The Camaro 1LE Wants To Be The BOSS Of You
AutoGuide states that
In many ways, the 1LE is to the Camaro SS what the Boss 302 is to the Mustang GT.
Sure, and in many ways Silver Side Up was to Nickelback what Zep II was to Jimmy Page and the rest of the boys. And just like Silver Side Up, the Camaro keeps selling like there’s probably no tomorrow, and certainly no trackday tomorrow. Let’s see what 1LE customers will get.
Want to know what “1LE” is all about? Go visit this Angelfire page. Quick, before Angelfire collapses into a black hole of archaic irrelevance or something like that. The original 1LE cars were SCCA-focused ass-kickers. This one? Well, you will get
FE6 suspension package which includes thicker front and rear sway bars, a strut tower brace, toe links, rear shock mounts, monotube dampers, upgraded half-shafts and wheel bearings sourced from the ZL1 model. 20-inch wheels wrapped with Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar tires finish off the package.
The drivetrain also sees some upgrades with a 3.91:1 rear-axle ratio and an updated close-ratio variant of the Tremec six-speed manual transmission. Lastly, the automaker also throws in a transmission cooler and high-flow fuel pump.
As for aesthetics, the 1LE model is differentiated from its brethren with a black finish on the hood and wheels. Climbing inside the cabin, microsuede accents are seen on the steering wheel and shift knob, again borrowed from the ZL1.
This strikes me as a Camaro “GrandSport”. The Corvette GS, of course, is a Z06 without the handmade engine or expensive aluminum chassis. This is a ZL1 without the engine but with most of the cosmetics. It’s not a BOSS 302, which is an extremely focused vehicle even if you don’t spring for the Laguna Seca package.
One area where credit must be given: the Camaro 1LE, like the SS, uses the more expensive Mexican-assembled Tremec 6060 which Ford saves for the Shelby GT500. If you’re hard on transmissions, or expect to add significant power through the limitless small-block-Chevy aftermarket, it’s enough for us to recommend the Camaro over the Mustang. Everybody else… we’ll see you at the Ford store.
More by Jack Baruth
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No car that comes with 20" wheels is "track ready." Jus' sayin'.
It is entertaining how much people enjoy hating on the Camaro. In terms of the criticism, you hear that it needs to be lighter and faster with better visibility. Last time I checked, the General does make that car--it's called a Corvette. Instead of wishing that the Camaro is a Corvette, why not just take some enjoyment in that GM makes a poor-man's Corvette for normal people who will never likely use it on a track. I've driven the SS for a little while and I had a blast! The acceleration is violent, the sound is fansastic and with those two virtues in mind, you quickly forget about the interior. Having been in a good handful of rental cars in the past months I've a decent perspective to judge an interior. While the Camaro is not anywhere near the best, it's really not as horrible as everyone makes it out to be. It's a muscle car, not a luxury car. Handling could be a little better, but again, I doubt that most owners will take this to a track. Even if they did, most of us mortals probably couldn't drive to it's full potential anyway. My only "real" test was a 90mph sprint from 270w to 315s outside of Columbus and while it held on, I can say that I would NOT do that again, at least not without some spare trousers. For the critisim that it's ugly, well sure. It may be ugly, but at least it's a different ugly. With so many appliancemobiles on the road at least when you see this mug roll up behind you, there's no doubt what it is. Oh and I had no issues seeing out of it, but I'm not very tall. I guess we have the same old news that tall people don't fit in a sporty car yet again. In other news, dogs bark, birds fly and babies cry. Boo hoo tall guy, now do something useful like get that box of pasta off the top kitchen shelf and dust the ceiling fan when you're finished!