Not really a review: Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Friday, 23 August 2019

**CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1

Base price:** $175,990

Powertrain and performance: 6.2-litre supercharged petrol V8, 477kW/881Nm, 10-speed automatic, RWD, Combined economy 15.3 litres per 100km, CO2 351g/km (Source: RightCar), 0 to 60mph (97km/h) 3.5 seconds.

How much is too much? 477kW seems like a good place to start asking that.

Vital statistics: 4831mm long, 1344mm high, 2811mm wheelbase, 20-inch alloy wheels with 285/30 tyres front, 305/30 rear.

We like: Insane power, sharp handling, belligerent attitude.

The savage power delivery of the supercharged 6.2-litre V8 made life interesting in the wet.

We don't like: Power overwhelms tyres constantly, poor rear visibility and cramped cabin, IT COSTS HOW MUCH?!

OPINION: Post-BritPop whiners Travis once droned 'Why does it always rain on me?' into the dismally bland void that followed the colourful chaos of the Oasis/Blur-era in the British musical landscape.

Apart from the fact that your elbow sits in the cupholder you would be hard-pressed to pick the Camaro started life as a LHD car.

And as much as I hate that song, I recently found myself asking that same question.

Not in an irritating Coldplay-lite sort of way, mind you, more in an unnecessarily over-powered, conspicuous consumption of diminishing resources sort of way. You see, I have an extended version of that question to ponder: 'why does it always rain on me when when I get my clammy hands on the keys to a 600+ horsepower supercharged V8 RWD muscle car?'

The Dodge Challenger Hellcat was all noise and fury, but the elements forced caution.

The Hellcat had more power, but was easier to live with in the wet than the ZL1. Slightly.

* HSV lands a hefty right-hook (Camaro, that is)

* No turbos for us thanks: here are five old-school V8s**

Magnetic Ride Control dampers give the ZL1 a far superior ride to the standard Camaro.

'Because life's not fair' might be the easy and obvious answer, but let's face it - life has actually been pretty fair to you if you even get the opportunity in the first place. It just likes reminding you who's actually in charge. And so it was when I got my hands on the keys to an HSV 're-engineered' Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, all 477kW and 881Nm of it.

It rained. Blatantly and consistently. The entire week I had it.

This means at no stage did I actually get the opportunity to use the full travel of the accelerator pedal - given that fractionally more than about 15 per cent or so lights the tyres up and wrenches the rear sideways in the wet - and quickly I grew to love it and hate it in almost equal measures for that.

The ZL1's prodigious power has something of a light switch-style delivery - on or off - with instant, savage power that demands patience and will-power to get it all down cleanly and effectively, even in the dry with traction control firmly on.

It is startling, it is awesomely impressive and it is brilliant fun. But it is also challenging and massively frustrating in the wet.

Whether it be struggling for grip to get up my steep concrete driveway or not being able to go for a gap because I knew if I accelerated hard enough to get in, the tail would be wagging more than a labrador at diner time (again; yes, the traction control remained on a the whole time), the ZL1 constantly haunted me with the nagging, horrifying thought that maybe - just maybe - there actually is such a thing as 'too much power'.

An awful thought, I know, but this wasn't exactly a new experience to me; several years ago I had a few days to spare in California following a Jeep launch, so was kindly offered the keys to a Dodge Challenger Hellcat to get me from San Jose to San Francisco for my flight home.

Now, this is not a long distance, but I had a whole day and a magnificently ridiculous supercharged V8 muscle car to do it in. Nice.

Except for the fact that as soon as I stepped out the door of the hotel to collect the car it started raining in a way that I had always assumed was illegal in Southern California.

While the ZL1 has had its noise somewhat neutered here by buzzkill Australian Design Rules, the Hellcat was in its home country and bursting with good ol' red, white and blue 'Murican noise and fury - the brutal, bellowing exhaust mingled with the electrifying mechanical scream of the supercharger to produce a magnificent wall of sound every single time you touched the throttle.

Even more powerful (527kW and 880Nm) than the ZL1 and just as happy to snap sideways, the Hellcat actually had a more linear quality to its power delivery that made it easier to live with in the wet, but it was still at least a 50:50 blend of frustration and hilarity.

Even more frustrating with the ZL1 back home was the fact that I already know the Camaro handles well, having previously driven the standard 2SS with its puny 339kW and 617Nm.

Thanks to sharper steering and a slightly more responsive chassis than the already-impressive Ford Mustang (these ain't yer grandaddy's wallowy American cruisers, boy), the Camaro is surprisingly agile for such a large car - although that impression of size is magnified considerably in the ZL1 on a country road in the wet thanks to the fact that its monstrous power and savage delivery has the rear end bucking and twitching constantly.

The ZL1 comes standard with Magnetic Ride Control dampers that continuously adjust to road conditions and work magnificently well in ironing out the biggest quibbles I had with the 2SS - its brittle, busy ride and its constant need to follow every contour in the road. Both are barely noticeable in the ZL1, which makes it considerably more relaxing on the open road.

But is there actually such a thing as 'too much power'?

Probably? Maybe not? I dunno. From my time with both cars in the wet, I truly have no idea. I do know that it would seem there is such a thing as 'too much power to channel through just the rear wheels in the wet', but even with way too much power on tap for such awful conditions both the ZL1 and Hellcat proved themselves to be fun, predictable (yes, really - you always knew exactly what they would do and how they would do it) and endearingly belligerent.

That is the reason why this is an opinion piece rather than a proper review - much like the Hellcat, I loved and hated the ZL1 in almost equal measure in the wet, but I have no idea if it is actually any good in the dry, because life just likes to remind me who is in charge when it comes to supercharged V8 RWD muscle cars.