Four-Cylinder 2016 Camaro Has Enough Power to Smoke a ZL1

Surprisingly short mod list makes this LTG-powered Camaro capable of 10-second 1/4-mile passes.

Camaro enthusiasts were fairly unhappy when Chevrolet announced that the sixth generation muscle car would come with a four-cylinder engine. Even though it is turbocharged with 275 horsepower and even though Camaros in the past have come with a fuel-sipping four-cylinder, traditionalists were outraged that such a “low performance engine” would be offered in the mighty Chevy muscle car.

Today, we bring you a look at what the new LTG 2.0-liter engine in the current Camaro can do with a few upgrades, as this “base model muscle car” is running well into the 10-second quarter mile range. This video comes to us from the YouTube account of Steve H and it shows the quickest LTG-powered car we have seen in action.

The details accompanying this video provide the vital information needed to understand how Allen Mayo’s 2016 Chevrolet Camaro with the 2.0-liter LTG four-cylinder is running in the low 10s.

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ZZPerformance, a shop that has built a great many high performance GM products with smaller-than-V8 engines, was responsible for the build and they started with a stronger bottom end. ZZP added their own connecting rods and pistons, new camshafts, a new air intake system, a larger intercooler and a free-flowing exhaust system that includes the turbo manifold, the downpipe and the cat-back components. Most importantly, the stock turbo has been replaced with a BorgWarner 5257 that has been worked by ZZP as well.

One of the most interesting aspects of Mayo’s LTG Camaro is that almost the entire fuel system is original. ZZP upgraded the fuel pump to a stock unit from a ZL1, but everything else in the fuel system is original, including the injectors. However, running on E85, this car makes upwards of 550 horsepower at the rear wheels on 25 pounds of boost.

The transmission is the original 8-speed and the torque convertor is untouched, with 3.23 gears sending that power to a set of Weld Racing wheels wrapped in 28-inch Hoosier drag slicks.

We don’t know if there are other LTG-powered sixth-generation Camaros running this fast in the quarter mile, but it seems that for this car, its record run is a 10.36 at 131 miles per hour. That run is displayed in the video above and while the run is impressive, it is amazing that this car doesn’t sound like a 550-wheel horsepower Honda. It sounds like a proper American muscle car and it runs like one, too.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com