Chevrolet Camaro SS

The Generals weapon is ready for battle.

- Louis Cordony

THE CHEVROLET Camaro is a fast, pukka rear-drive V8 performance car that looks good, is easy to drive and feels solidly built. It might struggle to rein in a Ford Mustang GT when compared dollar for dollar, but if you’re after a sharp handling muscle car with presence, then you’re in the right place.

It invades Australia from The States in MY18 2SS form. The ‘SS’ refers to the 6.2-litre V8 hiding under its bonnet while the ‘2’ means it’s fitted with premium interior equipment.

General Motor’s Alpha rear-drive platform underpins the lighter, stiffer chassis and everything comes wrapped in a retro-inspired design. It all costs a pretty penny, though, as Holden Special Vehicles converts each car to right-hand drive in Clayton. The resource needed to import, convert, and comply one helps explain why it is priced at $85,990 before on roads. That’s $20K more than the Mustang.

Despite this, more than 400 people have told HSV they want one sight unseen. In showrooms, they’ll see custom-made parts on everything above the centre stack’s HVAC buttons. HSV also widens the original passenger footwell for the driver, swaps the sole electric power seat to the right side, lays new wiring looms, and modifies the firewall.

But you wouldn’t suspect all this when you sit in one. The interior feels and looks factory built. The dash panels fit snug. The air-conditioning and heating obey commands, with the gurgles in our pilot vehicles due to be eliminated for production, and all screens function properly.

It’s cosy inside. The sixth-generation Camaro is smaller than the fifth generation in every way and skinnier than a Mustang or VF Commodore (just). The back seats almost press against the front seats and it is easy to touch elbows with a passenger.