Chevy Camaro V-6 versus Toyota Supra

Camaro v-6© Car and Driver How the new Supra stacks up against the Camaro V-6 1LE at the track and in price.

  • Both have two doors, six cylinders, and the same objective, but the Chevrolet Camaro costs nearly $20,000 less.
  • The Camaro’s V-6 is rated at 335 horsepower and 284 lb-ft of torque, while the Toyota Supra has a turbocharged inline-six that makes 335 horsepower and a significant 365 lb-ft of torque.
  • Can America’s high-value track-day superstar keep pace with an exotic multicultural hybrid?

Pitting cars head to head on numbers alone may not compare to the adrenaline rush of genuine competition, but it is a great way to have fun and make enemies without the hassle of leaving your sofa. Okay, we’re being a little facetious, but, although we’ve already driven the new 2020 Toyota Supra, it’s going to be a minute before we get the opportunity to enjoy it in the company of its contemporaries in a back-to-back environment. To fill the interim void, we thought we’d engage in the time-honored tradition of bench racing and pit the new Supra against an unlikely competitor, the Chevrolet Camaro V-6 1LE, a.k.a. America’s high-value V-6 track-day superstar.

Like most American icons, the Camaro is defined by its dimensions. Measuring 188.3 inches in overall length, the Camaro is 15.8 inches longer than the 172.5-inch-long Supra, and its 110.7-inch wheelbase extends a full 13.5 inches past the Supra’s comparatively stubby 97.2-inch wheelbase. Width is less critical, but the Camaro’s 74.7-inch width is still 1.7 inches girthier than the Supra’s 73-inch width. Interior volume measures up accordingly, the Camaro offering 85 cubic feet of passenger volume while the Supra has significantly less at 51; although it should be of little concern to buyers of either car, cargo (trunk) space works out to 9 cubic feet for the Camaro and 10 cubic feet for the Supra. Speaking of matters of little concern, we’ll mention that the Camaro has a back seat and then forget about it forever, as it’s comically tiny. Both cars are beautiful and charming, but they exude two very different personalities and elicit dramatically different reactions.

a car parked in a parking lot: 2020-toyota-supra Camaro v-6© Toyota 2020-toyota-supraSo, now that we’ve confirmed the obvious, effectively that the Camaro is the Rebel Wilson and the Supra is the Anne Hathaway in this matchup, let’s look at their internals-by which I mean not those actresses’ spleens, but the powertrains found underneath the hoods of the cars in question. The naturally aspirated V-6 in the Chevrolet Camaro 1LE is rated at 335 horsepower and 284 lb-ft of twist at a rev-friendly 5300 rpm. The turbocharged and intercooled inline six-cylinder in the 2020 Toyota Supra matches the Camaro’s 335 horsepower but offers 365 lb-ft of torque at a very low 1600 rpm. (That’s an additional 81 lb-ft.) That means you don’t have to be revving the hell out of it to get the grunt needed to exit a corner with authority. The other side of the coin is that the last Camaro V-6 1LE we tested, a 2017 model, was equipped with a six-speed manual transmission (an eight-speed automatic is available), and some of us actually like revving the piss out of an engine and downshifting gears. The Supra’s ZF-sourced automatic with manual shifting can do the downshift trick, but your left foot is likely to get very bored.

No matter how philosophical or emotional the arguments may be, all good bench racing comes down to the numbers. Our Camaro V-6 1LE made the zero-to-60-mph run in 5.2 seconds and cleared the quarter-mile in 13.8 seconds with a trap speed of 101 mph. Top speed is limited to a governed 155 mph. The Supra fairly demolishes these numbers, requiring just 3.8 seconds to achieve 60 mph and blasting through the quarter a full second quicker, at 12.3 seconds, with a trap speed of 113 mph.

a car parked in front of a brick building: 2017-Chevrolet-camaro-1le  camaro v-6© Chris Doane Automotive – Car and Driver 2017-Chevrolet-camaro-1leStopping the Camaro from 70 mph required just 146 feet, and pushed on our 300-foot skidpad it held on for 0.98 g of grip, a figure that would have been earth-shaking for a V-6 daily driver–hell, any daily-driven street car–just a decade ago. In terms of arresting forward motion, the Camaro betters the Supra’s 148-foot measurement by two feet. The Supra, however, proved to be more tenacious on the skidpad, hanging on for a remarkable 1.07 g of grip.

We’ve saved arguably the most important number of all for last: the price. While it’s possible to get a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro V-6 1LE for a base MSRP of $32,490, the base Supra starts with an MSRP of $50,920. That’s a difference of $18,430, which is more than enough to buy and install any one of the several forced-induction kits made for the Camaro (ProCharger claims a horsepower increase of 45 percent for a total of approximately 485 ponies with its $6099 base kit, but adventurous and careless types can tune it for more) with enough left over for tires and tacos.

The Supratsi will likely quote the Supra’s German-Japanese engineering pedigree, ostensibly more refined and detailed interior, and, for now anyway, exclusivity factor. Not to mention, its factory-supplied and fully warranted horsepower is ready from the box, whereas mounting power adders to the Camaro will likely void your warranty. Still, $18,430 is a significant amount, and it means plenty of cash is left over for Van Halen tickets.

For more view source:  https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-sports/test-numbers-are-in-for-the-highly-anticipated-2020-toyota-supra-but-can-it-outrun-a-chevy-camaro-v-6-1le/ar-AABtjpj?li=BBnb4R5

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