2010 Chevrolet Camaro to Hit Dealships

DETROIT – When it comes to performance, the 2010 Camaro delivers in unexpected ways. An advanced 3.6L direct-injected V-6 with variable valve timing is standard on LS and LT models. It offers power and efficiency, with 304 horsepower (227 kW) and EPA-rated 29 mpg in highway driving.

The performance-oriented Camaro SS offers a pair of 6.2L V-8s, including one with Active Fuel Management that helps improve fuel economy by shutting down four cylinders during certain light-load driving conditions. That model delivers 25 mpg in EPA-rated highway fuel economy.

Indeed, the surprising fuel economy of the new Camaro enhances the driving experience. LS and LT models are EPA-rated at 18 mpg in the city and 29 on the highway with an automatic transmission; and 17 city and 29 highway with the manual transmission. Camaro SS with an automatic is rated at 16 city and 25 highway; and 16 city/24 highway with the manual transmission. Notably, none of Camaro's models is subject to federal gas guzzler taxes.

For comparison, the more expensive 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 offers comparable horsepower to the Camaro SS with the manual transmission – 425 (317 kW) vs. 426 (318 kW) – and is EPA-rated at 14 city and 22 highway.

When automatic-equipped models are compared, the Camaro wins again, with the Challenger SRT8 rated at 13 city and 19 highway.

All of Camaro's engines channel their power to a responsive chassis that features independent front and rear suspensions, large, four-wheel-disc brake systems with standard ABS and GM's StabiliTrak electronic stability control system.

3.6L direct injection V-6

Camaro's 3.6L direct injection (DI) V-6 delivers more power through increased efficiency, while maintaining fuel economy and lowering emissions – including a 25-percent drop in cold-start hydrocarbon emissions. Direct injection optimizes fuel delivery to the combustion chamber by introducing fuel closer to the combustion chamber.

The fuel injectors are located beneath the intake ports and fuel is injected directly into the cylinder. The result is better efficiency in the combustion process leading to increased fuel efficiency at part and full throttle.



The 3.6L DI engine produces 304 horsepower (227 kW) at 5,900 rpm and 273 lb.-ft. of torque (370 Nm) at 5,200 rpm. Its 60-degree cylinder block and cylinder heads are cast aluminum to help reduce mass.

A forged steel crankshaft provides optimal strength in the bottom end. The cylinder heads include four valves per cylinder, with a dual overhead camshaft design incorporating infinitely variable cam phasing.

A full dual exhaust system, with dual catalytic converters, helps reduce back pressure for optimum power. It also helps the engine reach operating temperature quicker to help burn off cold-start emissions. And despite a compression ratio of 11.3:1, the 3.6L DI engine is designed to run on regular gas.



Camaro SS's 6.2L powertrains

Two 6.2L V-8 engines are offered in the Camaro SS, including the new L99 on automatic-equipped vehicles and the LS3 on manual-equipped models. Both engines are derived from the LS3 that debuted on the 2008 Corvette.

The 90-degree V-8 includes an aluminum block (with cast iron cylinder liners) and aluminum cylinder heads. The bottom end of the engine includes a new structural cast aluminum oil pan, with an oil capacity of 8.9 quarts (8.5 liters), while the two-valve cylinder head design is based on race-proven airflow dynamics. The intake valves measure 2.16 inches (55 mm) and exhaust valves are 1.60 inches (40.5 mm) in diameter.

The 6.2L engines also use a roller lifter-style camshaft with 5-percent greater intake-side valve lift than the Corvette's LS3. It manages airflow that is channeled through an acoustically tuned intake manifold with a composite design that reduces runner-to-runner variation. The throttle bore diameter is 90 mm.

Horsepower for the L99 is 400 (298 kW) at 5,900 rpm and torque is 410 lb.-ft. (556 Nm) at 4,300 rpm. The LS3 develops 426 horsepower (318 kW) at 5,900 rpm and 420 lb.-ft. (569 Nm) at 4,600 rpm (all numbers are SAE certified). Output on the L99 is lower than the LS3 because of a slighter lower compression ratio (10.4:1 vs. 10.7:1) and design features of the Active Fuel Management System. The L99 is paired exclusively with an automatic transmission.

As with the 3.6L models, the SS models employ a full dual exhaust system, with two catalytic converters to reduce back pressure.

Transmissions

All Camaro models can be equipped with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. The availability of a six-speed automatic transmission is a first for Camaro.

