Chevy camaro ZL1 2017 review article. This is the Chevy Camaro SS 1LE. It's loud, it's rear-wheel drive, and it's got the same V8 engine as a Corvette. But, because it's a 1LE, it's also one of the very best handling cars on earth. Need proof? Well, at last year's Best Driver's Car competition, it finished in fourth place in front of, oh, I don't know, an Audi R8 V10 Plus, the Dodge Viper ACR, and a Jaguar F-type SVR. This is a serious driver's car. Car is absolutely incredible. But, and there's always a but, I've long said that this chassis is so good, Chevy ought to give this thing another 100 horsepower. Ha! But Chevy gave it 200 more horsepower, and they're callin' it the chevy camaro ZL1.
Woo! So, what does 200 more horsepower and 200 more pound feet of torque look like on a drag strip? Watch me dust this 1LE. (engines revving) Oh yeah, leavin' him for dead. (laughing) Not only is the ZL1 faster than the 1LE, it's faster than the Shelby GT350R. Hell, it's faster than the Hellcat. Now you can be forgiven for thinking it's a one trick pony, it's got a lot of power and torque, goes fast in a straight line, but that's simply not the case. Shoving a monster motor where it doesn't belong is the muscle care recipe, that's easy. That's been done a millions times, and frankly, that was the problem with the old ZL1. But this is 2017. The big Camaro is finally a complete package. And here's why. It's got the same tires, magnetic suspension and trick electronically-locking limited slip differential, as the handling all-star 1LE. It's also go wider fenders, a carbon fiber hood with an air extractor, a larger grill for better cooling, bigger brakes, a wing out back, and a shin-splintering front splitter. How does all this go-fast tech make the big Camaro feel? In a word? Mighty. (tires squealing) But all that aggression does not come at the expense of comfort. So, like I said, while this car can beat anything up, you as the driver are not gettin' beaten up. The ride is pretty comfortable, these Recaro seats are great, the steering wheel's great. And I think a large part of that is due to the magnetic ride control dampers. GM has developed this winning technology and the Camaro team has really perfected it here in the ZL1.
It's such a joy to drive this thing, it just works so well. And also, when you do get on the power, the ELSD, one of my favorite name parts in all of autodom, the electronic limited slip differential, really can put the power down. And that's a common part shared with the CTSV and the Z06. However, here it just works better. Then we get to the transmission. I've driven this car with a six-speed manual, I'm also now driving with the new ten-speed transmission, co-developed with Ford Motor Company, up to a point, and then there's kind of a fork in the family tree, and Camaro has developed this one specifically for the ZL1, so all the controls, the valving are different than the common unit, and while I prefer the manual, for my own personal reasons, chief among them it reminds me of the old CTSV wagon with a stick, this tends to be, is the quicker transmission. More importantly, compared to the CTSV and its eight-speed transmission, this one's better. The Bugatti Veyron famously had 10 intercoolers, that that giant engine makes so much heat it needs 10 heat exchangers to keep it cool. The Camaro ZL1, 11. We know this is the same engine as the Z06, right? It's the big super-charged LT4, and we've all heard now with the new Z06 it's been having some overheating issues.
