We just spent a full week with the 2019 Chevrolet Camaro 1LE Turbo, essentially a Camaro powered by the turbocharged 2.0L I-4 LTG engine and mated to a six-speed manual transmission with some go-fast hardware as part of the 1LE handling package. Though we tried taking the Camaro to the handling course, the venue wasn’t available during our time with the car, so we did the next-best thing: we took it to the drag strip to see how it measured up in the standing quarter mile.
Now, before you take to the comments section, let us note that the 2019 Chevrolet Camaro 1LE Turbo was never intended to be a drag strip monster. Instead, it’s much more of a road and track car thanks to a plethora of performance handling upgrades as part of the 1LE package.
Among the upgrades is a rear limited-slip differential, Brembo 4-piston brakes, an upgraded suspension system, plus with bigger wheels and stickier tires. The 1LE package also gives the baby Camaro some neat visual cues, such as a satin black hood, blacked-out front lip and rear spoilers, and 20-inch forged-aluminum wheels.
Furthermore, the use of a four-cylinder engine versus a V6 or a V8 means the Camaro 1LE Turbo is lighter than its siblings, weighing in at a svelte 3,430 pounds. That’s a whole 358 pounds less than a Camaro SS powered by the atmospheric 6.2L LT1 V8.
Power on the 2019 Chevrolet Camaro 1LE Turbo goes unchanged versus a standard Camaro turbo – ringing in at a healthy 275 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. For its part, Chevrolet claims the boosted muscle car will pounce from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5.5 seconds.
We were impressed by the car’s handling and composure on the road, but also by its straight-line performance. While the 2.0L I-4 LTG engine relies heavily on boost to provide power – pulling hard between 3,000 rpm and its 5,600 rpm power peak – the 1LE turbo puts the power down cleanly and efficiently.
Our quarter mile time was executed during a hot summer day, with ambient temperatures being 82 degrees Fahrenheit with a 62 percent humidity index. Tests were performed between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m Eastern time with the car running on 92 octane premium fuel while fitted with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 RunFlat tires measuring 245/40ZR-20 in the front and 275/35ZR-20 out the rear.
After four quarter mile runs, our quickest time was 14.1 seconds @ 103 mph. Those are solid numbers for a sports car sold under the $35,000 mark, especially one that was never meant to win any trophies at the drag strip but was engineered for the handling course instead.
That said, if one really wanted to make the 2019 Chevrolet Camaro 1LE Turbo a champ on the 1320, then a more aggressive tune plus some minor upgrades to the intake and exhaust components should make it noticeably quicker.
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Comments
That is about right. My SS with 23 pounds of boost and 290 hp was just a tick faster if you could hook up the tires. Traction was tough to find with FWD. p
This does not make sense at all.
It’s an HHR SS.
Oooh. HHR SS. Now that makes sense. Those were cool.
103 MPH in the quarter is the impressive part! That’s on-par with many 13.xx second cars.
Almost in the 13’s pretty darn good
The GM tune kit like used on the Solstice could add much power and Torque.
The Solstice got 290 hp by saw 340 ft lbs in Torque. That is on premium required. But mods would be the same or better. My mpg went up 1-2 mpg due to more torque and off throttle time according to the GM engineer who oversaw the program.
I really like the look of this setup. Gives me hope for the LT1 model because the SS is icky looking.
Wonder if an automatic would be faster or slower? Lotta gears to move there.
What was the elevation of the dragstrip. And What was weight of the car including the driver?
The track was Sanair Super Speedway. Altitude 165 feet. Total weight of the car with driver was around 3,650 pounds.
At least this post is tangentially related to cars.
Damn that front end us fugly!
ive been saying all along, how ugly this model is and will kill sales, unless you get a zl1 they look cool
That’s quick for a 4 cylinder!
I don’t like the look of the 6th gen, but the car reviews have all been excellent, especially for the 1LE cars. An aftermarket tune along with intake and exhaust upgrades surely would put the 1320 times below 14 seconds.
Well some people have gotten the Camaro 2.0t 0 to 60 in 5.1 secs and the quarter at 13.7 without modifications.
I have a ZL1-1LE but would love to have one of these as a daily driver. Everything I have read says this is a blast on and off the track. It is a lot of bang for the buck!!!! And I like the looks of these.
Almost as fast as my 1970 Z28 with factory tires. Got into the 13s when I replaced the F60 Goodyears with L60s on the rear with 4:56 gears.