At first glance, the casual observer might think they’re looking at a bottom-spec 2010-12 Chevrolet Camaro V6. And they’d be right… partially. It -was- a base spec Camaro, complete with the factory Rally-Style Steel Camaro wheels and manual transmission – when this owner picked it up from the dealer. With blacked out accents and subtle matte black Decepticon Badges, there ain’t no Bumblebee here.
so… How do you build a Fast V6 Camaro? When the Mod Experts met Michael F, we got that answer.
Most folks in the Chevrolet tuning community would tell you that the only thing you can do to make a V6 Camaro fast is to “do an engine swap” – which is a terribly lazy and unimaginative answer. You see, unlike some of the old “boat anchor” V6es in older Camaros – which did suck pretty hard – the Dual-Overhead cam V6 in the Gen 5 Camaro does indeed make 300hp stock, but you’d never know it driving (a stock) one. You have to understand, a perky V6 would mean fewer V8 Camaro sales, so like the Mustang EcoBoost, the factory tuning leaves a lot to be desired and the response is less than stellar. As we said, this is ECU behavior, which a tune for Camaro easily fixes. With the detuned V6, the smaller bolt-on stuff just doesn’t cut it- there just simply isn’t that much power there to be had… naturally aspirated, as least.
You ever hear the saying, “There’s no replacement for displacement?” While conventionally true, in the age of turbos, it doesn’t apply anymore. Turbos and superchargers literally are just that – MORE DISPLACEMENT. Mounted low and rearward of the V6 sits a happy pair of turbochargers, generating an undisclosed amount of boost, giving this V6 more than enough power to ruin a Stock Camaro SS or Mustang GT’s day.
A few years back, another shop out of Orange County was developing their own twin turbo setup for the V6 Camaro, and had handily churned out 575whp from their “GT-R Killer” Camaro – we have to imagine that in the several years since, technology and tuning knowhow for what to do with the V6 have advanced considerably, making this car’s output a much larger question mark.
Under the car, you can see that besides a high flow set of mufflers in this Camaro Exhaust system, not much under the car has had to change. The Camaro suspension still sits at stock ride height, further lending to the “sleeper” aesthetic.
Up front, a subtle black intercooler hides behind the lower grille.
Even the engine bay is something of a sleeper, the heavy use of black for the upgraded components makes the car’s mods quite stealthy. Sure, you can tell there’s something up with the intake, but even an enthusiast might have a hard time guessing what’s really going on under this V6 beast’s hood.
The owner of this V6 Camaro brought the car to the Mod Experts after having already fitted the turbochargers, we simply finished off the car by fitting a Short Throw Shifter to make slamming through those gears a little faster.
We’d like to say thanks to this anonymous Camaro owner for sharing his stealth fighter with us and allowing us to break Top Secret Clearance to show you guys an inside look at this Stealth Fighter of a Camaro.
Interested in modifying your Camaro? V6 or V8, the Mod Experts can recommend an upgrade that will make your Camaro even better to drive – Feel free to ask the Mod Experts for advice for modding your car – call at 714.582.3330 to change the look of your ride or schedule your install today!
Story & Photos Nick Gregson