Aussies Can Get a Right Drive Camaro ZL1 for $146k

The Chevrolet Camaro is not built in the right hand drive configuration which is required for legal use in Australia, but those hardcore (and financially wealthy) Chevrolet fans “down under” who want to drive the most powerful GM muscle car ever – a local company will handle the importing and all of the work to switch the supercharged beast to right-drive for around $146k AUS.

When Ford introduced the newest Mustang with a factor right hand drive configuration for the Australian market, it gave hope to GM fans in that market that General Motors would introduce the 6th generation Camaro with right-drive for the Aussie market. Unfortunately for those folks, there was no right-drive 6th gen Camaro available at the launch of the newest models and even after the Ford Mustang sold out for more than a year in advance when it went on sale in Australia – GM made it clear that they had no plans to build any 6th gen Camaros with the steering wheel on the right side.

The good news is that GM could offer the next generation Chevrolet Camaro in Australia with the proper right hand drive layout, but that doesn’t do prospective buyers any good right now. On the other hand, the folks at Crossover Car Conversions (CCC) in Melbourne can help prospective buyers right now, as the company is now offering the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with a right-drive conversation…although it is time consuming and expensive.

A Camaro ZL1 for the Aussie Market
If you live in Australia and you want to drive a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, you will need quite a bit of money and even more patience.

First off, getting a new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Australia starts with the $79,000 price tag (all prices are AUS) and a four month wait for the car to make its way from Lansing, Michigan to Melbourne. Shipping the car down under costs $5,000, import taxes add $3,000, luxury car tax adds $6,209 and the Aussie Goods and Services Tax adds another $8,200. With the basic purchase price, shipping and taxes, the Camaro ZL1 basically reaches the conversion company with a cost of $101,409.

The Right-Hand Drive Camaro Price Considerations and Time To Make It

Next, Crossover Car Conversions adds $44,000 to the price for the right hand drive swap, $6,000 of which is tied up just in making the power steering system work from the other side of the Camaro ZL1. When you add that conversion cost to the cost of getting the car to Australia, you have a price of $145,409, but that includes all of the costs involved with getting the car to Australia and making it legal for road use.

Of course, in addition to being quite expensive, the right hand drive Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 takes a long time to make it from the factory in Michigan to the Aussie owner’s garage – starting with the four month period it takes for the car to get to the southern continent and finishing up with an 8-10 week period during which the company performs the right-drive swap.

So, if you live in Australia, you have about $150,000 to spend on a new muscle car and you don’t mind waiting about a half a year to get the car – the 650hp Camaro ZL1 is now within your reach.

Source: Motor