The New Camaro ZL1 Was Just Caught at the Nürburgring

One car sports Chevy’s ludicrous, 10-speed transmission.

byBen Keeshin|
The New Camaro ZL1 Was Just Caught at the Nürburgring
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It's always nice to see some burly Americans spoiling a quiet European afternoon. Take these two brand-new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1's, soon to be the second-most powerful bowtie coupes in the world with just ten horsepower less than the Corvette Z06's 650 horses. In the middle of Germany's ancient Black Forest (the spooky woodlands that have countless inspired fairy tales, and one chocolate cake) an enterprising photographer grabbed some awesome footage of the pony cars—one with an automatic transmission, one with a manual. Proving, of course, that it doesn't matter how the power gets to the ground, just that it gets there efficiently, allowing the Camaros to embarrass Porsches and bring the noise of a monster truck arena to the Bavarian woods.

According to the comments, the red car sports GM's ten-speed automatic, while the blue car has a more traditional six-speed manual, but with automatic rev-matching. Both use the 6.2-liter, supercharged LT4 motor found in the aforementioned Corvette Z06 and the Cadillac CTS-V. Because the new Camaro shares the Cadillac ATS's lithe platform, the new ZL1, with 640 horsepower, will weigh 200 pounds less than the old ZL1, with a mere 580. Acceleration should be blistering. In combination with 15-inch brakes, 11 heat exchangers, magnetorheological dampers, and GM's Performance Data Recorder, the ZL1 will come track-ready despite the fact that its upstart sibling, the Z/28, is the dedicated track performer.

While the new ZL1 may be down 60 horsepower on Mopar's monstrous Hellcat family, that light weight and high tech are potent substitutes. From the looks (and sounds) of things, the muscle car community might have a new kingpin.

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