2020 Chevy Camaro 2SS: Brutal, Classy Street Performance
While not as plush as its ZL1 brother, the Camaro SS is the classiest, affordable ‘sports car’ you can get when it comes to American Muscle.
Chevrolet Camaro—the name rings soundly on the lips and hearts of all dedicated muscle car enthusiasts. And for decades now, Chevy has slowly transformed it from grassroots brawler to sophisticated sports car. Alas, there is no better example of this than the refreshed sixth-gen 2020 Camaro SS.
General Motors lent me a fully-loaded Camaro 2SS in Summit White from its fleet, complete with stinger/spider stripes and attention-grabbing ZL1 1LE wing spoiler. As you all may know, I personally own a 2018 Camaro SS, so I expected more of the same ol,’ same ol.’
I was wrong.
Camaro 2SS Specs
Let’s go ahead and break down the performance specs. First, this 2SS is optioned with the Hydra-Matic 10L80 10-speed auto tranny, GM Performance six-pot brakes, lowered suspension, cold air intake, ground effects front splitter and rocker panels. As I mentioned earlier, this 2SS also has the ZL1 1LE-spec GT wing. It may seem strange to put this on a sub 600-HP car, but it still looks good nonetheless.
What’s most important here, is the performance cold air filter ($580). By default, GM’s filter adds approximately 17 percent more airflow, effectively adding more horsepower via tuning. While I obviously didn’t dyno the car, I know it puts down more power to the wheels than my own sixth-gen, despite having the same LT1 powerplant.
‘The front fascia change is a subtle but very welcome revision. With the 2019 model’s front end suffering from nigh universal contempt from auto enthusiasts everywhere, this is perhaps the best improvement for 2020. ‘
Granted, my car is roughly 300 pounds heavier by default, since it is a convertible. However, with bigger (albeit heavier) Brembos, stiffer sway bars and a slight HP bump, this 2020 Camaro SS is plenty nimble for an automatic.
Interior
No changes between this and the 2019 model year (or ’16-’18, really). Despite this, I need to praise the MyLink Infotainment System 3 in the facelifted sixth-gen Camaro. It is much faster, sharper, crisper and has better software overall compared to the previous model found on the 2016-2018 models. The digital dashboard also benefits from sharper resolution and greater anti-aliasing.
The upholstery is optioned in Adrenaline Red ($195), and the shifter knob has the carbon fiber appearance option ($150). The beautiful red stitching really ties the interior together, and this color scheme works wonderfully with the exterior of the vehicle overall. I’ll concede to wanting black wheels instead of the silver-painted ones, though.
Granted, this is essentially a new car with less than 2,100 miles on the clock, so everything feels factory fresh. However for every supple, leathery touchpoint on the car, there is an equally-jarring, plasticky panel or structure somewhere that makes you frown. This is an ongoing issue from the get-go with the sixth-gen. Still, sitting inside of the 2020 Camaro SS feels nice for a “sports car.”
So…What’s Actually New for 2020?
The front fascia change is a subtle but very welcome revision. With the 2019 model’s front end suffering from nigh universal contempt from auto enthusiasts everywhere, this is perhaps the best improvement for 2020.
There are new $395 premium colors (Satin Steel Metallic, Crush, Shock Yellow, Rally Green Metallic) headlamps, taillights and turn signals are now LED. The rearview mirror camera is also relocated to the top of the roof instead of in the spoiler. A subtle but huge improvement for rear visibility and for those who mod their cars. Other than that, the 2020 Camaro SS doesn’t have much else new.
Aesthetics aside, it’s time to move on to the good stuff.
‘2020 Chevy Camaro 2SS: Brutal, Classy Street Performance’ continued…
