Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 specifications at a glance

By our calculation, each kilowatt of the standard ZL1 moves about 3.6 kg, and the LT4 makes about 78 kW per litre. Our power-to-weight calculator compares it with any other car in the catalogue.

Where the ZL1 name comes from

ZL1 was originally a Chevrolet order code. In 1969, dealers could order a Camaro with an all-aluminium 427 cubic inch (7.0-litre) racing V8 through the COPO special-order system, and 69 such cars were built. The name returned in 2012 on the fifth-generation Camaro, whose supercharged 6.2-litre LSA V8 produced 433 kW (580 hp). Both earlier cars are covered on our first-generation Camaro and fifth-generation Camaro pages.

The sixth-generation Camaro was unveiled on 16 May 2015 and moved from the large Zeta platform to the lighter Alpha architecture shared with the Cadillac ATS and CTS. GM says 70 per cent of the parts in that structure are unique to the Camaro. The ZL1 joined the range in 2016 for the 2017 model year and replaced the SS as the performance flagship. The wider story of the generation, from the 2.0-litre turbo to the V8 SS, is on our sixth-generation Camaro page.

The LT4 engine and two gearboxes

The LT4 is a 6.2-litre small-block V8 with direct injection and an Eaton-type supercharger mounted between the cylinder banks. Chevrolet first used it in the Corvette Z06 of the C7 generation, so the Camaro shared its peak output with that car. Cooling was one of the hardest parts of the job: the ZL1 uses 11 heat exchangers for the engine, gearbox, differential and supercharger intercooler.

Buyers could choose between two transmissions:

• Six-speed manual with Active Rev Match, which blips the throttle on downshifts and can be switched off.
• 10-speed automatic (10L90), developed jointly with Ford and built by GM in Romulus, Michigan; its close ratios keep the engine near its torque peak.

An electronic limited-slip differential and a dual-mode exhaust were standard. The front brakes use Brembo six-piston monoblock calipers on 390 mm (15.35-inch) two-piece discs.

Body, aero and cabin of the standard ZL1

The ZL1 is easy to tell from other Camaros. It has a wider front with larger intakes, a carbon-fibre bonnet insert with a heat extractor, flared front wings and a rear spoiler. Chevrolet said the body took about 100 hours of wind-tunnel testing, with the goal of keeping lift low at speed while feeding air to the coolers.

Inside, the ZL1 received Recaro front seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel trimmed in suede, an 8-inch digital instrument display with selectable modes (Tour, Sport, Snow/Ice and Track) and an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Camaro remained a 2+2: the rear seats are small, and the boot is shallow. The 2019 facelift of the Camaro range brought a new infotainment system and new wheel designs.

ZL1 1LE: the track version

The ZL1 1LE package arrived in 2017 and focused on lap times rather than straight-line speed. Its main changes were:

The DSSV dampers came from motorsport and use spool valves instead of shim stacks, which gives a more precise response over kerbs. In June 2017, Camaro ride and handling engineer Bill Wise drove a ZL1 1LE around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:16.04, 13.56 seconds quicker than the automatic ZL1 Chevrolet had tested there a year earlier. Chief engineer Al Oppenheiser said the 1LE gained more than a second per mile over that car.

The 1LE was manual-only at first; the 10-speed automatic became available from 2019. The tyres are summer-only and wear quickly on track, so budget for them if you plan regular track days.

Prices, editions and the end of production

When it was launched, the ZL1 coupé had a US list price of 62,135 US dollars (about €56,000 at the 2016 exchange rate). The ZL1 also won the 2018 Daytona 500 as the body shape of Chevrolet's NASCAR car, and from 2023 it raced in the Australian Supercars Championship.

One legal problem affected the car: for a time, ZL1 and SS sales were blocked in California and Washington because their brake pads did not meet those states' rules on brake-pad materials.

GM built the last sixth-generation Camaro at Lansing Grand River on 14 December 2023. Two final editions closed the ZL1 story:

• Collector's Edition (2024): 350 ZL1 coupés, of which 300 went to the US, 30 to Canada and 20 to Mexico, painted Panther Black Matte with carbon-fibre interior trim.
• Garage 56 Edition (2024): 56 cars based on the ZL1 1LE, inspired by the NASCAR Camaro that raced at Le Mans in 2023.

Camaro sales across all versions fell from 72,705 in 2016 to 24,652 in 2022, which explains why GM ended the generation without a direct successor.

Camaro ZL1 against its rivals

The ZL1's natural rivals were the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and Demon. The Dodge cars had more power but weighed more and aimed at drag strips; the ZL1 1LE was the most track-focused of the group. Our published comparison Camaro ZL1 vs Dodge Challenger SRT Demon sets the two philosophies side by side, and the muscle cars section lists the wider field.

Within the Camaro family, the earlier track special was the Camaro Z/28 of 2014–2015, which used a naturally aspirated 7.0-litre V8 and weighed less but produced less power than the ZL1.