The base Camaro engine is GM’s 3.6-liter four-cam, direct-injection V6, tuned to 300 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. That’s a 90-hp edge on the base 4.0-liter V6 in the Mustang, and 50 better than Challenger’s 3.5-liter V6. The specs suggest that, even with its 400-pound weight disadvantage, the base Camaro (3741pounds) will be quicker than the Mustang. Moreover, Chevy projects an EPA rating of 26 mpg highway with the standard six-speed manual or the six-speed automatic. For what’s probably considered a “muscle car,” that’s better than respectable.

The Camaro SS upgrades with the standard Corvette LS3 aluminum V8, but only with the six-speed manual. The LS3 generates 422 horsepower and 408 pound-feet of torque--essentially the same as the 6.1-liter iron-block Hemi in the Challenger SRT10, but less than the line-topping, supercharged Mustang Shelby GT500. Chevy expects an EPA highway rating of 23 mpg for the SS manual.

SS buyers who prefer the six-speed automatic will get a new small-block variant, designated L99. Peaks drop to 408 hp and 395 lb-ft, but the L99 is equipped with GM’s Active Fuel Management cylinder de-activation technology. That should improve mileage for drivers who can keep their foot out of it.

The SS also comes with sport-tuned suspension, four-piston, fixed aluminum caliper Brembo brakes front and rear, and 20-inch wheels with Z-rated summer-grade Pirellis.

Track numbers? Impressive, according to Doug Houlihan, GM’s chief engineer for global rear-drive vehicles. He said the V6 goes 0-60 mph in 6.1 seconds, finishes the quarter mile in 14.5 and stops from 60 in 132 feet. The SS hits 60 in the 4.6-4.7 range, completes the quarter in 13.2 and stops from 60 mph in 117 feet.

Serial production begins Feb. 16 in Oshawa, Ontario. Initially, the Camaro will be offered in three trim levels: Base LS, with standard XM, OnStar and six airbags; LT V6 with more stuff and leather; and the SS. All three will offer an RS appearance package, with exact content specific to the trim level. On the SS, the RS package will add a unique wheel design and HID headlights.

We can expect a convertible by the spring of 2010, according to Peper, though the Chevy honcho was tight-lipped on other possible variants, including a higher-mileage model with GM’s 2.0-liter, turbocharged DI four. Peper was also coy about specific prices.

DETROIT — You can't launch a car with any aspirations of "performance" and not do your time at Germany's famed Nürburgring racetrack — it's just plain expected these days. So General Motors Corp. certainly wasn't about to shy away from the 'Ring with the sizzling new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. At Monday's official unveiling of the production version of the new-age Camaro, Inside Line chased down a ranking Camaro engineer and asked for the crucial lap time.

Doug Houlihan, GM's chief engineer for global rear-wheel-drive vehicles (the architecture underneath the Camaro, the Pontiac G8 and all that blowsy, big-V8 Holden stuff from Australia, where the platform originates), coughed it right up: A Camaro SS ran the Nürburgring in 8:20.

A quick scan of an authoritative listing (it definitely looks authoritative, anyway) of Nürburgring lap times at supercars.net shows cars posting a lap time of 8:20 include the E36-generation BMW M3 in 1999, the Porsche 911 GT3 (993 generation) in the same year driven by 'Ring ace Walter Roehrl and stuff like the Audi RS6 in 2001. For a little extra perspective on that 8:20 lap time, GM recently boasted the coming '09 Corvette ZR1 did it in 7:26.4.

"We learned a few things," from the 'Ring session, says Houlihan, which led the Camaro development team to tire supplier Pirelli for some subtle changes that he says fine-tuned steering response and turn-in, and also resulted in some nitty-gritty tweaks for suspension settings — all of which will further improve the Camaro's on-road handling.

Houlihan also said all Camaros — V8 or V6 — will feature the best StabiliTrak stability control system GM can offer; the SS enjoys essentially the software from the Corvette's magnificent Active Handling system that we insist remains the world standard in performance-oriented stability control. The Camaro SS stability control will have a track mode, a performance mode and a setting that fully disables stability and traction control. Stability/traction control for all Camaros can be fully disabled, but Camaro SSs with the six-speed manual also get a launch control feature.

Houlihan also said the 2010 Camaro's coefficient of drag is an OK, but unremarkable 0.35 for the SS and 0.36 for the LS/LT V6 models. Ed Welburn, GM's vice president of global design, said it's tough to get super-slippery aero numbers for cars with full-width grilles and recessed headlights — design cues Welburn and his styling team insisted on, obviously, to deliver on the 2010 Camaro's retro promise.

We whined the RS appearance package that adds high-intensity discharge, "halo ring" headlamps, unique tail lamps, a rear spoiler and 20-inch wheels makes it almost impossible to distinguish a V8-packing Camaro from a V6 job. But for those of you who can spot the difference of an inch, Houlihan says there's one giveaway: the exhaust tips for the Camaro SS, which is V8 only, are 96mm (3.7 inches) in diameter. But LT Camaros (standard 3.6-liter V6) — even with the RS package — have exhaust tips that are just 3 inches in diameter.

What this means to you: The Nürburgring number proves even if it's a little heavy, a Camaro SS can run with some pretty exclusive company. And with 300 horsepower, the Camaro V6 doesn't exactly earn the "secretary car" stereotype, either. — Bill Visnic, Senior Editor, Edmunds AutoObserver