The News for May 22nd, 2015

2016 Chevrolet Camaro
Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of some of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. I just throw in a little opinion of mine because I can. This week:

  • 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, coming to a Transformers movie near you

  • BMW revives the ZHP with the 435i

  • Zagato celebrates a monstrous Maserati with a custom beauty

  • Lotus prices the Evora 400

  • MMD and Foose show off 810 hp Mustang

  • What’s your automotive news?

2016 Chevrolet Camaro

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A day after last week’s news recap went live, Chevrolet officially debuted the all-new 2016 Camaro to a crowd of enthusiasts in Detroit. As the bowtie’s legendary sports coupe enters its sixth generation, it becomes lighter, more powerful, and more advanced – like pretty much everything else. The improvements in substance are quite dramatic while the updates to the styling are a bit less so.
Starting with the design first, the new shape is largely formed from 350 hours of wind tunnel testing that was intended to reduce drag on base models and improve downforce on the models that needed it. Designers gave the car some more sculpted surfaces and “tightened” its architecture to make the car look wider and lower than before. It also features “modern lighting signatures”, which means they’ve added a bunch of LED accent lighting so they can make it look like an Autobot.
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The interior improves greatly in both material and in its driver-focused design. The center console is focused around the shifter like it’s the almighty summoner of revs and there’s also a flat-bottomed steering wheel. But more importantly, they’ve greatly improved visibility!!!….. Ha. Sorry. If they did anything to make the interior less of a bunker, they didn’t talk about it. They did add a new ambient lighting system with 24 different lighting effects though…
But most importantly, the new Camaro has some real substance underneath its skin. Or less, actually. Total curb weight has been reduced by more than 200 pounds thanks to extensive use of aluminum wherever possible. There’s definitely more power on tap with the three new engine options available. The new standard engine in the Camaro is a 2.0-liter turbo four with 275 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque, all while being the most efficient Camaro ever. A new 3.6-liter V6 is available with 335 hp and 284 lb.-ft., but what people really care about is the 6.2-liter LT1 V8 that’s available in the SS. That LT1 produces 455 hp and 455 lb.-ft., which means this is the most powerful SS ever made. Each engine is available with a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic.
The all-new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro offers an all-new, fourth-generation 3.6L V-6 rated at an estimated 330 hp. It incorporates fuel-saving cylinder deactivation technology, along with direct injection, to balance performance with efficiency.
The car’s chassis is equally impressive with a multi-link MacPherson strut front suspension and a new five-link independent suspension at the back. Magnetic Ride Control is now available on the SS and each model is available with Brembo brakes. Steering is electric-assisted but features a quicker ratio for sharper response. The new Camaro also debuts a new drive mode selector, which can adjust multiple settings for everything from snowy conditions to a track day, but you might need to sign an end user licensing agreement to use it…
But with everything working together, the 2016 Camaro SS can out perform the track-focused 1LE Camaro from the now last generation. It brakes harder, dives into corners more quickly, and accelerates faster. For a Camaro, that sounds pretty nice.
The new Bumblebee will debut in a Transformers movie near you by the end of the year.
[Source: Chevrolet]

BMW 435i ZHP

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In a move which seems to suggest that BMW still cares about its enthusiast following, BMW has revived the ZHP to pay tribute to the beloved performance package first seen on the E46. The ZHP option was available on the 330i sedan and it essentially made it an E46 M3 without the S54 engine. The new 435i ZHP Coupe Edition follows that same formula of being an M4 minus the … whatever the name of the M4’s engine is.
To make the 435i worthy of the ZHP nameplate, BMW have only thrown what ever is necessary for it to go faster and look the part. The car starts life as an ordinary 435i with the M Sport Package but then gets a new Track Handling Package, M Performance Limited Slip Differential, and other M Performance parts which add power.
So in English, the 435i ZHP includes all of the following performance goodness: light-ish eighteen-inch grey V-spoke wheels, M Sport brakes with 4-piston calipers, Adaptive M Suspension, Variable Sport Steering (still electric), a limited-slip differential, an M Performance Engine Kit which adds 35 hp and up to 32 lb.-ft. through a software tune, sport exhaust, and a special aero and carbon accent kit. The final power output is 335 hp and 317 lb.-ft (manual) or 332 lb.-ft. (automatic).
The car can be ordered with a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic and buyers have just as many choices for the paint; only Alpine White and Black Sapphire Metallic are offered. Sadly, there will only be 100 of these cars made. But really though, anyone determined enough could build this exact car (more or less) from the BMW M Performance catalog and the many aftermarket brands.
[Source: BMW]

