First Drive: 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Coupe

LOS ANGELES, California — The 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 wants to transition from the street to the strip to the track and back to the street without faltering. Chevy fell short of this “triple threat” five years ago when it brought out the ZL1’s predecessor, an engaging and impressive supercharged coupe with an underwhelming, flawed foundation that had understeer issues. Now using the sixth-generation Camaro’s all-new, much-improved architecture, can the 2017 ZL1 do what the last car couldn’t?

The Car

“We managed understeer through the whole architecture [of the last ZL1],” says Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “This architecture is much better.” Not only is the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1’s underlying structure lighter and more rigid than the outgoing car’s, it proved easier for engineers to work with, modify, and improve. Like the outgoing ZL1, the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 uses a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8, but the new model has 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, a gain of 70 hp and 94 lb-ft. There are two available transmissions: a standard, rev-matching 6-speed manual or an optional, $1,595 10-speed automatic. (We’ll come back to that one.)

The ZL1 sits on unique, staggered 20-inch forged aluminum wheels wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires, and its 15.35-inch, iron front brakes with six-piston Brembo calipers are the same diameter as the ones that were on the Z/28. Other performance upgrades include improved magnetorheological dampers, 11 heat exchangers to help keep things cool, and an electrically controlled limited-slip rear differential that adapts to driver inputs and driving conditions.

Outside, the ZL1 gets a lot of aero-friendly add-ons, like a model-specific rear diffuser, a wide front splitter, a front fascia with a gigantic, wind-swallowing grille, and an awesome, hollowed-out “Flowtie” Chevy badge on the nose. The overlaid hood opening — standard in black, available in exposed carbon fiber — draws cool air toward the engine’s top-mounted intercooler bricks, and evacuates hot, low-pressure air from the engine bay and directs it over the Camaro’s slightly dimpled roof. Tacked on the trunk of the ZL1 is a low-sitting spoiler that hangs slightly over the wide rear fenders in order to generate downforce with minimal drag, and the underbody has full shielding to manage turbulent air.

Inside the ZL1, driver and passenger sit comfortably in heavily bolstered Recaro seats and the small, flat-bottom steering wheel is wrapped in faux suede. An 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system comes standard and can be upgraded with Chevy’s Performance Data Recorder.

Does the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 have the all the right parts to be a “triple threat?” Seems so but to be sure, we go to the Auto Club Dragway in Pomona and then take beautiful and twisty Angeles Crest Highway north to the big, 2.5-mile road course at Willow Springs Raceway.

The Strip

The 2017 Camaro ZL1 comes standard with customizable launch control, which allows drivers to adjust launch rpm and wheel slip to dial in the perfect start, as well as a line lock system that helps drivers do big, smokey burnouts in order to make the ZL1’s foot-wide tires even stickier. We drive the ZL1 into one of the dragway’s water boxes, put it into track mode — the only mode line lock is available in — and press really, really hard on the brake pedal until a small graphic in the gauge cluster shows “100%” and “front wheels locked.” For up to 15 seconds, the front brakes will bite down with 80 bar of pressure, which roughly converts to 1,160 psi, as the driver flattens the accelerator and roasts the rears.

We give it a try and within a few seconds, smoke is pouring into the cabin through the air vents. We press the cruise control and “select” buttons on steering wheel to release the front brakes then roll out of the burnout toward the tree until the first set of amber staging lights pop on. We take a second to adjust the launch control system, dropping launch RPM and slightly increasing wheel slip, then creep forward until the second set of staging lights turn out. Our right foot flattens the accelerator, and our left foot stays on the brake pedal just before the tree’s green light comes on.

The ZL1 claws at the black pavement for a second, then tosses us into our Recaro as it hauls toward the end of the strip, shimmying side to side between fuel-cut upshifts. Chevy claims the manual-equipped ZL1 will go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and turn a quarter-mile in 11.8 seconds at 125 mph, and that the automatic-equipped ZL1 will go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and turn an even quicker quarter-mile in 11.4 seconds at 127 mph. The apparent performance gap between the automatic- and manual-equipped ZL1 has us wanting to know more about this all-new 10-speed, which will likely be optioned on half of all-new Camaro ZL1s and be used in seven other GM vehicles by 2018. We jump in a ZL1 with an automatic transmission and drive up toward Angeles Crest.

