2015 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Image Credit: Chevrolet.com

Lately, its easy to see what's been happening in America. From an automotive standpoint, it's possible to call it the rebirth of a once treasured and worshiped stampede. in the 1960s, car makers went muscle crazy, and the storied pony race between iconic cars like the Mustang, Challenger, and the Camaro carried on for decades. Eventually though, the muscle car race subsided, fading into the later pages of automotive magazines and websites everywhere. Recently though, as we all know, the race is back on; and it's fiercer than ever. With that said, its time we look at one of the cars that started the race all those years ago: The Chevrolet Camaro.

In the 60s, the original Camaro rattled the streets and pummeled the eardrums of anyone within a mile radius with its throbbing V-8, and joined a culture that was idolized by the Hollywood Jet Set and speed freaks across the nation. Today, the legend returns, and its spirit is higher than ever with the new ZL1.

Just by looking at it, you know that this car means business. It's not like they've done it all for show either. Those bulging lines hold a wider and lower track stance, and underneath the flexing roof is a Thunderous motor that makes the kind of noise scientists would create to set off earthquakes.

The 6.2 Liter V-8 produces 580 horse power, which is good to get the ZL1 from 0-60 in 4.1 seconds thanks in part to a 6-speed manual gear box. Compliment that with a spoiler designed to produce an additional 150 pounds of downforce, and you really begin to understand just how serious this car is about its power. Putting all that power down on the ground comes courtesy of four 20-inch GoodYear Eagle F1 G:2 radials, which, when thrown at some tight corners, can produce .99G of sideways gravity, which given the common stereotype of muscle cars, is pretty impressive for cornering, and can make the ZL1 an easy car to get along with on a day to day basis, if the mood suddenly were to take your foot and mash it into the floor where the gas pedal normally sits. But let's not forget that a daily driver isn't just comfortable on the handling front.

Step inside, and GM doesn't disappoint. A well-appointed interior that uses a palliate of refined and well-thought out materials that, though remains relatively unchanged from earlier models, particularly the 2012, still looks amazing with design cues that hark back to the classic pony from the 60s. A navigation center and organized buttons cluster adorn the center counsel, just above the shift knob mated to the 6 speed manual transmission for the days when you feel like being a driver, and adaptive cruise control, for the days when you want to let up on the pedal, which we imagine if you buy a car like this, you won't find much use for.

So, already, this pure-bread pony is shaping up to be a fairly competent candidate for the race at hand. Plenty of power, a wide and aggressive stance, a noise that sets of car alarms and an interior that makes this monster a livable beast seem to allow it to blend in as another every day driver's car as much as it stands out from the rest. However, with all of this, there are a few problems.

From my experience, headroom could be an issue you might face if you're above 6'1". Of course, you can adjust the seat to accommodate, but then you might find yourself with a restricted viewing zone out of the front and the rear, thanks to a low-slung roofline and that bulging hood. Putting it into gear, as with Chevys of old, and though a little more manageable now, still feels a bit like taking a sledgehammer to a brick wall as you make your way through the gears despite an easy to use throttle. There are two other issues that don't come from the car. They are the potentially deadly rivals that come from Ford and Dodge.

Just months after the 580 hp Camaro ZL1 met the pavement, Ford launched its all-new 662-hp Mustang Shelby GT500; and while the two stallions were working out their differences on the track, Dodge was preparing to join the race with a real game changer; the 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat. With an eye watering 707-hp at the car's disposal thanks to a meat mincing Nascar-esque 6.2 Liter HEMI V-8, the smallest number about it was its 3.4 second 0-60 time. Add in the fact that the Hellcat was equipped with a unique "valet mode" feature, which essentially took away all the insanity so the valet wouldn't have any cute ideas, and you ended up with a car that Car & Driver regarded as "The stuff of redneck dreams...and of everyone else's nightmares". Couple that to a 60 grand starting price tag, and it has since become a class act in the race to become the elite hands-down and undisputed Mopar leader.

But let's see it this way, Chevy took the first bold step in 2015, and were followed by the new monsters from Ford and Dodge. As we have yet to hear of the next-generation ZL1, it's best that you consider one of two options if you're a gearhead: either snag one up now, while you can, or wait to see what General Motors decides to do with the ZL1 Camaro name in a few years' time. If it's going anything like we've seen, the stampede is truly just beginning.

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