The power/weight is also missing the point. The Gen 5 ZL1 was really more of a GT car (and is distinguished of being the first Gen 5 to gain serious credibility, by 2012). This one will add a lot more sport into it, FWIW.3,850 pounds based on our measurement of the previous ZL1. That’s about 150 pounds heavier than the SS, but the extra 60 hp and 84 lb-ft ought to handle it fine.
Of note: the mechanical trans was co-developed. The trans control is still proprietary to each brand.Chevrolet’s all-new, paddle-shifted 10-speed automatic (co-developed with Ford, in an amusing twist) is optional
With Ammann and Reuss at the wheel, the 10-speed-equipped ZL1s were a thrilling ride. The Camaro is thrillingly quick—it hooks up and accelerates smoothly without the violence of something like a Challenger Hellcat. The 10-speed automatic appeared to shift instantly at the pull of the steering wheel-mounted paddles as the GM execs rattled up and down through the first six gears on the track. The Magnetic Ride shocks helped keep the Camaro ZL1 flat through corners, and it shrugged off the track’s curbing, much like the old Camaro Z/28.
So they are coming out with a future GT500 competitor before the GT350R competitor (Z/28). I still think the 1LE will be very, very good. The old 1LE had better figure 8 performance than the old ZL1!After the lap we had a chance to catch up with Al Oppenheiser, the chief engineer behind the new Camaro. When we asked him if the new ZL1 was quicker around the track than the Z/28, he said, “The ZL1’s benchmark was the Z/28. And you know what benchmarks are for.”
The old ZL1 was good for a 3.9-second sprint to 60 mph at a 12.2-second quarter mile at 116.6 mph on our test track, and we expect this lighter, more powerful car to bring those times down and that trap speed up. The old car’s 0.99 average sustained g and 24.0-second figure-eight lap time at 0.85 average g are both likely to bested, as well. The last ZL1’s 100-foot 60-to-zero stopping distance will be tough to beat, but that will probably fall, too. Given that old ZL1 was nipping at the heels of the 707-hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat on the dragstrip, this new car will likely outrun the Hellcat just as easily as it runs circles around the big coupe. Ford, if it does another Mustang GT500, will have a hell of a fight on its hands.
You can get yours late this year, sometime in the fourth quarter. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but the old model’s $57,650 starting price is likely indicative of where this new ZL1 will start.
No need to worry about overheating, either; a ZL1 aerodynamics engineer told us that while keeping the LT4 cool is always a challenge, his team was able to shoehorn 11 heat exchangers into the Chevy.
That means the 2017 ZL1 Camaro and future GT350R Mustang will likely share the same transmission.
Ford sucks, but at least it isn't Dodge. LOLOLTROLLLOLOLI've owned Ford, GM and Dodge vehicles. Never an issue with Ford or GM relative to transmissions. Dodges? Oh, hell yea - rebuild or replace ever 30K.
More quote:kevm14 wrote:Cooling on the Z06 was such a big deal they needed to preemptively mention this:No need to worry about overheating, either; a ZL1 aerodynamics engineer told us that while keeping the LT4 cool is always a challenge, his team was able to shoehorn 11 heat exchangers into the Chevy.
This is good.Chevrolet displayed great confidence in the durability of their prototypes, hot lapping the pair for more than an hour without a hitch and stopping only long enough to change passengers. As the sun set, the drivers pushed harder into the final short straight before braking at maximum effort, intentionally setting the front rotors of the Camaros aglow in the gathering dusk. In light of scattered reports of customer C7 Z06 cooling issues under heavy track use, we certainly got the feeling that Chevrolet was going even farther with the ZL1 to ensure it’s as bulletproof under fire as they can possibly make it.