Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is the most potent Camaro ever produced, which Chevy has built to go toe-to-toe with Ford’s quickest Mustang, the Shelby GT500.

The four-seat, rear-drive muscle car is a tribute to the rare 1969 Camaro ZL1; a lightened, high-performance version geared towards the drag strip, where many owners enjoyed pushing their Chevrolets to the limit.

Chevy designed the latest Camaro to be at home on the strip and the race track, but also to have enough poise to allow it to be used as a daily driver.

At the heart of the car is a supercharged 6.2-litre engine (the same engine as in the Cadillac CTS-V) that’s tuned to produce 572bhp and 556lb ft.

The team behind the ZL1 re-engineered about 30 per cent of the Camaro SS to make the latest version, with race-oriented changes such as improved cooling systems, beefed-up differentials, clutch and brakes and significantly tweaked aerodynamics to provide downforce.

As well as more efficient cooling systems to cope with track use, the ZL1 is the first car to feature Chevrolet’s third-generation magnetic ride suspension system. This Camaro also gets Performance Traction Management, which controls the level of interference from the electronic driver aids. It features wet and dry road modes and three increasingly liberal track settings, another signal of Chevrolet’s intended market for the ZL1.

The ZL1’s straight-to-the-point attitude means it is ready for track use as soon as it has been run-in. The list of optional extras extends to an automatic transmission, a choice of wheels, a sunroof and very little else.

The Chevy is full of character from the moment you slip behind the wheel and survey the hulking power bulge, complete with ZL1 badging, on the bonnet that stretches out in front of you.

Start the engine (using a conventional key that looks like it could be for an Aveo or Cruze – no race-spec starter buttons here) and the engine emits a tame-but-pleasing burble. When you stab the throttle and snick up through the gears via the sturdy six-speed manual ’box, the small-block V8 emits a spine-tingling roar.

While powerful low-end punch and surging acceleration is impressive enough, the handling is more noteworthy, particularly if you labour under the misapprehension that US muscle cars have to be brutally fast but slightly agricultural when it comes to road manners.

This Camaro is quite the opposite: on the road, the ZL1 feels fairly refined. It rides and drives with a taut precision that suggests Chevy’s exhaustive testing at the Nürburgring Nordschleife was development time well spent.

It feels deceptively nimble for a car of this size and weight, a sensation that’s accentuated by the surprising light and deft steering. Hurtle enthusiastically into a bend and you don’t get an understeery reminder that there’s a sizeable V8 lump at the front. Get feisty with the throttle out of the corner and the rear end hunkers down obediently, only really starting to step out if you’re a tad too enthusiastic with your right foot or brave enough to switch the PTM system to one of the more aggressive modes.