📰 Auto News 2012 Chevy Camaro ZL1 To Offer "North of 570 Horsepower"

[Mook]

Pecking orders are tricky business in the car making world. Team A doesn't want Team B to steal their thunder-- and their sales-- and requests that Team B play nice, detune their project and let the natural order remain. Think 911 and Cayman. This theory has always been in play for the Chevy Camaro, too. No matter what happens, it can't make more than the Corvette. Period. That's part of the reason the 2012 Chevy Camaro ZL1 is getting the LSA from the CTS-V instead of the LS9 from the ZR1 (smaller supercharger, lower compression).

Now, knowing it would have an LSA, it was easy to assume that the 2012 Camaro ZL1 would come to market with a CTS-V-like power rating of about 556 horsepower. This assumption gave Ford something to shoot for (and surpass with an estimated 620 horsepower) with the upcoming Shelby GT500. Rumor has it though that the ZL1 has just finished SAE testing and the LSA has cranked out "north of 570 horsepower."

It's not official, but it's as close as we've got until the numbers do come out, which should be any day now.

So we've got to ask: 570 Horsepower, is it enough?

http://blogs.insideline.com/straigh...aro-zl1-to-offer-north-of-570-horsepower.html

Click to read more...

 

[pewterz55]

these stock hp numbers are gettin insane

 

[divasixstar]

these stock hp numbers are gettin insane

agreed. crazy.

 

[Turk]

these stock hp numbers are gettin insane

Eventually insurance companies and EPA regulations are going to stop this.

 

[Primalzer]

This still doesn't change the fact that the Camaro needs to lose some weight. Throwing a whole bunch of power at it, isn't going to solve that problem.

 

[Turk]

It helps.

 

[ktraver97ss]

This still doesn't change the fact that the Camaro needs to lose some weight. Throwing a whole bunch of power at it, isn't going to solve that problem.

God Im tired of hearing this anytime the new camaro gets mentioned. I like anything with over 570hp.

 

[Pressure Ratio]

That is a stout number for sure.

Rockenbach Chevy is using our 69 ZL1 for their car show in a couple of weeks. They are trying hard to get the new ZL1 there to pair them up. Hopefully they can pull it off.

It helps.

^ this. haha It is cheaper and easier to do that versus making parts of the car in different material to lighten it up.

 

[Primalzer]

God Im tired of hearing this anytime the new camaro gets mentioned. I like anything with over 570hp.

Well its a HUGE problem, which GM seems to want to ignore

 

[pewterz55]

id rock the shit out of that fat pig any day

 

[machausta]

It helps.

Best comment of the day.

 

[blakbearddelite]

these stock hp numbers are gettin insane

^This

I used to think my car was hot shit, but there a few new factory cars that would make my POS look slow.

 

[jason05gt]

Well its a HUGE problem, which GM seems to want to ignore

They do a great job on the Vette platform, but gave up on the Camaro. 570+ hp isn't anything to sneeze at.

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

this may be a stupid question but... are heavier cars more stable at higher speeds?

 

[Bob Kazamakis]

^This

I used to think my car was hot shit, but there a few new factory cars that would make my POS look slow.

WHAT

 

[bluzohh6]

Your mustang makes your mustang look slow

 

[blakbearddelite]

Your mustang makes your mustang look slow

I'm pretty sure if you cloned my Mustang, and ran it against the doppleganger, it would be a tie.

 

[Primalzer]

this may be a stupid question but... are heavier cars more stable at higher speeds?

not necessarily

 

[Turk]

One of the guys on m3post.com actually made a graph of nurburgring times and power/weight ratio. And what do you know, the better the power/weight, the better the times. Seems to me, if you can't decrease weight, add more power, it helps a ton. Granted, the ring is a very fast track with long straights, but lots of power helps any car at any track unless you're at autoX.

 

[jason05gt]

One of the guys on m3post.com actually made a graph of nurburgring times and power/weight ratio. And what do you know, the better the power/weight, the better the times. Seems to me, if you can't decrease weight, add more power, it helps a ton. Granted, the ring is a very fast track with long straights, but lots of power helps any car at any track unless you're at autoX.

The cars that post fast lap time at the Ring are lightweight, which helps a ton. The ZR1 and Viper do have a lot of power, but they also have very tuned suspensions and amazing brakes. The key to posting fast lap times is carrying speed through a corner. Fast in....Fast out. If you can do that, HP is just an added benefit.

The Camaro is too heavy and there is only so much you can do to try to fight the laws of physics.

 

[CrunkMaro]

The cars that post fast lap time at the Ring are lightweight, which helps a ton. The ZR1 and Viper do have a lot of power, but they also have very tuned suspensions and amazing brakes. The key to posting fast lap times is carrying speed through a corner. Fast in....Fast out. If you can do that, HP is just an added benefit.

The Camaro is too heavy and there is only so much you can do to try to fight the laws of physics.

you clearly know nothing about the laws of physics so get your cliche comments about how the new camaro "is too heavy" out of here.

the official curb weight of the 2011 camaro is 3750 for the automatics
the curb weight on a 2001 is 3450.