Standard with the 3.6L engine is the Aisin AY6 six-speed manual. It features lower shift effort and shorter throws for easier shifting and "fun-to-drive" characteristics. A hydraulic clutch and self-adjusting mechanism eliminates the need for adjustments throughout the lifespan of the transmission.

The Hydra-Matic 6L50 six-speed automatic is optional with 3.6L-equipped models. It has an aggressive 4.07:1 first gear ratio that delivers strong launches, but also provides tall overdrive ratios that decrease engine rpm and provide better fuel efficiency.

The 6L50 also includes driver shift control, with the driver taking control via paddle shifts located on the steering wheel after selecting the "M" mode on the console-mounted shifter.

Performance Algorithm Shifting (PAS) is included with the 6L50. It lets the electronic transmission controller override the automatic gear selection during high lateral acceleration maneuvers.

On SS models, the new Tremec TR 6060 six-speed manual is paired with the LS3. It is designed to handle the high torque characteristics of the engine, while providing shorter throws, smoother gear synchronization and greater overall shift feel with little or no vibration. Its specs include a solid 290 mm flywheel and single-plate clutch. The final drive ratio for LS3 vehicles is 3.45:1.

The highest-capacity automatic ever in a GM passenger car, the Hydra-Matic 6L80 six-speed automatic, is matched with the L99 engine. Like the 6L50 transmission, it features driver shift control and PAS. The final drive ratio on all automatic-equipped Camaro models is 3.27:1.

2010 BMW M3 of Brabham Racing BT92 Road Test

We'll get to the driving hilarity in a second. After all, the stunning 494-horsepower, 2010 Brabham Racing BT92 is based on the stunning 414-hp 2010 BMW M3 Coupe, so it's automatically a thrill and a half.


There's a lot of intrigue surrounding this car, labeled the Brabham Racing BT92 by its creator, Michael Trick. You might remember Jack Brabham, the three-time Formula 1 driving champion, who had nothing to do with this car and is monumentally p.o.'ed (in the form of his sons, IMSA racing champion Geoff and ALMS racing champion David) at this co-opting of the family name by some German upstart. And BMW itself was a little miffed over this new company's impetuous use of the BMW badge on one of its early Web sites, as if this were a BMW-certified project.

So we've had our doubts about this non-Brabham Brabham Racing BT92 thing ever since the car appeared last fall at the 2008 Essen Motor Show, Germany's equivalent of SEMA. But it turns out that the Brabham family had not nailed down any rights to the Brabham trademarks worldwide in recent years, so they were fair game. And that thing with the Web site and the BMW roundel was resolved when company owner Trick ordered the site killed.

Driving and touching and feeling tells the ultimate story about this ultimate M3. And the 2010 Brabham Racing BT92 is tremendous from the driver seat. Despite all that has been altered, however, it still basically looks pretty close to an M3, and we immediately wonder, therefore, about the plausibility of its asking price of nearly $310,000.

Having the Best Costs Dough
Once we sat down with Brabham Racing's Michael Trick and other members of his team in southern Spain, we gradually came around to seeing the 2010 BMW M3 by Brabham Racing for what it is: a really ambitious piece of work that any driving enthusiast will be proud to own (if they can afford it, of course).

The people behind this thing are peerless. All engine work to the 4.0-liter BMW S65B40 V8 over the past two years has been handled in an exclusive deal with longtime BMW engineering pro Oliver Nowack, whose father was mentor to "Camshaft" Paul Rosche, himself the father of BMW Formula 1 racing engines. Technical chief to the Brabham Racing project is Andreas Hainke, the former tech boss of Volkswagen Motorsport.

The BT92's M3 engine has been upgraded to racing specification in almost every respect. The dimensions of the cylinders are now 93.3mm-by-80.2mm against the original 4.0-liter V8's 92.0mm-by-75.2mm, yielding a displacement of 4.4 liters.

A forged crankshaft has been carefully balanced and the camshaft profiles are new, while the cylinder heads have been machined for bigger valves and the pistons have been given a low-friction coating. Naturally, the all-new intake and exhaust systems have been optimized for more power, some 494 hp at 8,300 rpm and 354 pound-feet of torque at 5,700 rpm.

Another aspect to the expensive, 20-day process that converts an ordinary 2010 BMW M3 to the Brabham Racing BT92 is the use of a full complement of carbon-fiber body panels (the M3 roof panel remains, of course). The result of all the carbon fiber is added structural rigidity, together with a weight loss of 110 pounds in the body alone.

