Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Driving Experiences

Some things don’t change in over 40 years. Just as the Camaro SS was competing with the original Ford Mustang back in 1969, so too did the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 find itself competing against Ford’s latest Mustang, the Shelby GT500 when launched in 2012. But it is a modern day muscle car that more than has the power and performance to impress.

This model is in fact a tribute to the original - and very rare - Camaro ZL1 from the 60s, which was engineered towards drag racers who used to cruise around the dusty circuits of America in them. The present day model we offer on TrackDays, painted in a distinct yellow and black livery, is of course a nod in the direction of the Camaro’s use as ‘Bumblebee’ in the Transformers movie franchise.

And it’s certainly an exciting, souped up ride: a 6.2 litre engine thrums out 580 bhp, zipping from 0 - 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, on its way to approximate top speeds of 198 mph - that’s more powerful than a Ferrari 458 Italia.

Only 1,971 models of the Camaro ZL1 were ever produced by Chevrolet. But if you know anybody who’s a fan of the Hot Wheels series of toy cars, in 2014 they produced a 1:64-scale diecast model of the Camaro ZL1 - perfect if you don’t quite have the cash for the price tag of a full sized one, which is around £36,500.

The Camaro ZL1 also set a blistering speed record for Chevrolet in 2011, when it completed a lap at Nürburgring in 7 minutes and 41 seconds, making it as fast as a Mercedes Benz SLS AMG and Lamborghini Murciélago LP640.