When faced with 1320 feet of straight asphalt ahead, the most powerful production Camaro ever has the ability to join one of the most prestigious clubs known to street cars. Breaking the 11 second barrier is almost essential for solid bragging rights and that’s what the 2012 ZL1 recently did.
When taken right off the showroom floor, both the manual and automatic version of the supercharged grand touring machine have the guts to post blistering fast quarter mile times which is just another reason why the ZL1 is one of the best performance bargains of the year.
“We know many of customers will take their ZL1 to the drag strip,” said Gordon Rojewski, driveline development engineer for the Camaro. The gearheads behind the ZL1 made sure that the car would not only be straight line quick but reliable as well. In order to withstand the stress of launches, the car’s rear differential measures in at 9.9 inches and features a standard diff cooler.
Asymmetrical half-shafts and a Performance Traction Management system work together with the ZL1’s Magnetic Ride Control dampers to minimize wheel hop and when equipped with the six speed manual transmission, launch control can be activated. In three pedal form, the Camaro can hurl itself down the quarter mile in 11.96 seconds at 117 mph.
Even more impressive is the six speed automatic’s time of 11.93 seconds at 116 mph. In both versions, the 2012 ZL1 is just plain fast and carries enough muscle to make its 1969 predecessor proud.
Source: Chevrolet
