Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. American Muscle. On steroids

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It works a charm in the ZL1. Tour mode is what you’ll want to use for simple highway cruising. Despite the ZL1’s overall aggressive character, Tour makes a noticeable difference in outright stability. Bumps and imperfections are still clearly perceptible, but are better absorbed and less disruptive to the ride and tracking of the steering. Meanwhile in Sport mode, it delivered flat, neutral handling. There was little body-roll displayed, yet feedback through the chassis was readily available. Squat and dive were nearly non-existent.

All of this work is toward the singular purpose of making the Camaro ready for a full day at the track, straight out of the box. The only performance-related option on offer is a six-speed automatic transmission, and it too has been modified to run lap after lap. Chevrolet says the two-pedal car reaches 100kph from rest a tenth of a second quicker than the six-speed manual – 3.9sec rather than 4.0 – and tops out 6kph faster. But the manual is better to drive, plus it adds launch control and a trick ‘no-lift shift’ function that allows you to keep the throttle pinned on upshifts without the revs rushing for the limiter.

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The shifter itself has a mechanical feel to it, with shortish throws and a firm but smooth action. The clutch uptake is progressive and predictable, making it quite easy to manage.

So what’s it like when pedal meets floor? There’s no surprise that the ZL1 is a seriously quick car. Acceleration is viscious when all 580bhp are unleashed, and vapourising the rear tyres is hardly difficult. Just to put that figure into perspective that’s more power than both the Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo. Sonically, this is a far more entertaining vehicle than a standard Camaro SS. The quad pipes don’t emit much of a rumble at idle, requiring us to dig in to the throttle to get some noise. The dual-mode exhaust also meant it sounded rather civil when not being caned. Once the taps were opened, though, the ZL1 delivered a large amount of acoustic anger, with a growl on the overrun that screams Detroit muscle.

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The ZL1’s Performance Traction Management system has been borrowed from the Corvette ZR1 and has five settings, which loosen up traction and stability control boundaries in incremental steps. In its final setting, Race, intervention is near impossible to detect unless you make a deliberately stupid manoeuvre. Turn everything off and the ZL1 proves amazingly easy to drift. The car has a neutral balance, bordering on oversteer, and the only downside to the higher limits is that they highlight a lack of support in the flat seats. The ZL1’s sharpness might surprise even an M3 owner. There’s plenty of grip, but when things do get dicey, the Camaro rotates in a smooth, easy-to-manage fashion. Our test route provided a nice mix of roads and included some tight and twisting B-roads that would normally tie a muscle car in knots. Not so with the ZL1, the Camaro showing remarkable composure over even the trickiest and bumpiest bits of road.

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I think by now you’ve probably figured out that I loved the ZL1. It combines menacing looks with genuine supercar levels of performance and agile handling comparable to the best GTs on sale today. The icing on the cake is that it also has bucketloads of character and retains its muscle car personality and price.

Normally when a muscle car is reviewed there is a comment along the lines of ‘it’s good for that type of car’, or that ‘you’re getting a lot of car for the money’. In the case of the ZL1, there is nothing to be excused. It’s just a great car, period.

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