Photo: Chevrolet
8th gear, 6,100 rpm, and 202.3 mph (325.5 km/h). Ladies and gentlemen, the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 certainly has the right stuff to earn its keep. It’s not the official top speed, though.
Following a couple of runs on the High Speed Oval at the Automotive Testing Papenburg GmbH proving ground in Germany, Chevrolet pushed the auto-equipped Camaro ZL1 to the top speed mentioned in the title. But on the second run, the test driver clocked 193.3 mph (311 km/h). The official top speed, then, is the average between these runs: 198 mph or 318 km/h.
To put that figure into perspective, the 707-hp and 650-lb.ft. Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is rated 199 mph or 320 km/h. Its bigger and more slippery brother, the Charger in SRT Hellcat attire, is even faster: 204 mph (328 km/h). If I may turn the story’s focus back on the Camaro ZL1, Chevrolet certainly has a bit of a beast on its hands. Of course, the powertrain is crucial to how fast the Camaro ZL1 can go when you really mash the loud pedal in.
Beyond the clever aerodynamic gimmicks, the 6.2-liter LT4 V8 under the hood works its heart out to send the goods to the rear wheels via a 10-speed transmission. Called 10R80 by the people who created it, the 10-speeder shifts quicker than Porsche’s PDK transmission, or so Chevrolet wants us to believe. A lesser variant of the Ford-General Motors-developed cog swapper is employed by the F-150 3.5 EcoBoost V6 and the 2018 Ford Mustang.
Aside from top speed, the Camaro ZL1 can further claim a handful of pretty impressive performance capabilities. 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h), for example, is dealt in 3.5 seconds. As for the 1/4-mile, you’re looking at 11.4 seconds at 127 mph (204 km/h). In regard to cornering, the best the Camaro ZL1 can pull off is 1.02 G. It’s no wonder, then, why Chevy priced it from $63,435 for the coupe with the six-speed manual box. The automatic-equipped coupe model, meanwhile, kicks off from a rather peppered $65,830.
To put that figure into perspective, the 707-hp and 650-lb.ft. Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is rated 199 mph or 320 km/h. Its bigger and more slippery brother, the Charger in SRT Hellcat attire, is even faster: 204 mph (328 km/h). If I may turn the story’s focus back on the Camaro ZL1, Chevrolet certainly has a bit of a beast on its hands. Of course, the powertrain is crucial to how fast the Camaro ZL1 can go when you really mash the loud pedal in.
Beyond the clever aerodynamic gimmicks, the 6.2-liter LT4 V8 under the hood works its heart out to send the goods to the rear wheels via a 10-speed transmission. Called 10R80 by the people who created it, the 10-speeder shifts quicker than Porsche’s PDK transmission, or so Chevrolet wants us to believe. A lesser variant of the Ford-General Motors-developed cog swapper is employed by the F-150 3.5 EcoBoost V6 and the 2018 Ford Mustang.
Aside from top speed, the Camaro ZL1 can further claim a handful of pretty impressive performance capabilities. 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h), for example, is dealt in 3.5 seconds. As for the 1/4-mile, you’re looking at 11.4 seconds at 127 mph (204 km/h). In regard to cornering, the best the Camaro ZL1 can pull off is 1.02 G. It’s no wonder, then, why Chevy priced it from $63,435 for the coupe with the six-speed manual box. The automatic-equipped coupe model, meanwhile, kicks off from a rather peppered $65,830.
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