2022 Chevrolet Camaro Ditches 1LE Track Pack for V6 and Turbo Four
Your pickings for performance Camaros are apparently about to get a little slimmer.
The high-performance-bargain Chevrolet Camaro remains the cheapest way to get a rear-drive, track-guaranteed sports car in the United States. Its 1LE Track Performance Package on the turbocharged, six-speed manual models runs as little as $29,495; it's several grand cheaper than a comparably equipped Ford Mustang, while the Dodge Challenger and Toyobaru don't even enter the conversation. But this distinction seems not to have done the Camaro any good, as Chevy is discontinuing the 1LE package for four- and six-cylinder models.
This change was first reported by both GM Authority and Muscle Cars & Trucks and was later confirmed to The Drive by a Chevrolet spokesperson. These reports outline the nixing of 1LE packages for all LT trims—both four and six-cylinder—this summer, when GM will switch to production of 2022 models. Considering 1LE packages are already not offered on the entry-level LS models or the LT1, the cheapest V8 option, this would make the 1LE an SS-upward exclusive.
"Chevrolet is retiring the Turbo 1LE and V6 1LE from the Camaro line when model year 2021 concludes in order to produce more in-demand models like the LT1, which has risen to be nearly a quarter of Camaro sales since hitting showrooms in model year 2020," a Chevrolet spokesperson confirmed to The Drive. "The Camaro SS 1LE and ZL1 1LE track stars will continue with nationwide availability into model year 2022."
1LE packages on LT trims currently command a $4,500 premium, which buys durability and handling enhancements so as to better withstand track use. Upgrades include extra fluid capacity—coolant included on the V6—and cooling, with Brembo front brake calipers behind 20-inch forged aluminum wheels. From the SS, LT 1LEs borrow a fuel system to prevent mid-corner starvation along with suspension components, including dampers, sway bars, rear subframe mounts, and balljoint rear toe links. A mechanical limited-slip differential keeps the 2.0-liter turbo-four's 275 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque or the 3.6-liter V6's 335 and 284 under control, while aero tweaks wick air smoothly around the body.
As 1LE packages are already unavailable on the base V8 trim, only the costlier 1LEs of the SS and ZL1 will carry on, though their will continue to represent the option at its best. On these models, the Camaro upgrades to better springs, Magneride, stiffer sway bars, track bushings, four-wheel Brembo brakes, and an electronic differential. The driver gets a head-up display, Recaro front seats. The total for said package is $7,000. Assuming prices don't change for 2022, buyers will have to shell out over $45,000 for the cheapest 2022 Camaro SS 1LE.
GM may be trimming its Camaro options list in light of the pony car's poor sales, which have been in a continuous decline since 2014 according to Good Car Bad Car. Between this, its ongoing shift toward electrification, and the renewed, renamed 2022 Toyota GR 86 on the horizon, GM has little incentive to keep its Camaro range ultra-competitive. If anything, the Camaro's future is starting to look like a long, slow decline into discontinuation, one in which the most logical thing to do is make whatever profit there is to be made and be done with it. And in cheap, low-margin models like the LT, there ain't much to be found.
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