Just yesterday, I was driving across the bridge by GM’->ke1024s Lansing assembly plant. As I looked towards the massive parking lot, I saw hundreds of brand new, 2016 Chevy Camaro’s sitting there, just waiting to be loaded up and shipped off to showrooms across the country. It was at that point that I realized that – outside of Chevy-built concepts like the 2016 Chevy Camaro SS Black Accent concept, Red Accent Concept, and the Performance Concept – we haven’t seen much in terms of modified 2016 Camaros.
I started looking at different tuning firms, and it was no surprise that Hennessey->ke1863 already offers upgrade packages for the 2016 Chevy Camaro SS.->ke248 Currently there are two packages on the table to choose from, and like most Hennessey upgrades, they offer more in terms of power than they do physical appearance. Of course, you can’t fault Hennessey for that – the firm is about power, plus the Camaro SS is already quite stylish as it is.
The HPE600 upgrade is the lesser of the two upgrades, offering an extra 145 horsepower over the 455 horsepower output by the Camaro SS in stock form. The HPE650 upgrade offers even more, bringing that LT1 up by 195 horsepower. So, with that said, let’s take a deeper look at the Camaro SS by Hennessey.
Continue reading to learn more about the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS By Hennessey.
2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS By Hennessey
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- Model: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS By Hennessey
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Exterior
Note: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro pictured here.
If you’re hoping to see any type of world-shaking exterior upgrades, you better look to a firm that is more interested in making you look fast than it is making you go fast. You won’t get any of those stickers or fascia replacements that add mental horsepower here. What you will get with either package is Hennessey badging on the rear deck lid and a serial-numbered plaque mounted under the hood.
As an option, Hennessey H10 Monoblock Wheels are available as an upgrade to either package. Otherwise, your Camaro SS will roll out of the Hennessey bay doors looking the same as it did when it went in. But, you wouldn’t go to a tuner like Hennessey for exterior upgrades anyway, so there is no disappointment there.
Interior
Note: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro pictured here.
Inside the Camaro SS, you’ll find a similar story to that of the exterior. The dash is fitted with a serial-numbered plaque, and Hennessey branded, premium floor mats are thrown down to replace the stock ones. As an optional upgrade, you can opt for Hennessey-branded, carbon fiber door sill plates. When it comes to the interior, you have to recognize that the Camaro SS already has a lot going on, so changing too much would just be overkill anyway.
I still think Hennessey should come up with a way to integrate the Hennessey logo into the eight-inch MyLink system. It is already configurable to display information about performance, so I think I think it would be great if they could offer their own software upgrade for it. Unfortunately, that is just a pleasurable thought, but I keep hoping we’ll see it someday.
Note: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro pictured here.0}
Note: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro pictured here.
Ah and this is where the magic happens. You might expect to see a lot of various little upgrades to up the horsepower as much as both packages do, but it really doesn’t take much. By adding a 2.3-liter supercharger system – similar to the 2.9-liter system used on the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V HPE1000 – Hennessey is able to obtain the 145 horsepower gain in the HPE600 upgrade package. In addition to the supercharger system, Hennessey also flashes the ECU with its HPE Engine Management Calibration and dyno tunes the system to perfection.
Moving up to the HPE650 upgrade, the package offers the same upgrades at the HPE600 – including the 2.3-liter supercharge and custom ECU calibration – but it also includes high-flow cylinder heads and a specially designed camshaft. The addition of the new cylinder heads and camshaft, in coordination with the supercharger system, ups the LT1’s output to 650 horsepower.
Keep in mind that Hennessey has yet to get the new Camaro SS to the track with the upgrades, but once they do, we’ll be sure to update you with all the performance specs.
Drivetrain
Note: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro pictured here.
Hennessey has yet to release the pricing of each upgrade package, but I suspect we’ll see the HPE600 package fetch somewhere in the $8,000 to $9,000 range, while the HPE650 will approach closer to the $13,000 to $14,000 mark. The Chevy Camaro 1SS starts out at $36,295 and the 2SS starts out at $42,295, so when all is said and done, expect a total cost of somewhere between $45,000 and $50,000 for the HPE600 and more around $50,000 to $55,000 for the HPE650.
Note: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro pictured here.0}
Note: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro pictured here.1}
While this Mustang isn’t as impressive as something you would expect from Ford Racing and Roush, it does pump out 600 horsepower, which is 165 horsepower better than the car produces with the 5.0-liter, Coyote V-8 in the Mustang GT. This iteration of the car comes in at $37,500, which is right around the base price of the 1SS and five grand less than the 2SS before modifications, but this is also a 2015 model. Zero to 60 time is estimated at 4.5 seconds and top speed should be at about 155 mph. Even still, you can't help but compare a Mustang to a Camaro, they are longtime rivals, and this one seems to be right in the range of the Camaro SS by Hennessey.
Read our full review here.
Conclusion
Note: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro pictured here.
The first thing that comes to mind is that I’m extremely happy to see Hennessey is already on board with the 2016 Camaro. I can’t wait to see the videos Hennessey will post of the car doing what Hennessey cars do best. The one thing I would like to point out here is that Hennessey doesn’t like to stop at 600 and 650 horsepower. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a bigger upgrade package once the 2016 Camaro becomes more established.
At this point, the HPE600 is just a supercharger and tuning, while the HPE650 adds on cylinder heads and camshafts. That means that Hennessey can still push the LT1 even farther by adding a new intake, a high-flow exhaust system, or even a larger supercharger system. Of course, this package would probably fetch a lot more than what Hennessey will probably get from the HPE600 and HPE650 upgrades. When you think about it, Hennessey was able to push the CTS-V to 1000 horsepower, so there is no doubt they can do the same with the 2016 Camaro in time.