Video: GM Engineers Run 11’s With Bone-Stock ZL1

To prove that the ZL1 is plenty capable in a straight line and not just on the road course, the ZL1 engineering team recently headed out the Milan Dragway in Milan, Michigan, for a little quarter-mile fun. Even though the ZL1 wasn’t designed specifically as a drag car, the ZL1 team is wise enough to realize that the new 580 horsepower Camaros will be seeing plenty of drag-strip time at the hands of their new owners, so it needs to be up to the task.

The team took two new ZL1’s with them to the drag strip; both an automatic and a manual. At the track they bolted up a set of 18” Mickey Thompson drag radials on Z06 wheels to the silver automatic trans car, and a stet of 20” Nitto drag radials on stock ZL1 wheels to the red manual trans ZL1. However, all we are told about the times is that racers using drag radials on the ZL1 will likely find themselves running faster than 11.49, at which point the NHRA mandates a 5-point roll cage must be installed. So, they say that the high 11-second time slips were created with the ZL1’s stock Goodyear tires.

In the end, the silver automatic ZL1 ran the best time of the two, with an 11.93 at 116.95 MPH. The red manual transmission car was just a tick behind with an 11.96 at 117 MPH. Tony Roma, Camaro ZL1 Program Engineering Manager said after the test, “The ZL1 is great at everything and we’re very proud of that. You can take it to the drag strip and run 11-second quarter-miles all day long. You can also take it to a road course, where it’s balanced, handles well, and does exactly what you want – including lapping Virginia International Raceway’s Grand Course in under three minutes – and yet the ZL1 is sophisticated enough to use as a daily driver. It’s a supercar you can drive every day.”

About the author

Clifton Klaverweiden

Clifton has been a car fanatic since his late teens, when he started the restoration of his '67 Camaro. He considers himself a student of automotive science and technology, and particularly loves all things LSX. And, although he has an appreciation for everything, from imports to exotics, his true passion will always be for GM musclecars.
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