300lb difference...along with a 6.2 with an awesome powerband and some great gearing.

insideline lists the 2011 mustang gt at 4000lbs and the camaro ss at 3871lbs.



i find it odd that someone whos talking about how you can't defy the laws of physics has an avatar of them at the drag strip (or so it seems i may be wrong)...which is an endeavor that exists solely TO utilize the laws of physics to our advantage. so tell me professor...4000lb cars can't be fast in the 1/4 mile?

 

[SleeperLS]

I guess if those 300lbs were distributed in a really bad place...like above the axle midline(I might be mistaken on the term, but I remember James explaining this to me) it would be bad. The weight becomes a bigger problem than just 300lbs, it could shift the entire balance of the vehicle and run like crap. just a thought to stir the pot

 

[YoushallgoFo]

Will it have the ZR1 tracton control system?

 

[jason05gt]

you clearly know nothing about the laws of physics so get your cliche comments about how the new camaro "is too heavy" out of here.

the official curb weight of the 2011 camaro is 3750 for the automatics
the curb weight on a 2001 is 3450.

300lb difference...along with a 6.2 with an awesome powerband and some great gearing.

insideline lists the 2011 mustang gt at 4000lbs and the camaro ss at 3871lbs.



i find it odd that someone whos talking about how you can't defy the laws of physics has an avatar of them at the drag strip (or so it seems i may be wrong)...which is an endeavor that exists solely TO utilize the laws of physics to our advantage. so tell me professor...4000lb cars can't be fast in the 1/4 mile?

Huh?

The ZL1 which we are talking about will be close to 4000 lbs. A Mustang GT is a hair over 3,600 lbs so I am not sure what data you are looking at but it's incorrect.

If you re-read what I posted, I was talking about the Nurburgring which is a road racing course.

 

[Primalzer]

The Chevy Camaro ZL1 gets 580 hp, and 9 other things you need to know

Chevrolet took us to GM's Milford proving grounds for a look-don't-touch session with the company's new high-horsepower track animal — the Camaro ZL1. We didn't get to drive the prototypes on hand, but we did poke them with a stick and query engineers on their beastly spawn. Here's what we found out.

10.) POWAH! The ZL1's SAE-certified horsepower is indeed north of 570 hp. It is in fact 580 @ 6,000 rpm. It's 30 more than the 2011 Shelby GT500, and 150 more than the (conservatively published number for) the 1969 Camaro ZL1 — its spiritual antecedent. That's the special-order Camaro that's rarer than duck lips and worth more at auction than a middle-eastern sovereign wealth fund.

9.) TORRRRQUE! The ZL1's torque figure is 556 lb-ft @4200 rpm, 47 more than the Lamborghini Aventador and only six less than a tugboat powered by Coal Chamber albums. That puts it extremely high on the torque-per-dollar ratio.

8.) POWAH TO WEIGHT! Its got a power-to-weight of 7.24 pounds per horsepower — less than the Nissan GT-R's and Porsche 911 GTS's figures. That's a sweet number, and it only slightly obscures the fact that the Camaro ZL1 carries a George Foreman-esque mass of nearly 4,200 lbs.

7.) NEW TECH! It's the first car to get Delphi's (now BWI's) next-generation magnetohydrodynamicalgezundheit adaptive damping system that's faster and more reactive that the current version, found on the Cadillac CTS-V and ZR1. (Oh, and also the Ferrari 458 Italia and Audi R8.) It can adjust the suspension up to 1,000 times per second.

6.) TRACK READY FOR REAL! Unlike the Mustang GT500, the ZL1 will be track-ready right from the dealership, with all necessary transmission, diff and brake-cooling systems installed at the factory, though you'll have to supply your own helmet and feelings of self-regard.

5.) ELECTRIC POWER STEERING, WAIT WHAT? The ZL1 will have electric power steering, which we've been assured will have sufficient feel (we'll let you know when they let us drive it). One benefit is that it's not roped to the engine, so no parasitic losses.

4.) MANUAL DEXTERITY! The Tremec TR6060 manual transmission's been shored up to handle the extra torque, with a stronger output shaft. Yes, some things are just that simple.

3.) AUTOTRAGICAL DEXTERITY! Engineers insist the ZL1's build of GM's standard-issue Hydramatic 6L90 automatic — after some structural adjustments (heavier-duty output shaft and gearsets) and lots of algorithmic fiddling — is just as track-worthy as the manual. No compromises, they say. We'll just see about that.

2.) SO TIRE-SOME! Michelin devised for the ZL1 (and the Corvette line) a new, street legal, driveway-to-track tire — the Pilot Sport Cup Zero Pressure (ZP). They say it's as close to a racing compound you can get for street use, without hydroplaning over a puddle of spilled iced tea.

1.) NACA DUCTS! It has NACA ducts in the undertray to help cool the transmission. Ok, make that 9 things you must know, and one thing you're just nerdy enough to want to know.

More to come when we finally get behind the wheel of the Chevy Camaro ZL1 later this year.

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