Zagato’s Maserati Mostro

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Maserati has a storied past with Zagato, an Italian coachbuilder responsible for scores of beautiful one-off and limited run creations. Zagato has partnered with the likes of Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar, and Lancia since they opened their doors in 1919. At the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este this summer, Zagato will be paying a special tribute to Maserati with a new coachbuilt car called the Mostro.
This custom machine pays tribute in particular to the 1957 Maserati 450 S Coupe Zagato which earned the name “Mostro”, Italian for monster, in reference to its engine. The original Mostro was one of the most powerful cars of its day but it was still sanctioned for road use. In that same spirit, the new Mostro is like a race car for the street featuring advanced carbon monocell and tube frame construction (something one of our readers might know something about… ) with an all hand-crafted carbon fiber body.
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The new monstrous engine is a front-mounted Maserati-sourced 4.6-liter V8 which sends about 450 horsepower to the rear wheels through a six-speed semi-automatic transaxle. The front and rear suspension has a double wishbone architecture with a pushrod, spring/shock absorber system. Large disc brakes and sticky tires top it all off.
Zagato were relatively tame with this design, if you can believe it. The shape you see here is “an iconic form” rather than a recreation of the original Mostro. The shape is sleek and quite beautiful but it’s also aerodynamic and functional, as it is a track car ready for street use.
Only five of these will ever be built and each one is spoken for. They’ll all be built by the end of this year, Maserati’s centennial.
[Source: Autoblog]

Lotus Evora 400 priced

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This week, Lotus was “delighted” to announce pricing for the new Evora 400, their latest track weapon and the fastest to ever come from the Lotus factory.
UK prices will start at £72,000 and American pricing starts at $89,900. For all of that, buyers get an Evora packed with a 3.5-liter supercharged and charge cooled V6 producing 400 horsepower and 302 lb.-ft. of torque. With a top speed of 186 mph and a 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds, this is the fastest road-going Lotus ever offered. New for this model is an all aluminum chassis, a more luxurious interior, and revised styling front and rear.
European buyers will get theirs shipped to them starting this August, while American buyers will get theirs in December as a 2016 model.
[Source: Lotus]

MMD by Foose 2015 Mustang

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Modern Muscle Design (MMD) and Chip Foose unveiled a one-off 2015 Mustang GT this week that sets the bar for how a one-off Mustang should be done. Two leaders in aftermarket muscle car styling not only made the car look great but they also threw on some power to go with it – enough of it to make a Mustang with 810 horsepower at the crank.
Power comes from the factory 5.0-liter V8 but with some added awesomeness from a specially-tuned Bama Performance 2.9-liter twin-scroll Whipple supercharger. By the time that power makes it through the transmission, a custom carbon driveshaft, and upgraded axles from The Driveshaft Shop, there’s still 650 horsepower to play with. That’s sent to the pavement through Foose’s custom 20″ wheels wrapped in Pirelli tires and controlled with a Vogtland sport suspension. The sounds will be just as badass as the car is itself thanks to Magnaflow Competition Cat-back exhaust, and don’t forget about that supercharger whine…
As for the styling, this Mustang features eight new MMD by Foose products that will soon be available as standalone parts ready for order later this year. Those products include a chin spoiler, hood scoop, rocker panels, side scoops, quarter window louvers, rear spoiler, and more. All of the styling Foose graced this Mustang with were meant to enhance factory styling while keeping a classic Mustang look, as if it was a factory-offered package. Nothing was meant to really look like an aftermarket part, which is something Foose has gotten pretty good at.
If you don’t like waiting for new parts to hit the catalogs, there’s another way you can get a car like this (or exactly this) a little sooner… but more on that later.
[Source: Modern Muscle Design, Foose]

What’s your automotive news?

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That’s all I’ve got, so now it’s your turn. If you saw, drove, bought, broke, or otherwise did anything that you want to share with your fellow hoon, sound off in the comments below.

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  1. Mr Smee Avatar
    Mr Smee

    Wow. that Camaro is looking way better than I thought. No longer a grotesque parody, starting to get some genuine flow and character.

    1. Krautwursten Avatar
      Krautwursten

      I don’t know, it looks like they threw the old Camaro in the washing machine to get the age off and forgot to iron it afterwards.

  2. P161911 Avatar
    P161911

    Apparently the next Transformers movie won’t come out until 2016. Maybe I need to watch the 2 or 3 I missed to catch up. Nah.

    1. tonyola Avatar
      tonyola

      Yeah, really. Unless you have a very short attention span and enjoy action shot jump cuts every two seconds, you can pass these by without missing anything. Even Megan Fox can’t save these movies.

  3. tonyola Avatar
    tonyola

    Few Italian styling houses have matched Zagato in their ugly/beautiful ratio, but every once in a while, they get it right. The Mostro looks like one of those times. The only jarring detail I see is the chrome around the windshield. Oh, that rear wing might go too.

  4. CraigSu Avatar
    CraigSu

    OMGeeee! A new Mustang! Wait, what do you mean it’s the new Camaro?!