There's too much emphasis on numbers here. I have a number for you... 7:41.27. That's how fast it did the Nurburgring. Chevy already stated it wouldn't win a drag race with the GT500, but it would leave the ford in it's dust on a road course. I'd be interested in seeing it, but with a 'ring time that is less than a second off the Ford GT and faster than the Porsche GT3, I think the Ford might have some catching up to do.


I also happened to ride in one on Sunday, and it would smash my C5 Z06 if it were still stock.

 

Ok. It can be faster around the ring but the Majority of people looking at a gt500 or ZL1 are not usually the "type" to really put a lot of thought on its ring time. Lets be real I'm pretty sure it is still classified as a Muscle Car and your average joe with 60k to spend is looking for mostly acceleration. Yes I'm very aware how far Ford and Chevy have come in the handling aspect of these cars but 90% of the population still thinks American cars can't turn based on the past...

 

The ring is a track that rewards stability. The fact of the matter is that it weighs 4000 ****ing pounds, and some people (myself included) don't like the feeling of driving a damn battleship.

 

+1

 

you can make a 1g dsm do 0-60 in 3.8sec for a third of the price and half the motor..american muscle is over rated. IMO, but at least it looks good

 

This is what I am thinking as well, that after the basic bolt on mods (intake, exhaust, smaller pulley and tune) these cars should be making quite a bit of power and will be plenty fast for most people.

 

Americans can't make good cars, the only way they can sell a "performance" car is if they have a huge displacement. Give a Japanese auto maker the same amount of CC's and you will most likely have double the horsepower with half the emissions. It is easy to make power with a huge motor. There is no refinement in muscle cars. They feel like POO and they drive like POO. I hate american cars and no amount of horsepower will change my opinion on that. Well done detroit, another overpriced POS where the CC's match the curb weight.

 

and have even less traction than stock......

 

It is what it is guys.... I would love to have one. Besides the 4000lb's of muffin top, it actually looks like a pretty well rounded sports car. Good job GM. I'm sure you can find things to drop the weight, just like we are doing with our cars. After its payed off of course..

 

There's a lot of pointless hypothetical situations being mentioned in here. Why is a brand new car being compared to a 1G DSM and a Japanese engine that doesn't exist?

Sure you could build a car that will be faster at a track, but what would you want to drive everyday, a gutted obnoxious track beast, or a brand new car with creature comforts and a warranty?

As far as the "Give a Japanese auto maker the same amount of CC's" argument goes: who's stopping any Japanese automaker from building whatever engine they want? As far as I know there is no law preventing Japanese auto manufacturers from building big displacement engines, they just have no interest in it. Unlike the hypothetical car that you're talking about, this camaro and it's ridiculous engine ACTUALLY EXISTS and you can walk into a dealership and pick one up.

American car makers have started paying a lot more attention to handling in the past few years, and I think it's a great thing. Hell after hating mustangs for pretty much my entire adult life, I almost sold my Evo for a Boss.

 

They can make the same power with less CCs, no need for a huge motor. That is why they don't make huge blocks. You should trade your evo for a boss I am sure you will love its "creature comforts". Especially with such a bargain of a price tag. 60k is it? Why not just get an M3 if you are going to spend that kind of cash?

 

Weight and mass are the bane of any car. Dodge is famous for its bloated, avoirdupois filled cars such as the Charger SRT-8 and Challenger SRT-8. Ford started using an aluminum block for the GT-500, at least mitigating its girth. Chevy too has a problem with weight and the Camaro is no exception. The one good thing about the ZL-1 is that is turns an amazing time at the Nurburgring, which shows that the car has balance and handling even in spite of its 4000 pound ponderousness.

Lest the Evo guys think that their Japanese awesomeness rules over the Camaro, at 3,585 pounds, the Evo X is hardly lithe and svelte. This is a trend that plagues Japanese cars as well. Look how heavy the GT-R is. My hope is that future American and Japanese performance cars will reduce their size and weight to improve handling, performance and fuel economy.

For Chevrolet, the gauntlet has been thrown down by Ford. The ZL-1 has been trumped by the 2013 Shelby GT500. It will be interesting to see if Chevy chooses to one-up Ford with a higher horsepower Camaro. This is the one thing fun about manufacturer wars. I just wish that Mitsubishi was following this and doing their best to trounce other Japanese car makers.

 

this.

 

agreed. and this is why a whole lot of people either stuck with their evo 8's and 9's, or have moved on, and away from the evo game all together


gtr is another story. they found a way to mask all that weight. its as if its not there (and the 2 blocks that i drove a gtr , i didnt feel it either)
the "figure 8" time is in the top 3 ever tested by motortrend. nurburgring is right at the top as well. and wont even mention 0-60 and 1/4.

and, in the last two magazine comparos, experts have deemd the gtr a "better drivers car than a 911 turbo s" ....

 

I agree to some extent, but I think there are a lot of people out there who wouldn't mind owning this car for a little weekend warrior action. It's not like the car isn't fast in a straight line, and if it proves to be more capable on the track, it could capture some buyers.

It's a muscle car. You knew they weren't going to build a 2500 lb f/i 4 cyl car and call it a camaro, so why even come in here? Some people enjoy driving bigger, non-cramped cars that can still perform. Others, like myself, sacrifice personal comfort for even more performance gains, but that doesn't mean our way is right. It is just different.

In comes the "You could make an '88 civic as fast as..." ridiculous argument. The fact is you would still be in a 1g. This type of comment always adds a lot to the discussion.

Why bother joining the discussion if you are already tremendously biased against it to begin with? If you're going to make a comparison, try to at least make it about an engine that isn't ficitonal.

^This.

^ Agreed. These are muscle cars. They aren't going to hit 3,000 lbs anytime soon. What is encouraging is that they are upping the stock horsepower to fantastic levels while managing to increase the handling capabilities despite the weight. I am interested to see this car post some track times. If the mustang was an M3 killer, the ZL1 may step up the game for them both.