General Motors has announced the official top speed for the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with the new 10-speed automatic transmission, and while the fastest Camaro ever tickles the 200 barrier, it falls 1 mile per hour short of the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.
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We have known for some time now that the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with the 10-speed automatic transmission would lay down an 11.40 quarter mile while moving out from 0-60 in just 3.5 seconds, but we have now learned that the new supercharged Chevy muscle car will hit an impressive top speed of 198 miles per hour.
This makes the 2018 ZL1 the fastest Camaro ever, while also being able to dash from 0-60 in just 3.5 seconds en route to a quarter mile time of 11.4 - making it the quickest Camaro ever.
“This test caps an impressive list of performance stats for the Camaro ZL1, which was designed to excel at everything,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “It’s the most capable — and fastest —Camaro ever.”
The Fastest Camaro Ever
The official 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 top speed of 198 miles per hour was established on the High Speed Oval at Germany’s Automotive Testing Papenburg GmBH proving ground. The team made two runs on the 7.6 mile oval, one in each direction, to compensate for wind speed. The new Camaro topped out at 202.2 miles per hour headed one way and 193.3 miles per hour in the other direction – leading to an average of 198.1 miles per hour. The runs were made on a German testing oval which measures 7.6 miles long, with 2.5 mile straightaways and 42-degree banked turns which allowed the new Camaro ZL1 to make its way around the entire track at full throttle.
“The ZL1 was developed with high-speed performance in mind, incorporating a balanced aerodynamic package that reduces lift without significantly affecting drag,” said Oppenheiser. “After testing the car in standard settings, which produced the 198-mph average, we set the front and rear camber adjustments to 0 degrees and the tire pressures to the maximum allowable sidewall pressure, and saw the ZL1 average over 200 mph.”
Under this accepted method of high speed testing, the new Camaro ZL1 is faster than any factory-built, road-going Camaro before it. Of course, the fastest Chevrolet road car ever is the C7 Corvette Z06, which achieved an official number of 205 miles per hour with the same LT4 engine.
Camaro ZL1 Swats at the Hellcat
While this official stock top speed of 198 miles per hour makes the 2018 Camaro ZL1 the fastest Camaro ever, it falls one mile per hour short of the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. The Hellcat has an official top speed (with the same method) of 199 miles per hour, making it the fastest 2-door muscle car on the market today, while the 2013-2014 Shelby GT500 still holds the record for the fastest of the class – being the only one to get an official top speed of 200 miles per hour.
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