What Is This Carbon-Brake-Equipped Camaro Prototype?
With the ZL1 1LE, Chevy doesn't need to built any more crazy, track-ready Camaros, but it might do so anyway. This test mule was spotted at a Best Buy near Ann Arbor, Michigan and it's wearing all sorts of parts from the ZL1 1LE, but no rear wing. Also of note, carbon-ceramic brakes and a shaker-esque hood.
Carbon brakes are interesting here because to date, the only Camaro to be so equipped from the factory was the previous-generation Z/28. They aren't an option on the ZL1 1LE.
Up front, this Camaro appears to have the same giant intake and aero components as the ZL1 1LE. The photographer who sent us these photos also notes that there's a cut-out where the Chevy emblem would normally live. The previous Z/28 was fit with what Chevy called a "flow-tie," a cut-out emblem designed to improve airflow. All current-gen ZL1s make use of this device.
Interestingly, this car has some sort of shaker-esque hood, with a large cut-out. The only other GM product currently offered with a similar hood is the Corvette ZR1, which has a supercharger so large, a regular Corvette hood wouldn't offer enough clearance. We don't know what kind of engine is powering this Camaro, but it must be taller than Chevy's naturally aspirated LT1 and supercharged LT4 V8s. Is it the ZR1's LT5? Or perhaps Chevy's long-rumored DOHC V8.
This test car also wears the same wheels as the Camaro ZL1 1LE, but since it's January, they're wrapped in Pirelli Sottozero winter tires. The rears are giant 295-section units.
These photos show off a lot, but we still don't really know what we're looking at. Is it a new Z/28? Or some sort of supercharged monster machine. A Chevy spokesperson declined to comment on these photos when reached by R&T over email, but hopefully we'll learn more soon.