Long gone are the days of American cars struggling with corners, as a Nurburgring run of the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 reveals.
The 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 posted a time of 7:29.6 at the Nurburgring, making it faster than a McLaren 650S, Porsche 911 GT2, Ford Shelby GT350R, Caterham R500 Superlight, Mercedes-AMG GT S, Koenigsegg CCX and even the legendary Jaguar XJ220.
That’s not exactly easy competition, but then the new Camaro ZL1 has the same supercharged V8 found in the Z06 tuned to 650hp and 650lb/ft of torque so it is by no means lacking in the power department.
Chevrolet claims it only added data acquisition equipment, Sparco racing seats with six-point harnesses and a roll hoop for the run, with the rest all stock equipment including Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3 tyres.
Making the record more impressive is the fact the new 10-speed automatic was used, as opposed to the six-speed manual. Driver and handling engineer for the Camaro, Drew Cattell, never touches the paddle shifters once during the run, suggesting the new ‘box must be half-decent.
While the new ZL1 bettered its predecessor by 11.67 seconds, its physical limitations ensure the likes of the Porsche 918 Spyder, Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari LaFerrari, Dodge Viper ACR, Nissan GT-R, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the Radical SR8 are faster round the Green Hell.
Not that it matters too much because the Camaro ZL1 retails for around US$62,000, making it a performance bargain. No wonder Chevrolet is so proud of it.
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