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2016 Chevrolet Camaro Gears Up For SEMA, Aftermarket And Tuners Await Access To The Latest Pony Car

Like any new vehicle launch, we can expect a slew of aftermarket parts to follow. But a car like the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro is a tad different, because of its sporting nature. Not only will tuning groups and aftermarket companies have the 2016 Camaro SS, with the LT1 V8, to experiment with, but also the new turbo-four and more potent V6.

Chevrolet says to keep an eye of the 2016 Camaro come 2015 SEMA time for some grand things to be introduced. And those comments are echoed by a few prominent aftermarket and tuning groups around the industry.

John Hennessey, president of Hennessey Performance Engineering, says the turnaround time will be quite quick for the 2016 Camaro, saying he’s excited about the lower curb weight, and added nimbleness.

“Since the fifth-generation Camaro came out, we’ve modified more than 5,000 of these cars,” Hennessey told Edmunds. “It’s been a beautiful car to work with. For the sixth-generation model, we plan to have performance packages available within 60 days of the release in the fall.”

Eric Blakely, president of Edelbrock and longtime performance parts maker, says he’s been carefully following the 2016 Camaro and is also preparing new products to improve performance of the car. Specifically, he notes an E-Force supercharger system.

“We do not have a set date for release at this time, since we will need to acquire a car to begin our development,” Blakely said, but noted that Edelbrock’s performance upgrades will be “similar in design to our current LS- and LT1-based systems, with similar power gains and performance.”

Quickly scanning Edelbrock’s website shows the LT1 V8 may be massaged to 700 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque in the 2016 C7 Corvette Stingray, so it’s plausible we may see numbers similar in the 2016 Camaro SS.

But, none of these tuning groups have gotten their hands on the 2016 Camaro just yet. But, again, Chevrolet reiterates a big showing at the 2015 SEMA Show.

“It’s too early for us to talk about tuners or aftermarket projects,” Chevrolet Spokesman Monte Doran told Edmunds. Nevertheless, he added, “I would expect Camaro will have a fairly significant presence at SEMA this year.”

SEMA’s vice president of OEM and product development programs, Mike Spagnola, says he is already working with Chevrolet to grant earlier access to the 2016 Camaro before its launch date this fall.

“Since the Camaro’s inception, there have been thousands of products developed to enhance the vehicle’s styling and performance, and we’ve already received a great deal of interest from our members for the all-new 2016 Camaro,” Spagnola. “We’re currently working with Chevrolet to give our members access to this vehicle in advance of its release and anticipate that the 2016 Camaro will have a strong presence at the 2015 SEMA Show in November.”

All we can say is, see you at SEMA.

Former GM Authority staff writer.

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