Chevrolet is on a roll in trying to regain its spiraling sales, and along with bettering its hallowed sports car, the all-new mid-engined Vette, it’s is also turning its muscle monster, the Camaro even beastlier. The 2021 Camaro ZL1 is as insane as they come and revs for the track even in its stock form.
Will this be the Camaro that finally has the Mustang for breakfast? Something Chevy has been aiming for since the launch of the Camaro in 1966? Time will tell and honestly, in today’s car market, there is space for every car brand out there and if the horsepower wars are still on, they are not that intense anymore.
But even so, the 2021 Camaro ZL1 does seem to be the king of all muscle cars for now, so much so that it is even banned in some places.
So here’s all we just learned about the 2021 Camaro ZL1 and why we are itching to drive one even if two states have banned it!
10 The ZL1 Is The Camaro's Most Fearsome Trim
The 2021 Camaro can be had in seven trims: LS, 1LT, 2LT, 3LT, LT1, 1SS, 2SS, and finally, the king of the road and track, ZL1. The base trim itself is no weakling, powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged mill that jets 275 horses.
The 1-3 LTs come with a 3.6-liter V6 while the other trims bear the 6.2-liter V8. In the ZL1, this very supercharged mill makes a whopping 650 horsepower as well as an equivalent torque. This beast is just raring to go!
9 Beats Competition With Affordability & Weight
The competition of the Camaro, the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, and the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat bear better horsepower figures, the kind that are in the seven-hundreds. But the Camaro will give you plenty of thrills at a far more affordable price, although the ZL1 does start well over $60,000 for the coupe and over $70,000 for the convertible.
The Camaro ZL1 also weighs lesser than its competition. This means that despite having slightly less power, it can match the other muscle neck to neck, even if it cannot truly surge ahead.
8 To Go Racing, Grab The 1LE Track Package
For $7,500 over and above the price of the ZL1, you can get your Camaro fitted with the 1LE track package which strips off all civility and makes it so ready for the track, you’d have trouble controlling the beast on the road.
Wider and stickier tires, a manually adjustable front suspension, dampers, and a suspension so stiff it could stab any road, the ZL1 1LE is the Camaro to go for if all you want to do is go racing and never stop.
7 The Looks Remain The Same, Interiors Get Better
There are not too many changes in the 2021 Camaro ZL1 as opposed to the 2020 model, but it did manage to do the one thing that was irritating most of its fans, fix its infotainment service. Now, the Camaro ZL1 does have Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The looks remain mostly the same but for itty-bitty touches here and there and the addition of a new color, Wild Cherry, in case you found the other colors of the Camaro ZL1 too tame.
6 Almost As Good As The Corvette
This is the first time that the Camaro is basically giving inhouse competition to the Corvette, which wins the title of the best performance car by Chevy by a small margin. For example, if you take the Camaro Zl1 1LE, you get a maximum lateral acceleration of 1.18 g’s. That’s elite territory.
But the Corvette manages to best the numbers. If you take the Corvette Z06 and add the Z07 package to it, you get a maximum lateral acceleration of 1.19 g’s. ‘Nuff said.
5 The Camaro Zl1 Lets You Drive Stick
The 2020 Corvette came as a disappointment for all the manual transmission lovers, considering driving stick is off the roster for the Vette. But the Camaro ZL1 gives you all the thrills you want on the standard six-speed manual transmission or the optional 10-speed automatic one.
Performance specs on either remain on this side of the insanely good, and the steering and handling are the top of their game. The Zl1 will keep on giving you a firm and somewhat comfortable ride, even when the adaptive dampers get stiffer for hardcore driving modes.
4 The 2021 Camaro Zl1 Is Stupid Fast
Chevy claims the Camaro Zl1’s top speed to be 190 MPH, and looking at all the ZL1 has been equipped with, we can believe it. The 2021 Camaro ZL1 can hit 0-60 MPH in 3.4 seconds or under, and go 0-100 MPH in 7.4 seconds. A quarter-mile happens in 11.5 seconds at speeds of 124 MPH, which is faster than the time it would take you to realize that.
All-in-all, this is a car made to speed in, but that does mean that it may not be actually built for comfort or even storage.
3 The Downside Of The 2021 Camaro ZL1
One of the biggest flaws of the Camaro is the poor frontal visibility caused by the thick front pillars. Sadly, this gets translated to the ZL1 as well, coupe or convertible. Cargo space is minimal, and the interiors lack basic stashing places, which leads us to believe that it may seat four but technically, is comfortable for only two passengers.
The ZL1 does sneak mild creature comforts like power-adjustable front seats, dual-zone climate control as well as heated steering and sears.
2 Safe But Not Very Fuel Efficient
The NHTSA gives the 2021 Camaro Zl1 a four-star safety rating and it does come with some safety features, including forward-collision control, but don’t expect too much from a muscle car.
As far as fuel efficiency is concerned, the Camaro is not. EPA estimation says the Camaro gives 13 MPG in the city and 21 MPG on the highway. The environment is not big on the Camaro’s horizon of important things, and neither does it matter much to those who love burning rubber in this gas-guzzling horsepower beast.
1 2021 Camaro ZL1 Banned Because Of Salmon
No, there’s nothing fishy about it. But post-January 1, 2021, you cannot buy a 2021 Chevy Camaro ZL1, SS, and 1LE in California or Washington State. And the reason is that the brake pads of these Camaro models bear more than 5% of copper in them. Wear and tear leak copper into the atmosphere where it reaches the waterways and is bad for the salmon.
So you cannot order one for delivery but can still buy dealer stock if they have any. Of course, by 2022, GM promises to fix the problems, so that their buyers are not left with a metallic tang of regret…
Sources: CarrandDriver, Autoweek