When Chevrolet brought back its 1LE track package for the latest Chevrolet Camaro this year, it did something we’d been waiting for: It added the package as an option to the V-6?powered coupe in addition to the V-8. We’re all for democratized performance packages, so we immediately started pressing Chevy on whether a 1LE kit could be added to the base turbo-four-powered Camaro. Chevrolet’s official response was sly, and it looks even slyer with the debut of this Camaro Turbo AutoX concept at the 2016 SEMA show.
Car enthusiasts will recognize AutoX as shorthand for autocross, the popular motorsport in which drivers are pitted against the clock while wiggling through a twisty course marked by orange cones. Fans of Chevrolet’s 1LE package will recognize something else: that the Camaro Turbo AutoX concept has a lot of Camaro 1LE suspension parts bolted to it. There’s a strut-tower brace in front, six-piston front brake calipers, and a heavy-duty cooling package. The daytime running lights have been replaced by vertical scoops that route air, ostensibly, to the front brakes. Grip is aided by a hot set of 20-inch wheels wrapped in 285/35 tires at all four corners, and for a little extra zip, Chevrolet threw on a performance exhaust and a cold air intake. There’s even a GoPro mount on the front tow hook for recording trips through the cones.
The modifications don’t immediately jump out because, well, they’re largely overshadowed...