Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Detour

The rear wheels cease their merry dance, the traction control light resumes its idle, and the kick from the supercharged V8 catches me squarely on the chin. The pull from the growling V8 is brutal, grip through the tyres allowing both the revs and the Chevrolet Camaro’s nose to raise quickly. It’s incredibly aggressive, acceleration whipping the landscape past quickly and the noise from the supercharged unit cutting out all others in the cabin. Another flick of the paddles and the next gear is slotted home smoothly, the pull once again ferocious as the V8 bites, gaining momentum it will not lose as the revs climb unceasingly towards the redline.

Soon the road is beginning to wind again, and for the sake of what remains of my hair, I ease down, the brake pedal – with little travel and not offering a huge amount of feel – really throwing the anchors out when a tightening right hander catches me off-guard. For a second I fear I’m going to lose the back end entirely, but once again the traction control is there to stop me sluicing into the mountain side. As a daring English gentleman with a stiff-upper lip, I decide to let the traction control do the hardwork for me on this road from now on.

Winding ever further into the mountains – the satnav now convinced that we’re boring our way through the rock – eventually we hit the bottom, where we come face-to-face with several laden quarry trucks and some rather bemused road workers. This new road, freshly tarmacked, has no white lines, no traffic and – from what we can see gazing into the distance – no end. That’s enough incentive for Arun: to hell with Dibba Beach; this road is all we need. It’s a unanimous agreement, and soon we begin the climb anew.

The new road is unbelievably steep, complete with kickbacks and tight turns that – at first – make me fear the ZL1 will ground out. With 556lb ft of torque on tap though, the pull from the V8 is just as impressive in first gear as it had been in third: while the long term Volkswagen Passat up ahead seems to be struggling a little on the torturous climb, the Camaro is barely breaking sweat. Moreover, the sharper turns also allow me to test out the ZL1’s handling. It’s as feelsome as you would expect a muscle car to be, that’s to say not overtly. There is, however, just enough to keep 580hp from chucking me into the valley that’s getting gradually further and further away, good grip from the front tyres allowing me to keep the nose pointed, even if I may not be hitting all of the apexes. There’s also plenty of heft at the wheel, and even though the steering itself feels a little over-assisted, I can feel my shoulders tensing as I muscle the Camaro through some of the tighter hairpins. The ZL1 might be all about that shouty V8, but it’s nice to know the front-end can handle the monster too.

It takes us nearly 20 minutes to conquer the climb, by which point we’re close enough to touch the low hanging clouds. The temperature has dropped quite dramatically but we’re keen to make the most of the spectacular view, and the Chevy is once again set up for beauty shots. Once completed and open to the public, our little playground won’t be the same again and we’re keen to make the most of our time here today.

And the ZL1? Perhaps not the first choice of many for conquering a twisting mountain road, but the Camaro has proven itself ably. The steering may not be the sharpest nor the cabin the most refined, but then as a muscle car these are very much secondary issues. The headline act is that supercharged V8 growling under the bonnet, a chorus to behold and an animal capable of tipping you out of your seat. Re-designed taillights or otherwise.

Right now the Camaro ZL1 stands on top of the world. Seems appropriate.

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