Initial thoughts
An entire generation of drivers will tell you it’s the kiss of death for a sports car to lose its roof in the making of a convertible.

Not so much from the standpoint of desirability – people love to get all fresh airy when the weather allows – but from the vehicle’s intended purpose, which is to excel not just in acceleration but ride and handling also.

Because cars designed first with roofs tend to incorporate them into the vehicle’s overall load-bearing structure – the stiffer it is, the less bending and twisting it will do when the driving gets intense – basically cutting off the roof negates the car’s ability to respond quickly and accurately under performance conditions.

Not so with the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible that engineers say was designed from the outset as a coupe that would eventually lose its truncated top.

To compensate for the reduced structure of an open car, engineers often make the suspension softer, turning it into a boulevard cruiser. “We didn’t change a strut, bushing or spring rate from the coupe,” said Camaro chief engineer Al Oppenheiser.

He added that the Camaro’s architecture was designed to accommodate a convertible model, and with the addition of several strategic reinforcements successfully eliminated (or very nearly so) the common convertible pitfalls of cowl and steering wheel shake.

Performance
The Camaro Convertible offers four trim levels, two each for the LT V6- and SS V8-engine options.

Regardless of the engine chosen, buyers won’t be disappointed. The 3.6-litre V6 with direct injection delivers more power through better efficiency (achieved in part by cleverly combining the exhaust manifold with the cylinder head into a single aluminum casting), including a 25 percent drop in cold-start hydrocarbon emissions. Rated at 312 horsepower and 278 lb-ft of torque, it moves the LT models off the line smartly, and felt especially effective in passing times from 80-120 km/h.

The two 6.2-litre V8 engines include the L99 on automatic-equipped vehicles and the LS3 on manual-shift models, both derived from the LS3 that debuted on the 2008 Corvette. The L99 makes 400 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque at 5,900 rpm and the LS3 426 hp and 420 ‘torques’ at 4600 rpm.

Both V8s made sounds – and delivered the kind of grunt – that makes sports car lovers weak at the knees.  Despite the convertible’s additional 121 pounds, added by its structural reinforcements and power roof mechanism, few will be able to detect the difference in either acceleration or braking without the aid of an accelerometre.

Two six-speed transmissions are offered – a manual and an automatic; we drove only autobox-equipped Camaros (a $1,455 option) with both engines; they performed flawlessly with fast, smooth shifts under both part- and full-throttle. Steering wheel-mounted paddle-shift buttons allow for shifting a la Formula One-style. Too bad it’s not a double-clutch design though…

Ergonomics/Comfort/Quality
The Camaro Convertible’s doors open wide for easy entry and exit, even with the roof up, and once inside there’s ample room for driver and front seat passenger; as with Camaros since their inception, the back seats remain an afterthought suitable for human occupancy only during short hauls.

Fit and finish throughout was high and the stitching around the leather-covered seats looked perfect. There’s a fair amount of hard plastic throughout the cabin but the surface texture makes it look deceptively soft. Instruments are well placed and highly visible, and there’s an optional head-up display projected onto the lower windshield showing speed, tachometre and turn signals.

Especially with the top up, rearward visibility is restricted and even with it down, the high tail restricts vision directly behind; Yours Truly came within millimetres of backing the SS into a concrete planter in front of GM’s Canadian headquarters at the start of the test drive.

Like the back seats, the trunk is best suited to smaller objects – perhaps a medium-sized suitcase and an overnight bag will fit in there – and the opening is similarly tight, further limiting object sizes.

Functionality/Usability
The powered roof structure folds in a simple “Z” pattern and returns to the up position in about 20 seconds, smoothly and quietly. Going up, the roof is secured in place with the twist of a single handle in the centre windshield header, where the power button that controls the roof is also located. The rear windshield is glass with a defrost feature and the roof itself is made of canvas lined with acoustical material to sharply limit outside noises. A one-piece folding tonneau cover (optional on the 1LT) snaps into place, covering the folded top for a finished appearance.

To ensure structural rigidity in the convertible, engineers designed it to retain the coupe’s stiffness and anti-bending properties with the addition of four main items: a tower-to-tower brace under the hood; transmission support reinforcement brace; underbody tunnel brace and front and rear underbody “V” braces.

They then added additional safety structural reinforcements designed to improve noise and vibration characteristics, which also contribute to eliminating cowl/steering wheel shake: a hydroformed tube in the A-pillars; an inner reinforcement bracket in the windshield header, a reinforced front hinge pillar and reinforcements inside the rocker panels.

Conclusion
For the generation of drivers referred to at the top of this story, this is not the Camaro Convertible of your misspent youth. Not only is it fast and agile, but it’s well built, solid and thoroughly modern.

The elimination of cowl- and steering wheel-shake in the SS convertible feels almost complete, but there was just the trace of shudder over bumps and potholes in the V6, despite their underpinnings and structures being identical.

GM seems to have learned a profitable lesson from the Germans: offer well-equipped packages, then dangle all kinds of enticing options that buyers can use to personalize their rides. The base 1LT model starts at $33,995; the 2LT model we drove starts at $38,405 but with the addition of items including 20-inch wheels, summer-only (P245 front, P275 rear) tires, HID headlamps, the aforementioned six-speed auto and several other goodies, it topped out at $43,655. The 1SS starts at $43,255, while the full-jam 2SS model asks $47,835 and loaded with options tips the scales at $53,600.