bumped a lot, meaning Chevrolet may have compromised its perfect handling versus its soft suspension. And believe it or not, when the top is up the interior is not disturbed with wind flutter and feels as composed as the coupe.
Specifications
To get the Camaro convertible to look right was a substantial task given the car’s unconventional design. In my opinion, it looks better than the coupe. The coupe’s roof is pulled in stiff over the big, flat rear fenders; the convertible’s roof meets the design of the car more naturally and better fills the whole space on the rear thump. As mentioned in previous issues, I had a small concern regarding the Camaro coupe that the visibility is poor, and even more so on the convertible. With the top down, the visibility improves, but I would have preferred a rear camera, though it is not offered yet. Luckily that the side mirrors are bigger enough to compensate the sightline.
A big downfall is that it takes a lot of time to open and close the roof. The mechanism is unbearably slow, taking 20 seconds to open or close, and when you’re trying to drop the top during a red traffic light, waiting for it would feel more like 20 minutes. There is a soft plastic cover to cover the roof when it is down, but it’s not practical to install and to fold up. It looks great with the soft plastic in place but it would have been preferable to have a built-in tonneau cover engineered into a faster mechanism. A wind deflector would also be welcome because despite the low seating position, the Camaro suffers from reasonable amounts of turbulence especially when driving at 120kph and more on the circuit.
The Camaro has a firm, almost weighty road feel and stays flat in the corners despite the extra weight. At higher speeds on the circuit, with the top down, the car felt well grounded and when needed, the brakes did an excellent job.
The Chevrolet Camaro convertible had a troubled birth with the problems GM went through during its inception. The project was canceled and restarted, and as a consequence we were not surprised to see that despite the delays, some issues were to be seen. However, as with the coupe, many of the initial issues were dealt with pretty quickly, so we expect the next year’s crop of Camaro convertibles to be even better. But for now, if you want to have your hair in the wind with a great V8 soundtrack (or a more economical V6), shock and awe styling - and the Ford Mustang convertible isn’t your car - then look no further, as the Camaro has everything to suit your requirements, and then some…
The Iconic Car
I slid behind the wheel of the Camaro convertible V6 first, which is extremely similar to the Camaro coupe. I admit that the V6 is much better than the V8 because the V8 always spins its wheels when dragging. The V8 is really quiet but when you kick the throttle the motor exhales its true muscle-car vibes. On twisty turns on the circuit it felt like the car bumped a lot, meaning Chevrolet may have compromised its perfect handling versus its soft suspension. And believe it or not, when the top is up the interior is not disturbed with wind flutter and feels as composed as the coupe.
SpecificationsTo get the Camaro convertible to look right was a substantial task given the car’s unconventional design. In my opinion, it looks better than the coupe. The coupe’s roof is pulled in stiff over the big, flat rear fenders; the convertible’s roof meets the design of the car more naturally and better fills the whole space on the rear thump. As mentioned in previous issues, I had a small concern regarding the Camaro coupe that the visibility is poor, and even more so on the convertible. With the top down, the visibility improves, but I would have preferred a rear camera, though it is not offered yet. Luckily that the side mirrors are bigger enough to compensate the sightline.
A big downfall is that it takes a lot of time to open and close the roof. The mechanism is unbearably slow, taking 20 seconds to open or close, and when you’re trying to drop the top during a red traffic light, waiting for it would feel more like 20 minutes. There is a soft plastic cover to cover the roof when it is down, but it’s not practical to install and to fold up. It looks great with the soft plastic in place but it would have been preferable to have a built-in tonneau cover engineered into a faster mechanism. A wind deflector would also be welcome because despite the low seating position, the Camaro suffers from reasonable amounts of turbulence especially when driving at 120kph and more on the circuit.The Camaro has a firm, almost weighty road feel and stays flat in the corners despite the extra weight. At higher speeds on the circuit, with the top down, the car felt well grounded and when needed, the brakes did an excellent job.
Verdict
The Chevrolet Camaro convertible had a troubled birth with the problems GM went through during its inception. The project was canceled and restarted, and as a consequence we were not surprised to see that despite the delays, some issues were to be seen. However, as with the coupe, many of the initial issues were dealt with pretty quickly, so we expect the next year’s crop of Camaro convertibles to be even better. But for now, if you want to have your hair in the wind with a great V8 soundtrack (or a more economical V6), shock and awe styling - and the Ford Mustang convertible isn’t your car - then look no further, as the Camaro has everything to suit your requirements, and then some…
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