Camaro ZL1 Coupe

Make
Chevrolet
Segment
Coupe

With the C7 Corvette now out of production, the Camaro ZL1 is the most powerful Chevrolet product you can buy right now until the company releases the C8 versions of the Z06 and ZR1. It produces 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque from a 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8, sending power to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic transmission. Putting 650 horses down to the ground with only two driven wheels is not easy but the ZL1 can hit 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds.

If you plan to take your ZL1 to the track, the 1LE Package adds enhanced aerodynamic pieces such as a carbon-fiber rear wing, air deflectors, and dive planes. These components easily help the ZL1 1LE lap a race track quicker than the standard car but they do hurt performance in one key metric - top speed.

Chevy claims the standard Camaro ZL1 tops out at 202 mph, so you might think the 1LE could achieve a similar top speed. As it turns out, those aero parts come into play at high speed, severely limiting the 1LE's performance. The Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds had access to a red 2019 ZL1 1LE (with a six-speed manual) to run down a 3.22-mile runway. 3.22 miles should be plenty to hit 200 mph but the 1LE was only able to achieve 178 mph. This is still an impressive top speed but is significantly off the pace of the standard ZL1.

If you have any doubts about where and when the 1LE was tested, the proving grounds posted every detail about the top speed run including temperature, humidity, wind speeds, surface material, and even the elevation above sea level. Opting for the 1LE Package on the ZL1 requires you to make a trade-off in performance, sacrificing top speed in exchange for quicker lap times. Unless you prefer doing runway races to track days, we say the 1LE Package is worth the trade-off.