Rarity to Rarity Comparison
 

I was just curious today and did some web research. The ‘65 & ‘66 Shelby GT350’s had a similar total number built to the total number of ZLE’s that were built.

Looking at the values of those Shelby GT 350’s today, I’m curious about other’s opinions about the potential value of the ZLE’s in the near future??


JJ

Shelby had a heritage and the name carries a lot of value. The ZL1 1LE is just another Camaro.

near future?

Keep an eye on this and see what it does

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/KYE...maro-zl1-coupe

but I don't really see historical data supporting used ZLE's selling for big money. Nothing I have found even over MSRP.

This is just another Camaro with no Shelby heritage either, what about this?

https://www.hagertyagent.com/apps/va...let-Camaro-ZL1

https://www.classic.com/m/chevrolet/.../1st-gen/zl-1/

You're seriously not comparing the original ZL1 to the current one, right?

As you get opinions on your question, you should know that some here, such as Z OH 6, have consistently held a low opinion of the ZLE. You should factor that into your thinking.

try and find a better platform dollar for dollar right now. Just wait and see what these things will be worth in the future.

The ZLE's insane Ring performance, bespoke racing suspension, wild aero and very low production numbers was enough to make it special.

It's also one of the craziest Muscle cars ever conceived...period.

Now that Camaro end of production is here in a couple of months, with maybe zero or near zero ZL1 1LE's built for the 2024 model year, the ZLE is the undisputed high water mark of the Track focused ICE Camaro.
It will be now be legendary.

Thank you Al O!

Dave, this site needs a "like" button.

Why is that so alarming to you. The first Gen ZL1 was a powertrain option designed to go Drag Racing, it was a back door option as GM “wasn’t racing”.
It wasn’t anything that special in today’s terms, however in that era, aluminum 427’s weren’t supposed to go into a Camaro. It’s a really cool piece of history.

The 1LE isn’t a back door effort, but a front door effort that GM willingly made to produce a car that destroyed many of the benchmark vehicles of the time on the Nurburgring. It absolutely accomplished that mission. Remember, most of the cars from the sixties were average sedans with a sticker package and increased displacement to make up for a lack of efficiency. I’m not dogging on them, I still love those cars, but most ran 13’s in the qtr. on a good day.

If you ask why those cars are so special today, it’s because they weren’t back in the day. Sounds weird right? In 1969 you didn’t have droves of collectors waiting to put their order in to snap up a car and place it in a cocoon. A performance variant was a few bucks more and styling was epic. People bought them to drive them, everyday and everywhere. They sold hundreds of thousands of these cheaply slapped together cars. Comparing the engineering of a 1969 Camaro to a modern day Camaro is laughable, even a six cylinder Camaro can run numbers better than most big blocks. So you might ask why are they so desirable? First off the styling was great, safety was not a concern so you had beautifully styled dash boards and straight awesome looks. What’s better looking than a 69 Camaro, not much IMHO! Sweet simple engines, four speeds, posi and light weight.

The key is what came next, the next two decades were crap. GM and every other US OEM couldn’t engineer their way out of a hole. So for three decades the magazines did nothing but talk about the good old days of the muscle car. Those cars got faster and faster with each article. Lots of stories embellished year after year. Yeah the cars got legendary as well as the prices. We live in a different world, the cars are getting faster and faster every day, so much so that 800 hp is so yesterday. In my mind Dodge’s will always be the King. The Dodge boys have brass balls and the cars back up the marketing. The only thing they currently don’t have is a record breaking muscle car that handles. As far as I’m concerned that’s the only box that Camaro can click. That’s the ZLE, Ring king, supercharged old school V8, manual trans. No other GM car checks those boxes. If you want one, time to get one.

While I’m on my soap box, I love that GM finally built a mid engine Vette. If you always dreamt about owning a Ferrari, well the Z06 is it. They admitted bought an older outdated Ferrari and copied the powertrain only better. Does it sound cool, 100%, every time I hear a Z06 drive by my head snaps, then I realize it’s a fake Ferrari. So if you want the LAST GM ICE BAD BOY MUSCLE CAR, the ZL1 and its Angrier brother are your best bet. If you’re hitting your mid life crisis and you’re having a hard time trying to find the right car to wear that gold chain you got in 1979, look no further than a C8 Z06. Ok boy did I hurt some feelings :sm0:

If you were old enough to buy anything in 79' it might be a little too late for that (midlife crisis). Source: I'm a millennial pushing 40.

Hey Camfab,

I too was very interested in a C8 Z06….until I saw the absurd ADM’s most dealers across the country were applying. A high factory sticker was bad enough, but then the outrageous mark-ups put that to bed for me. Also, I wanted a manual trans. Then reading about some of the engine failures, I was very happy I went with another ZLE. Plus my ‘22 ZLE runs much better and stronger than my ‘18 did.

I just thought this thread would be an interesting comparison since the total manufactured numbers of both so closely matched. I certainly realize there are 60+ years of technological advances, but both cars were somewhat pushed as “track” cars.

Regardless of what the final values may be for the ZLE, I really do love mine!

JJ

One of the dealers I reached out to about a ZLE pitched me a Z06 with a 100k ADM....

Hold on to your collectors toys’ boys and girls. We snagged a gem,

Disclaimer: I am only a regular ZL1 holder. No 1le bits (yet)