Tuesday 28th February 2017

Chevy announces Camaro ZL1 1LE package

Need your 650hp Camaro to go faster? 1LE is what you need!

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Credit where it's due to the American sports car manufacturers, they sure know how to make European enthusiasts jealous at the moment. Flat-plane cranks, carbon wheels, mega downforce, manual gearboxes and super sticky tyres have seen to that. This is the very latest from the land of the free: the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. And yes that is 'zee', because it's American. He's not Jay Zed now, is he?

Those front tyres!

Anyway, the 1LE takes the standard Camaro ZL1 - already a very fast car with 650hp - and hones it further for the circuit. That's a car already capable of sub-7min 30sec at the 'ring, made more track-oriented. Right...

To create "the most track-capable Camaro ever", Chevy has added to the ZL1 a giant carbon rear wing, air deflectors and front dive planes, the latter giving this car a frankly terrifying front end look. In addition the 1LE pack brings Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve dampers from Multimatic, the same company that helped Ford with its GT Le Mans programme and a version of the passive damper we enjoyed so much on the 'basic' AMG GT. The front ride height, rear anti-roll bar and camber plates are all adjustable, designed to be easy to work on for "a quick return to street settings when the track day ends."

And how's this for function ahead of form? The 1LE forged wheels are actually an inch smaller in diameter than standard, but an inch wider and lighter than the normal wheels. The tyres are Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3Rs, apparently bespoke for this installation and capable of 1.10g. There's also a warning in the press release to not use summer-only tyres in winter conditions "as it would adversely affect vehicle safety". While the footprint grows over a regular ZL1, the new wheels and tyres weigh 1.5kg less per corner; overall weight is down 27kg for the 1LE, thanks to thinner rear glass and a fixed rear seat also.

That spoiler!

With power unchanged - 650hp should be enough for most - Chevy claims that a ZL1 1LE is three seconds faster around its 2.9-mile test track than a ZL1. And yes, it's most definitely still a manual. What on earth would it do at the Nurburgring? And what's the Z/28 going to be like?

The 1LE package will be offered to US customers later this year, with prices to be announced soon. Race tracks of America, you have been warned!

 

[great_kahn]

I smell a showdown with the Suzuki Swift Sport!

[HappyMidget]

Want.

[PurpleAki]

In black or dark grey please.

[rtz62]

Note to parents; why wasn't I born in the USA...?

[gazza5]

I find it amusing that the land of the automatic (and what most consider crap cars) comes out with genuinly good cars such as this (and with a manual I add!).

Here we are in europe going to automatics yet the americans carry on with the manual for a lot of there high end performance cars.

It seems to be in america day to day cars are autos, performance cars are manual

Yet here smaller day to day cars are manuals, performance cars are going auto.

After just having a tahoe for a week I am not bashing automatics (I now drive one myself due to london traffic) but I never thought I would see the day where america comes out with extreme manual cars.

[ZX10R NIN]

Looks like the Mustang GT350R has got some serious competition.

[Guvernator]

Absolutely agree, for the past few years, the American's really seem to have up'ed there game when it comes to their performance cars while the Europeans have basically gone backwards. This thing looks mental, sounds mental, goes like the clappers and not a dsg or downsized turbocharged engine in site, awesome!

[markclow]

My regular 2016 SS is a monster, faster than any car I have every driven including many M cars. I cant imagine that thing.

[998420]

gazza5 said:

I find it amusing that the land of the automatic (and what most consider crap cars) comes out with genuinly good cars such as this (and with a manual I add!).

Here we are in europe going to automatics yet the americans carry on with the manual for a lot of there high end performance cars.

It seems to be in america day to day cars are autos, performance cars are manual

Yet here smaller day to day cars are manuals, performance cars are going auto.

After just having a tahoe for a week I am not bashing automatics (I now drive one myself due to london traffic) but I never thought I would see the day where america comes out with extreme manual cars.

.. Or the day when one would go round corners quicker than an M car as well...

[dunc_sx]

They have been getting better manual options in the states than us for quite a while now, take the bmw m5 for example.

It'll not be as quick as the fast version viper but bet it'll be good. I used to be 100% against American so called sports cars.

Dunc.

[BogBeast]

Two tone grey & black please....


and why are we not getting these over here.. really..

[FourRingedDonuts]

Americans sure do like to be entertained don't they, this thing must be like an adrenaline drip.

[driftingphil]

gazza5 said:

I find it amusing that the land of the automatic (and what most consider crap cars) comes out with genuinly good cars such as this (and with a manual I add!).

Here we are in europe going to automatics yet the americans carry on with the manual for a lot of there high end performance cars.

It seems to be in america day to day cars are autos, performance cars are manual

Yet here smaller day to day cars are manuals, performance cars are going auto.

After just having a tahoe for a week I am not bashing automatics (I now drive one myself due to london traffic) but I never thought I would see the day where america comes out with extreme manual cars.

With the amount of traffic on our roads choosing a manual for most people just isn't fun anymore. After all Who want to sit in queuing traffic putting the clutch in and out all the time.

[Guvernator]

driftingphil said:

With the amount of traffic on our roads choosing a manual for most people just isn't fun anymore. After all Who want to sit in queuing traffic putting the clutch in and out all the time.

Sure if you are buying a car to kart your family\kids around or commute to work but 95% of so called sports\performance cars also come with auto's now and something that has any pretensions of being a drivers car should ALWAYS have a manual option.

[gazza5]

driftingphil said:

With the amount of traffic on our roads choosing a manual for most people just isn't fun anymore. After all Who want to sit in queuing traffic putting the clutch in and out all the time.

Completely agree which is now why I drive a auto after getting fed up with a manual in this crowded country.

But majority of M4's etc are no doubt auto's - along with many others (porsche and pdk etc).