If you watched Top Gear a couple of weeks back, you may have seen Rory Reid attempting to get the best out of Chevrolet's Camaro ZL1 1LE on track. As alluded to in the show, that car isn't available on these shores, its extreme performance aero making it illegal on EU roads. This Camaro is, though, and it's much better suited to the UK anyway.
We've driven both cars previously at PH and, while the ability of the 1LE is undeniable, Mike found that its track-focused set up resulted in a car that "rides like a racing speedboat in a choppy sea, riding over potholes and expansion joints with the sort of bangs and vibrations that would normally get you stopping to audit the wheels." And that was on US roads; just imagine what it'd be like over here.
Instead allow us to submit this for your consideration. The 'standard' ZL1 may not be capable of the same, blistering performance which saw its big brother set a 7:16
around the Nordschleife
, but it's still plenty quick.
It's supercharged, 6.2-litre V8 is the same one found in the Corvette Z06, putting 650hp - 124hp more than a Shelby GT350 - through the rear wheels and enabling a 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 190mph. Unfortunately this example doesn't have the optional six-speed manual, instead coming with a 10-speed automatic, but beggars can't be choosers!
Not that a beggar could afford the ZL1. In the 'states, it has a base price of around $70,000 including tax (£50,000) which means that at £74,995 you're paying quite a premium for the exclusivity. Even with such a hefty relative mark up, though, the performance remains appropriate for the price tag. Jaguar's F-Type SVR has a miserly 575hp for its £110,000rrp, while Mercedes-AMG's front-engined V8 bruiser, the GT R, boasts just 585hp for almost double the cost of the Camaro. And don't forget, American cars can go around corners now, too.
As time recently spent in cars like the
Cadillac CTS-V
Ford Mustang GT350
demonstrates, American performance cars are no longer here to be sneered at. Even if they still don't match their European counterparts in certain areas, they more than make up for it in others, and in the case of the Camaro ZL1, you don't have to look too hard to see where those lie.
SPECIFICATION - CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
Engine: 6,162cc, supercharged V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 650@6,400rpm
Torque (lb ft): 650@3,600rpm
MPG: 20 (EPA highway)
CO2: Next
Recorded mileage: 4,000
Year registered: 2018
Price new: $64,485
Yours for: £74,995
See the original advert here.
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