Chevrolet announced its brand new 2017 Camaro ZL1 tore up the Nürburgring in just under seven and a half minutes.
Chevrolet released a time-attack video of the Camaro peeling around the track, with a finishing time of just 7:29.60 seconds. That’s an 11.67-second improvement over the previous generation ZL1’s lap time around the world’s toughest track, or about 20 seconds slower than the Nissan GT-R Nismo’s record time of 7:08.69. It also beat the 2015 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R’s time of 7:32.19 seconds.
“To be almost 12 seconds quicker than the fifth-Generation ZL1 is a testament to the advanced design and technology of the new ZL1,” said Al Oppenheiser, the Camaro chief engineer, in a press release. Oppenheiser said the new ZL1 was designed to take on the world’s most challenging track, “making it right at home on any track, road or drag strip anywhere.”
Oppenheiser cited the ZL1’s improved aerodynamics, mass reduction, its 650-horsepower LT4 and Magnetic Ride Control as proof the car was built for performance.
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Drew Cattell, the Camaro’s ride and handling engineer, who also drove the hot lap, said the ZL1 was extremely planted and stable, “almost calm,” he said. “With Magnetic Ride and great overall chassis balance, the ZL1 is all about being inch perfect at every turn and carrying a lot of speed.”
The only changes made to this year’s ZL1 were some new data acquisition equipment, a roll cage, and Sparco racing seats with six-point harnesses. Otherwise, the car was production stock and includes a 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8 engine and 650 lb-ft of torque. It features a 10R90 10-speed automatic transmission setup, and Performance Traction Management.
