Radical V8 Rambo
580 hp and 750 Nm of torque: This is the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. And as the monster runs the USA? First drive report.
Three, two, one - off: As soon as the light turns green, it hammers the gas pedal to the floor pan. Then comes a short vibration through the car, 1.5 tons of steel trees on the eight-cylinder rehearse the automotive primal scream and the 305er rolling cases on the rear axle, the world in the acrid smoke banned rubbers: Welcome to the drag strip, ZL1 Welcome to the Camaro. Indianapolis or Iserlohn - no matter from where you start driving this Camaro always feels as if one had the same drive a quarter-mile race. Whether city or country road, highway or Nordschleife - civil and decent, you can drive this car hard. Because of the ZL1 sees with his chubby cheeks and Carbonhutze on the endless bonnet, not only of overpowering force, but he is with 580 hp, 754 Nm and a maximum of 290 km / h even the strongest and fastest Camaro, the Chevrolet ever left on the street has.
Made possible by a donation from the Corvette ZR1. The hottest version of its big brother comes from its muscle-car compressor. Thus, the performance of the 6.2-liter V8 climbs to 150 hp and sometimes just catapulted to a level with the Camaro sports car like the Audi R8, the BMW M3 or even the Mercedes SLS. Where the low-flying aircraft from Good Old Germany, however, relied on precision and perfection, the Camaro the Rambo is among the cars and confident with the brute force method: brute and brutal is the tunneling when 754 Nm go to work and the 20 inch model in order to support the asphalt wrestle. If suspension and traction control in five stages on the performance mode, trimmed, rich almost four seconds for the sprint to 100 km, the quarter mile fall after twelve seconds, and because the engineers have worked properly in the vote, creates the ZL1, the Nordschleife respectable 7:41,27 minutes.
Under the body there are actually a lot of finishing touches - from the increased coupling of the differential to axle bearings to gear and the Magna-Ride Suspension's engineers have really touched every part, optimized and designed for extreme stresses of over 1000 cavalier boot. And also the designer of the Camaro have sharpened properly. Only the interior remains as it is - a little listless and loveless. The closer you get to the Camaro, the more sobering reason the barren deserts have plastic around the steering wheel, Recaro seats and the cheap, the old-fashioned instruments.
But on the other hand: Who cares in such a car, where it's about adrenaline and not to feel. Who wants to ride 580 horses, which has not already view more for soft-touch surfaces, leather seams and gaps. And if it does, then you have to call only the award in memory. Although the American fast drivers are currently discussing whether to charge $ 30,000 for the base model, the ZL1 package but not a bit much. But compared to the competitors from the old world of the ZL1 remains with his $ 54,995 a bargain. Too bad that the Europeans will have nothing. Officially, there will not be the ZL1 on this side of the Atlantic. And who appointed him to a free importer, with nearly 80,000 € here. That's a lot of money for which you can buy a more civilized sports car.