The Street

“I’d pick the auto,” says Aaron Link, lead development engineer for Camaro. “It really is that much more fun.” Long-time rivals Chevy and Ford sort of share custody of this thoughtfully designed transmission, which is about the same size as the 8-speed automatic Chevy is replacing. When Chevy gets the base 10-speed box, it upgrades the transmission with unique hardware, a new torque converter, better clutches and planetary carrier components, and other pieces that can better handle the ZL1’s 650 hp. Then Chevy gives the gearbox to its calibration team to tune software and mitigate any wandering you might expect from a complex 10-speed automatic transmission, creating shift-logic systems like “lift foot gear hold” mode, which aggressively holds a gear to prevent excessive upshifts and premature downshifts. “The calibration work to give you the optimal gear at all times helped prevent shift busyness,” says Oppenheiser. Supposedly the shifts from this 10-speed are 100 milliseconds faster than dual-clutch transmissions from McLaren and Porsche that Chevy tested. Oppenheiser tells us using fully electronic shifting could’ve made shifts even quicker, but doing so would’ve meant getting rid of the shift paddles.

We wouldn’t have minded. Climbing through San Bernardino National Forest on Angeles Crest Highway, we leave the Camaro in fully automatic mode and never once fault it; the transmission is extremely intelligent and precise, and as smooth as it is quick. The fantastic attention to detail that made this 10-speed so likeable is obvious in other systems as well, like the ZL1’s magnetorheological dampers that now use two internal coils instead of one to reduce inertia and improve reaction times, as well as a dual-wire system that allows electrical current to not only go in but also be pulled out of the fluid-filled damper for 40% faster damping response. The Recaro seats are just like those from the last ZL1, but Chevy carved out pockets from the bottom of the seats so your right elbow doesn’t hit one bolster during shifting and your left elbow doesn’t hit the other bolster during aggressive steering. The variable steering ratio tightens toward lock, so it’s easy to pull off the road and turn tightly in small overlooks when we stop to take pictures of the aggressive ZL1 in the foggy, snow-dusted forest.

On this tight, writhing road, the ZL1 confidently dives into turns and stays flat and planted through even the sharpest switchbacks. We overcook the brakes going into a particularly tricky right turn. The rear end starts slide but easily recovers, thanks in part to the very capable, ZL1-specific Goodyear tires that went through seven iterations before being ready. Inherent visibility issues don’t keep us from enoying ourselves as we haul through the evergreens, ending up near the gate of Willow Springs in no time at all.

The Track

We get the ZL1 up to 147 mph on the front straight of Big Willow before squeezing the brakes and lightly trail-braking into Turn One. We turn lap after lap, swapping between automatic- and manual-equipped cars, our enthusiasm fading as little as the brakes are. This is one of the most satisfying track cars on the market, with plenty of power to get you in serious trouble, an overbuilt chassis that is rarely overwhelmed, and a few helpful electronic nannies that can keep you from killing yourself.

The five-tier Performance Traction Management (PTM) system is available only when the ZL1 is in Track mode. Each PTM mode acts as a deft invisible hand that keeps you and the ZL1 on the track by quietly cutting power and softly pushing the car back from the ragged edge of the road course; the higher the PTM mode, the less the hand helps. We run around in Sport 2, which is trumped only by full-on Race mode. Sport 2 allows us to slyly slide into turns, lets the ZL1’s tail wag under hard braking, and keeps the ZL1 on the track when the suspension unloads as we hop over a ridge in the middle of Turn Six.

Another reason the ZL1 stays so planted on the track? Its electronically controlled limited-slip differential, plucked from the Corvette. A powerful hydraulic pump pressures the rear end to lock for improved high-speed stability, open for sharper turn-in, and make mid-corner adjustments to increase stability and exit speed. With a more rigid structure, thoughtful software calibrations, and advanced, electronically assisted mechanicals, the ZL1 beautifully showcases the serious performance potential of the sixth-generation Camaro.

The Jist

“I feel this is the best Camaro we’ve ever produced,” says Oppenheiser. “I love my fifth-gen Z/28 — it’s in my garage — but this is the culmination of up-front planning, the best performance team in the world, the opportunity to take the 10-speed that was available in my window and incorporate it into the ZL1, and developing the calibrations we needed. You could just feel this was going to be a special car.” The 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 does what the last car couldn’t by being a so-called “triple threat.” It’s a wicked drag car that’s perfect for bracket racing, an approachable street car that will put you in a jail if you ask it to, and a balanced, talented, and always-engaging track car.

2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Coupe Specifications

On Sale:	Now
Price:	$63,435
Engine:	6.2L supercharged OHV 16-valve V-8/650 hp @ 6,400 rpm, 650 lb-ft @ 3,600 rpm
Transmission:	6-speed manual, 10-speed automatic
Layout:	2-door, 4-passenger, front-engine, RWD coupe
EPA Mileage:	14/20 mpg (manual)
L x W x H:	188.3 x 74.7 x 52.4 in
Wheelbase:	110.7 in
Weight:	3,887/3,944 lb (manual/automatic)
0-60 MPH:	3.5 sec
Top Speed:	N/A

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