LS Power On A Budget: The F-Body Camaro SS

There’s been a lot of talk about the new Corvette Grand Sport being the “best bang for your buck” performance car on the market. Its true– it’s an amazing car and, when compared to its competitors, truly is a good deal, coming in at just over $65K.

Back in the day, its 450 horsepower would be jaw-dropping, let alone the fact that it was on a car that had just rolled off the showroom floor. The Corvette has always been a legendary car so, back in the early 2000s, things were no different. But, that didn’t change the fact that it still had a little too steep of a price tag for some, which left many turning to its less expensive counterpart, the Camaro.

This generation is such a great bang for your buck car. Why, do you ask? Three things: L.S.1.” -David Patterson

The 2002 F-Body Camaro SS held the same LS1 engine as the sought-after Corvette, but was advertised as a more affordable “detuned” version. Many claim the detuning mustn’t have gone very far as, at the time, you couldn’t buy a faster car for the money and, at any price point, there were very few cars that could one-up it.

Today, fourth-gens are widely popular on the streets, road courses, and especially in the world of drag racing. And, the best part about it, now, you can pick one up for less than $10K. But, as usual with cheap performance cars, most are pretty beat up, having been either overly modified or totaled. Just recently though, Youtuber and car guru, David Patterson, just happened to come across a mint one. The car is 15 years old, but it still sounds great and the LS1 still runs and pulls like a new one. Talk about a great bang for your buck.