Horsepower began to creep back into the Chevrolet Camaro profile in 1986. The 88hp, 151 cid four-cylinder engine was listed early but then cancelled. Henceforth, the 135hp, 173 cid V-6 would be the base motor. Sales totaled 192,219 for the year with 77,478 V-6 engines and 114,741 V-8s. The Sport Coupe started at $9,349, the Berlinetta at 12,316 and the Z28 for the same price.

The ’86 Camaro Berlinetta continued on as a victim of GM’s fascination with digital dashboards, which were unpopular as well as problematic. As a result, sales fell to only 4,479 units and the model would be discontinued, replaced in 1987 by a revived Camaro LT – minus the digital equipment. Meanwhile, Sport Coupes recorded 99,608 sales and Z28 buyers totaled 88,132. Sport suspension became standard and the F41 option was discontinued. The IROC Sport Equipment package was available only on the Z28, and 49,585 buyers spent $659 to get it.

The 4-speed manual gearbox was also discontinued, and a 5-speed now standard. The 3-speed automatic transmission was available for all models, but 160,639 buyers spent an extra $465 to upgrade to the 4-speed overdrive automatic.

By mid-year base engine for the Berlinetta and Sport Coupe was the V-6, but several V-8s were offered. The base Z28 305 cid V-8 developed 155hp, and 68,293 buyers added it to the Sport Coupe or Berlinetta for an extra $750. Meanwhile, another Z28-only engine, the LB9, generated 190hp and cost $695 but was only available with an automatic transmission. Another 190hp 305 cid V-8 for the Z28, the L69, could be had for the same $695 with a 5-speed manual.

Luxury options were now following a predictable pattern. Almost all cars (182,560) had tinted glass, more than half (110,155) had power windows, 109,616 had a power hatch release and 85,154 had power door locks. Meanwhile, 167,602 cars had $750 air conditioning, 136,537 had a rear defroster, 80,706 had a rear cargo area cover and 6,058 had $210 factory louvers for the rear hatch, now a common aftermarket option. Removable glass T-Tops gained more fans, with 91,809 paying a hefty $846 for the privilege. Positraction cost $100 and found 29,207 buyers. A lower-ratio performance axle found 4,703 Z28 buyers for only $21, while the 4-wheel disc brakes remained a bargain for $179 and 26,684 buyers signed up.

Eight new colors were added for the 1986 Camaro, now with a new two-stage clear-coat finish. In all 12 colors offered, but two of them were phased out almost immediately so there were only four Light Brown Cars and two Copper ones. Meanwhile, Red was most popular (46,542) followed by Black (35,579), White (27,067), Bright Blue (19,254), Medium Gray (17,886), Dark Red (17,277), Silver (11,750), Dark Blue (9,926), Yellow (3,915) and Dark Brown (3,071).