The engine can still be serviced at any BMW-certified shop, and it's still compatible with the existing six-speed manual gearbox The standard M3's factory-estimated 4.5-second dash to 60 mph is improved by the BT92 to 4.1 seconds (3.9 seconds with the latest dual-clutch GK gearbox that's being developed as an option, we're told), though the real leap forward in performance comes at higher speeds. Now that the electronic speed limiter has been disabled, the new engine's redline of 8,550 rpm allows a v-max of 188 mph.

Sound and Color
We accentuated our driving experience by keeping the Power button lit most of the time for the full 494-hp output. Even with it unlit, though, the customized dual-tip exhaust system developed in collaboration between Brabham Racing's Nowack and exhaust experts Stüber is a bleeding cannon. Stüber has specialized for years in making those motorcycle exhausts that drive people in gated communities nuts, so the bark of this exhaust over 2,500 rpm sounds like the wrath of engineering being visited on Mother Nature. That is, it's pretty damned loud. When we said this to Trick, he answered, "Yeah, actually it's not yet quite loud enough."

This is a reminder that the Brabham Racing BT92 is not a BMW Alpina exercise in padded refinement and effortless momentum. Brabham Racing wants to, well, race.

As we were photographing the BT92 (the name is simply the conflation of the traditional Brabham "BT" racing designation with the BMW's E92 model label) among the hills of Andalusia, the car's Brabham Blue exterior played visually entertaining games with the light or lack thereof.

At one moment in the hard, low winter sun, the car was screaming bright blue. The next moment, some cloud cover transformed it into a deep, dark, bruised blue. Bernd Paetz, the project's paint expert, refused to divulge the paint code for this magic job, but all Brabham Racing cars will wear it.

Better Than an M3?
For all that money and paint and fury and emotion, is the BT92 really better than an M3? Yes, it is. It freakin' well better be. Fifty buyers total (that's the production run for this limited edition) are bound to find this out, too.

The six-speed manual transmission really seems suited to this lighter, more hard-core version of the M3. With the factory 2010 BMW M3, we prefer the effortless action of the dual-clutch seven-speed transmission and its shift paddles, yet we had a brilliant time slicing and dicing the empty two-lanes all over this part of Spain, with our right arm getting a workout and the gears engaging like buttah.

Weight transfer while slaloming between rock outcroppings is really quick and crisp, as the adjustable coil-over dampers are very nicely calibrated to the BT92, which weighs 330 pounds less at the curb compared to the conventional M3.

These wild two-piece, forged 19-inch wheels (one-piece versions are promised soon) with their nonfunctional dabs of carbon-fiber veneer are a little over the top, but the added feel they deliver to the steering wheel cannot be denied.

The 10-inch-wide front rims wear 265/35R19 tires and the 12-inch rear rims carry 315/30R19 rubber, both of the Dunlop Sport Maxx GT persuasion. Brabham Racing also creates its own high-performance brake sets, and the BT92's floating calipers stop things better than the standard Bimmer items.

It's not a full interior job in the BT92, but we did feel the pleasures of the reupholstered blue seats and thick-rim steering wheel. The high-bolstered sport seats are naturally very supportive, and that always helps things during the wilder moments of rural road racing.

What's the Point, Really?
Much in keeping with the hard-bitten perfectionism of those two racing characters from Australia, Sir Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac (the "B" and "T" in all the BT designations), Michael Trick and his band of Nürburgring merrymakers have a lot personally invested in this deal. "We could have easily just dropped a V10 BMW engine into the front of this like everyone else does," says Trick, "but our point is to create truly deep and expert engineering statements."

Again in keeping with some of the old Brabham mojo, Trick tells us that the real inspiration for the entire project came, he says, from "falling in love with the BT52 F1 car in 1983 when I was younger and being really moved by the sound of the BMW turbocharged engines in the Gordon Murray chassis back when Bernie Ecclestone owned the team."

This is a valid point made with some honesty, and it's crucial to the BT92's future. In fact, Brabham Racing intends to break the lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife for modified production cars, set at 7:20 by a 2009 Dodge Viper ACR last summer.

It will be done with the Clubsport version of the 2010 Brabham Racing BT92, which has been the real goal of the little company's whole M3 project.

In fact, Michael Trick wants to take Brabham Racing into real motorsport with a team of BMWs in the World Touring Car championship and even one day (why not dream big), a team of BMWs for the DTM in a collaboration between Brabham Racing, Alpina and Schnitzer.

A Brabham car in racing again? That sounds good.

Article Source:http://horisly.blogspot.com/2009/03/2010-bmw-m3-of-brabham-racing-bt92-road.html