Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 2019 Review

There’s something reassuringly familiar about HSV offering the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for sale in Australia. It’s so appropriate that the Clayton mob once again has something excessively powerful and expensive in its line-up.

In the tradition of the Callaway GTS 300, the W427 and the GTSR W1, there’s now the Camaro ZL1.

Okay, so it’s not a Commodore and HSV has concentrated on shifting the steering wheel from the left- to the right-hand side of the US-built coupe rather than making performance modifications. But in a country that has tilted off its axis in recent years in automotive terms, it’s just nice HSV still offers this stuff. All is not lost in the world.

For a start, it’s not cheap. At a minimum $159,990 including luxury tax but not on-road costs, the Chevrolet is not an American muscle-car that will be seen on every street corner. In fact, HSV reckons it will sell just 300 to 400 per annum of the hi-po Camaros.

For that money you’re getting a hell of a lot of car.

There’s nothing out there that packs this much power for this much money and in that way it’s good value.

To illustrate the point we’ll compare it on price and power against three twin-turbocharged V8s from the popular Mercedes-AMG range.

The C63 S matches the Camaro ZL1 on price but not outputs, the E 63 S is close on outputs but far more expensive. The GT is a coupe but is both more expensive and less powerful.

Funnily enough the ZL1’s recently updated 2SS relation  can’t claim the same value argument as it has the factory-sourced and much cheaper Ford Mustang with which to contend.

Maybe that situation will change for ZL1 in the not too distant future? What do you reckon Ford?

The ZL1 is the Camaro coupe screwed up to 10. Not 11, mind you. That’s the 1LE track pack version we don’t get in this country… At least not yet.

Into the engine bay of the ZL1 goes Chevrolet’s 6.2-litre LT4 supercharged V8, producing an Australian-certified 477kW and 881Nm. This tops the farewell W1’s 474kW and 815Nm, make the big Camaro HSV’s most powerful vehicle yet.

Sure, this thing has pushrods but there’s variable valve timing and direct injection, the supercharger is integrated into the intake manifold and fuel rails, and there are no less than 11 heat exchangers.

Like all sixth-generation Camaros, the ZL1 is built on GM’s Alpha architecture. It drives its rear wheels via the choice of a six-speed manual transmission or 10-speed automatic transmission (add $2200 if you tick that box) and an electronic limited-slip differential.

Performance potential is towering, with 4sec 0-100km/h times on call with or without the aid of customisable launch control. Mountains of tyre smoke is also available at will and the auto even has a line-locker function to make that process easier.

A bi-modal performance exhaust amps up the soundtrack, active Magnetic Ride Control dampers vary the suspension’s behaviour and Brembo six-piston monobloc callipers work with 390mm two-piece rotors up-front to do the stopping.

HSV has traded in the ZL1’s staggered 20-inch Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres for Continental ContiSportContact 5 rubber, working on the basis that they will provide better all-weather grip.

Unsurprisingly, there’s no spare tyre.

The original Goodyears will be offered to ZL1 buyers as a relatively cheap (around $1000 per set) track option. That doesn’t include rims, by the way.

In the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1’s cockpit there are Recaro sports bucket seats with eight-way adjustment for the driver and six-way adjustment for the passenger. They are also heated and ventilated.

Sports pedals are alloy.

The steering wheel is flat-bottomed and suede-trimmed, there’s a nine-speaker BOSE audio system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, dual-zone climate control, wireless charging and 24 interior colour options.

The Chevrolet ZL1 gets eight airbags, rear cross traffic alert, blind spot warning, rear park assist, a reversing camera, forward collision alert, HID headlights and a head up-display.

But there’s a couple of big safety misses -- no autonomous emergency braking or lane keep assist.

HSV offers a three-year/100,000km warranty for the ZL1, while servicing is scheduled every 12,000km or nine months. There is no capped-price servicing program but the cost, excluding GST, is estimated to be $2141.32 across the first five services.

We’ve been through the process HSV has developed to ‘remanufacture’ the Camaro back when the MY18 2SS was launched. That 100-hour-per-vehicle system remains fundamentally unchanged, but there have been additional engineering challenges to overcome along the way to MY19.

First off, think about this; HSV had to crash three ZL1s to gain Australian Design Rule certification. Sad but true.

And because HSV swapped its sourcing from the defunct European spec to US models for MY19, there were a bunch of unique items that had to be sourced or developed in-house to achieve ADR compliance. They include tail-lights and headlights, seatbelts and exterior mirrors.

HSV also had to develop a blanking plate to cover over two driving lights for the front fascia because ADRs only allow two DRLs, it had to add wheel coverage spats, quieten the exhaust to comply with tighter pass-by noise limits and make modifications to the stability control tune.

It also future-proofed the Chevrolet with Euro 6 emissions calibration, remembering Australia is only up to Euro 5 and the timeline for tightening further is, well, indeterminate.

HSV also had to develop a new clutch arm because the standard pedal clashed with a firewall structural member. A new front swaybar was needed because the original fouled the rack motor when it was swapped.