The Camaro team has ensured that the ZL1 is never going to overheat. It's got the main intercooler with two auxiliary intercoolers flanking it. On top of the super charger, there's two more intercoolers. And they've been redesigned and repositioned compared to the LT4 and the Z06. And then there's trans coolers, disk coolers, that coolers, this coolers, everything. We've been beating on this car for a week straight and it has showed no signs of overheating, no signs of heat soaking, no nothing, it just stays cool. It also drifts really well. The ZL1 sprints around our figure eight test in 23.1 seconds. That's two tenths of a second quicker than a BMW M4GTS, a Camaro SS1LE, and a Shelby GT350R. In fact, the big Camaro is a tenth of a second quicker around our course than an Accura NSX. It takes a Porsche 911 Carrera S with all-wheel steering to even tie the super-charged Camaro. (tires squealing) Chevy kept talking about, when they were developing the ZL1, they wanted it to be a triple threat. They wanted it to be dominate on the drag strip, and we've seen that, remember, 11.5 in the quarter mile, That's the same a Dodge Viper ACR. They wanted it to be awesome on a back road. Well, we're on a back road, it's awesome, let me tell ya. And lastly, they wanted the ZL1 to be the king of the racetrack. Well, to prove that last point, we're going to have to get our buddy Randy Pobst involved, and see what he has to say about it. Well, Randy, once again, I find myself sitting next to you in a car, racin' around Big Willow racetrack in Willow Springs International Raceway. This time, the ZL1, what do you think? - One of the things that they lectured us about a lot today was this transmission, bah-boom, did ya hear it? It just downshifted on its own, it felt the cornering Gs and went into its track mode on its own. It doesn't have a sport mode. It's an automatic, everything's automatic. And, you hear how close the gear ratios are? - Uh-Huh - Wah, wah, wah, wah, it's like a 125CC Motocrosser. (laughs) And I really enjoy that. - So you've driven 'em all, you've tracked 'em all. How does the ZL1, where does it fit into the pantheon of GM performance cars? - Short story. - Yeah. - It takes the tremendous power and torque of the LT4 from the Z06 Corvette and puts it into the wonderful handling alpha platform of the Cadillac AtS, CTS, and Camaro. - Okay. - Great combination. - Okay. - Because, that motor's a beast and it needs to be tamed and this chassis can do it. And the Camaro guys, they pulled it off, they've done a great job. - I mean, I think that's what so cool about GM, they won't ever admit it publicly, but they allow internal competition now. So it used to be, back in the day, it's like, you're making a Camaro, you have to make it less powerful and worse than the Corvette. Have to. And now - Yeah. Like old the Caymen, 911 deal. - Yeah, so now... - Unspoken. - Right. Now Camaro is free to make a car that I'm going to say is a better driver's car than the Z06. - I'm with you Johnny. - And I bet you, once we lap 'em it'll be, I don't know, I'm guessing here, but probably right up there with the Grand Sport, ya know? - 'Cause when I drove the car on track, what I noticed was obviously different about these cars is that in the Corvette, I got white knuckles and a sweaty brow. - Mm-Hm. - And in the Camaro I got a smile on my face and I'm steering with one hand. - By the way, guys watching at home, I was just watching Randy drift this car with one hand, while talking about sweating in a Corvette. Ya know what I mean? So obviously it's just a great-handling car. - Like that. - Yeah, oh yeah. Here's what I propose we do. - 'Kay. - Let's actually get you behind the wheel of this thing and set a hot lap, but instead of just doing the automatic, let's do it head-to-head style and we'll put the ten-speed up against the manual and see which one's faster. - Great. I love it. - Cool. - I love it. - Cool. - See if all those gears are really worth it, right? - Yeah. Woo! Here's a few cars the automatic ZL1 is quicker around Big Willow than, the Mercedes AMG-GT-S, Porsche Turbo S, and the McLaren 570S. Randy went even faster in the manual ZL1, beating Chevy's own Corvette Grand Sport. The world is standing on its head. The ZL1 achieved what it set out to accomplish.
It's fast in a straight line, it's excellent on a back road, and in the hands of a pro racing driver, it's one of the fastest track cars in the world. Period. But what I like most about the ZL1 is that in the five days I had it, I went through six sets of rear tires. This thing is an absolute smoking brute. The only question that remains is, how completely unhinged will Chevy make the Z28? here's the thing new episodes of Ignitions there live at Motor Trend On Demand about a month before their live on YouTube meaning that there's a brand new episode of Ignition live right now but only at Motor Trend On Demand hi there I'm driving the all-new 2017 Ford Raptor now as much as I love jumping cars I literally have no experience jumping trucks off sand dunes so I called Ford and said hey could you send out an expert to show me the ropes their sending someone named Kenneth there's no way we're not going up that you don't think we can watch the latest episode of Ignition right now on Motor Trend On Demand Randy kept screaming at all the Chevy guys, "It needs a better name!" My suggestion would be Satan Pony. Right? Satan Pony. but, in the end, it's GM's call. Or maybe Beelzebuhbuh? Or Lucifer's Lament Select subtitle language:
source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0amO_lJks8
Saturday, June 3, 2017
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