Six ridiculously fast cars slower than the Camaro ZL1 1LE around the 'Ring
Who knew the Camaro could become a capable track weapon?
After a tantalising teaser trailer that showed Chevrolet was sending its hardcore Camaro around the dreaded Nordschleife, a full onboard video was released showing the ZL1 1LE setting a quite staggering time of 7min 16 seconds.
That is one hell of a time for a car based upon a lumbering muscle car and is testament to just how hard the Chevrolet engineers have been working to make the ZL1 a genuine track contender. It may not quite be on the same page as the Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR (7:12.13), but Chevy has certainly added to the map of dynamically-capable American muscle.
To put the 1LE's time into perspective, here's a rundown of the truly titanic machinery that it has managed to topple down the Nürburgring all-time list, some of which are seriously surprising.
Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 - 7:25.00
Although the Chevy cannot contend with a fully-track prepped LP750-4 Superveloce, it has managed to partly smudge the Lamborghini name by striding past the less-capable LP700-4.
The grunt both cars produce is fairly similar - 650bhp vs 690bhp - but the weight reduction that the 1LE package brings to the table will mean the Lamborghini has to haul around a much greater mass which will begin to tell after 14 miles. In the end, the Chevy takes it by around nine seconds.
pAGANI zONDA f cLUBSPORT - 7:24.44
Zondas are known for the ridiculous amounts of torque that their AMG powertrains manage to produce, but the sought-after flamboyant supercars aren't solely made for the track and therefore will always struggle against something as focussed as the ZL1.
It's still a great scalp for the Chevrolet however, considering it can be discussed in the same breath as the Zonda R.
gUMPERT aPOLLO - 7:24.00
The company may now be rebranded as simply 'Apollo' after financial troubles but there's no denying that it made a quirky yet capable track weapon from 2005-2012. Using a twin-turbocharged 4.2-litre Audi V8, the Gumpert could top out at a staggering 224mph due to a miniscule 1100kg kerbweight.
Aero packages simply weren't as effective on road cars back in the mid-Noughties however, leading to a 7min 24sec time that would leave the 1LE a couple of hundred yards up the road.
cHEVROLET cORVETTE zr1 - 7:19.63
Potentially the ZL1's main internal rival, the hardcore C6 Corvette set a time back in 2012 of 7:19.63, although the latest ZR1 variant is due in 2018 and could be nipping at the heels of the stripped 1LE. A supercharged 6.2-litre LS9 V8 allowed the ZR1 to achieve such a time along with a 209mph top speed.
The Camaro ZL1 1LE 'makes do' with a 6.2-litre LT4 V8 that manages to match its power figure with its torque production - 650lb ft to be exact. Add in the aerodynamic talents bestowed upon it by its huge rear wing and diffuser and it becomes clear why the ZL1 manages to conquer its older, lesser-powered brother. The 750bhp 2018 ZR1 may have something to say about that though.
Maserati MC12
A true member of supercar royalty, the Enzo-based MC12 is about as serious as an Italian road car gets, bar maybe the LaFerrari. A 6.0-litre V12 was enough to see the Maserati produce 625bhp for 205mph at full-tilt. With all that power being sent through a single-clutch transmission to the rear wheels, it's safe to say the MC12 was a bit of a handful.
But seeing as it is 13 years old, it's no surprise that the grippier, downforce-orientated Camaro manages to trounce the Maserati by around eight seconds.
Ferrari 488 GTB - 7:21.63
Possibly the most impressive supercar-bashing endeavour from the ZL1 1LE's time at the 'Ring, even the mighty 488 has to kneel down infront of the reinvented muscle car. Decades of roadcar development and 661bhp from a twin-turbocharged V8 is only enough to see the GTB achieve a 7:21.63 lap, five seconds off the Camaro's pace.
A 488 Speciale may be around the corner so the 1LE certainly can't rest on its laurels. But for now, the Americans can take home a rare track victory over the most famous supercar brand in the world.
A seriously impressive factor to take from this scintillating run from Chevrolet is that the ZL1 1LE used a six-speed manual gearbox. That means that it has been thrashed around the 'Ring faster than many paddleshift transmissions that have been the norm due to engineering practice dictating that cars will always be quicker with a twin-clutch gearbox.
So with some grippy Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3R tyres, an optimised suspension setup, some aero, a bit of weight trimming and three pedals, the Camaro ZL1 has become the 14th quickest road car around the Nordschleife. And at a starting price of $69,995 (£55,000), it begs the question why you'd spent double that on a 911 GT3. Nice going Chevrolet.
Which muscle car would you like to see turned into a track-focussed, Ferrari-smiting animal? Comment with your suggestions below!
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Comments (66)
Dear spec sheet students, there is something I learned along time ago riding motorcycles that may apply here. your bike may be faster than mine but the more interesting question is, are you faster than me?
It is really funny reading the American car haters’ comments. Get a grip.
yea they just cant understand that american cars are getting a grip literally and its weird. seriously if you wanted the fasted track car you wouldnt look at a camaro but now you do
I know. I've been so impressed with the Camaro over the last few years. Same with the high performance models of the Mustang.
I vê donne the track now more than 50 times by now and i got a best time of 8:50 séc with a ibiza cupra 180hp dsg... I vê seen bmw m3 making it in 40 minutes because they crash in the brunched corner and has to be towed.. Só no póint to have a fast car if u dont have the skill for it...
Other thing is i made uphill the fuji mountain using a nissan skilyne R34 a proper car, and since the curve and corners are tight.. Camaro would be useless with só much Power and wide body and torque...
And plus i met Ron Simmons from RSR, and he has his Godzilla GTR that can certainly in his hands smash any attempt of that Américan car on the Ring....
So the point is the Camaro beat that cars in the track because they where not being drive by sabine or Ron
Mt fuji is slap full of charter busses top to bottom.
Cheers from Japan.
What the hell does anything that you just stated in broken English have to do with anything in the article?
I understand that the Nordschleife is the best track for testing since it is so complex and full of corners and straights alike. BUT, I always thought, if, when comparing two cars, from 10 out of 10 tracks, the Nurburgring is just one of them, and car A beats car B on the Ring, but car B beats car A on all other tracks, is car A still the best car? Despite having lost on 9 different tracks? The problems with the Nurburgring, is that some manufacturers will try to even cheat just to make a record, and the production car will never be able to achieve the same result, like Honda did twice, and Nissan as well (even though they made that package for sale, but it doubles the car value). Plus, all cars are driven by multiple drivers, with different levels of skill. Not sure if you'll understand, but Top Gear and now The Grand Tour have a great benchmark for cars, albeit not the the most complex track, but the cars are always driven by the same driver. Just a small thought of mine.
The MASERATI MC12 should easily beat the Camaro. I have a feeling the driver was holding back considering the values of the car.
Why? Less powerful, a road car rather than a road-legal track car and more than a decade older. Not really surprising that it was beaten.
If they’d made a track version using some of the bits from the Le Mans version (for which the road car was...
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