A new casing was developed for the Chevrolet’s HUD. It had been package protected for the MY18, but HSV just ran out of time to get it finished. Embedded sat-nav continues to be a no-show though, while the sunroof standard for the 2018 2SS is gone.

One thing we’re glad the Camaro ZL1 misses out on is the divisive 2SS blacked-out fascia. Instead, it’s got an MY18-style upper with a massive radiator inlet gulping air below. There’s also that menacing carbon-fibre composite bonnet air extractor and rear wing.

And how menacingly good does this thing look? It just hogs the limelight anywhere it cruises.

This was a different drive program, with part one at Sandown Raceway and part two on the road a few days later.

The track was primarily for a few demonstrations of features like launch control, and a couple of slow-ish fast laps on a bitterly cold and sometimes wet day.

Both ZL1 and 2SS were on hand and there’s no doubting the extra power and torque of the supercharged version. It rockets up to speed, there’s just no other way of describing it. The naturally-aspirated car sounds that bit better though – unless you’re a big fan of supercharger whine!

There was also the chance to sample the manual transmission. It proved surprisingly light and accurate for a vehicle of this type – anyone who owns a Falcon or Commodore V8 manual wouldn’t recognise it!

It’s so easy to heel and toe I didn’t even bother with the rev matching, which is switched on and off by the shift paddles on the steering wheel.

No, you can’t change gears in the manual via the paddles! Hey, someone’s thinking it!

Unfortunately, our road drive was in even worse weather than Sandown. Rain showers came in waves all day, denying us the chance to really have a crack, so the Contis definitely came in handy.

Sure, there was some wheel slip and spin, but the 477kW (that’s 640hp!) ZL1 never felt intimidating.

You can drive this thing around at 3000rpm in the wet and still be treated to strong, linear and accessible performance.

We pretty much stuck to Tour mode, preferring the softer set-up for the inclement conditions. It’s the option you’d chose for commuting and touring.

Sport winds the suspension, steering, auto shift map, throttle, stability control tune and exhaust sound up a bit. Track winds them up a lot!

There were moments toward the end of the day when the clouds blew away, delivering literal and metaphorical clarity.

A run on a ridge-top road in drying conditions revealed sure-footedness, good steering response and feel, and a flat cornering attitude that barely changed from a fast sweeper to a 35km/h hairpin.

And the ZL1’s big Brembos are powerful and feelsome -- much better than the four-pots used by the 2SS.

The 10-speed auto is also a ripper. Only once or twice was there bump-thump. It is enjoyably receptive to manual changing, even if the paddles are a bit lacking in feel.

For all the Camaro ZL1’s poise there is no doubt this is a sizable car, at nearly 4.8m long with an 1807kg claimed kerb weight as an auto. It looks like a space ship and drives like a muscle-car. It will bump steer at the rear when you’re trying to put the power down on a rutted corner, smash into potholes and tram-track on those massive tyres.

But the only really annoying thing about the rubber is the amount of noise the tyres make on coarse bitumen and how it ricochets into the cabin. It’s 911-ish. And that’s bad.

Okay, experience number two. A flat, straight road was dry in the middle of nowhere, so I engage the 0-100km/h timer in performance mode and went at it.

First time, too much throttle and wheelspin. Still no traffic, so I try again. Traction control on, no launch control, gentle throttle-on then wind it up. Boom.

A 4.5sec 0-100km/h. Absolutely effortless. Can’t wait to get this thing on a drag strip with proper timing where we should see a 0-100km/h figure with a three in front of it.

Oh yeah, one more number. HSV claims a thirsty 15.3L/100km fuel consumption average for the ZL1 auto. We got 17.8. And remember, we spent a fair amount of time cruising on low throttle in the rain.

The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is hopeless to see out of any direction bar forward and has a rear seat that’s useless. It comes in handy only because there are so few places to stow things in the cabin. The boot is small with a tiny opening.

It’s a struggle to read the labels on plenty of the buttons strewn across the dash and steering wheel.

There’s no shortage of menus to navigate through including Performance mode, which provides oodles of fascinating go-fast info including a g-meter and lap timer.

More importantly, the Recaro front seats are excellent, the steering wheel right-sized and the pedal box spacious for big feet.

Indeed, HSV’s conversion job is high quality although there are still those odd flip-flopped external mirrors and the centre console’s double cup-holder remains on the driver’s side.

Not befitting a $160K car, the dashboard is hard to the touch, the feel of the buttons and dials is downmarket, the media screen points weirdly downward away from passengers and the big doors ‘boing’ rather than ‘thunk’ solidly shut.

Sure, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has its issues and negatives, but it also has some very big positives. The supercharged V8 engine is epic and thankfully the chassis performance is up there with it.

If we can’t have a homegrown V8 in the HSV showroom then let’s be happy the ZL1 has arrived.

It may be a Yank import, but it seems right at home.

How much does the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 cost?
Available: Now
Price: From $159,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged petrol V8
Output: 477kW/881Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual; 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 15.6L/100km (man); 15.3L/100km (auto)
CO2: 362g/km (man); 355g/km
Safety rating: N/A