2019 ZL1 1LE at Lightning Lap 2019
2019 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Lightning Lap 2019
Yes, we've lapped a ZL1 1LE before, but now it's available with 10-speed automatic transmission. Lap Time: 2:45.0 Class: LL3 | Base: $74,190 | As-Tested: $76,380 Power and Weight: 650 hp • 3880 lb • 6.0 lb/hp Tires: Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3R, F:305/30ZR-19 (98Y) TPC R: 325/30ZR-19 (101Y) TPC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AttqucVgkVg "Didn't you test a Camaro ZL1 1LE two years ago?" Yes, but that was the manual 1LE. This one is an automatic, and this year, Bill Wise came along to see if we could improve on the 1LE's 2:45.7 with the new 10-speed. If you don't know Wise, he's the guy who, in addition to tuning the Camaro, set the ZL1 1LE's 7:16.04 Nürburgring time. With his pointers—it was a lot of him diplomatically telling us to stop being wusses and go faster in the Climbing Esses—we pushed the automatic-equipped 1LE to a 2:45.0 lap, 0.7 second quicker than the manual's best run. A supercharged V-8 with 650 horsepower and torque means the Camaro really doesn't need 10 gears, but the shifts are so quick and the programming is so spot on that it picks the perfect gear while you're concentrating on braking. There's no need to go to the paddles. Not having to shift gave us more time to fully appreciate those brakes. They're regular cast-iron rotors clamped by six-piston calipers up front and four-pot grabbers in back, no carbon-ceramics here. Wise tells us he tuned the system to provide full stopping power even after a hard, initial stomp. At triple-digit speeds, most street cars like to be eased (quickly) into full braking, not jumped on. That's not the case with the 1LE. The Camaro allows for a swift kick to the wide pedal. Coupled with the Goodyear gumballs made just for this car, it's almost as if you can't brake late enough. No complaints about brake-pedal travel this time around. As in the manual version, we found that the stability control's performance modes cut in too much when you go to accelerate out of slow corners. Our solution: Turn everything off. In that all-off mode, you become acutely aware of the car's incredible horsepower and learn to respect it and carefully roll into the throttle pedal. Stomp to slow; carefully roll to go. That's the mantra this car demands. Full results of the Lightning Lap 2019 Competition: https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...ning-lap-2019/ |
Awesome! :D
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Good read, little vague.
But always like to see people's motivation behind the Slushbox choice. :w00t: |
Damn it's still so impressive for a ZLE to be that close to cars like the GT3RS and 600LT. At 1/3 or 1/4 the price. Great to finally have a good measure of how much faster the A10 ZLE is, .7 sec over a 2:45 lap. That amounts to less than .5 sec on most tracks which are 1:30-2:00 minutes here in CA, but it's faster as everyone expected.
If they let Bill Wise drive the ZLE I bet he'd beat everything but the Senna, which is from another planet. |
I want to know where the GT500 is? Ford showed up with 5 tractor trailers loads of cars on March 26th to do “pre lightning lap”testing (I was leaving when all the Ford staff was showing up). I just think it’s funny how they hyped this car up and didn’t even let C&D have a car to use. I guess their test didn’t go so well. The ZLE A10 is just amazing! I know it’s probably wishful thinking but imagine an LT5 ZLE A10.
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Great find!
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Same driver same day is always the best gauge of head to head performance.
With that said, it's good to see that R&T saw the value of giving the A10 ZLE a shot at LL. Lightning Lap as we know, is actually a fortunate group of automotive journalists driving some very nice cars on a track. It is magazine fodder and IMHO totally lacks any qualitative/quantitative value. I agree with SF1LE;Let Bill Wise drive them back to back. |
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I root for all American brands, but god damn Ford is weak!
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Ford had no incentive to run the GT500 for lap times. They will sell every one, with huge dealer mark ups. If it was faster at a track than the ZL1, they don't gain anything; it's way more expensive and it's supposed to be faster. If it's slower than a ZL1, it's a PR nightmare. There's no real upside to them engaging.
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if Ford understood that enthusiasts are not only watching the lap time, but many other aspects of the car during the lightning lap testing. Straight line acceleration, engine tone, braking behavior, etc, etc can be surmised from the test videos. The overall time is no doubt important but many could care less about the "number". I suppose there were potentially some serious chassis problems and the car underperformed. Think about the Challenger Redeye from last year which was a smoking pile of poo around VIR. I doubt Dodge lost any sales because of their participation in last years LL. Honestly, the Challenger Redeye was one of the most entertaining cars to watch outtakes with huge clouds of smoke as C&D drifted Oak Tree.
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I think that was a great run. I'm happy to see that he didn't try to shift the car himself. But I do agree with the sentiment posted here that it would have been more advantageous, in an ideal setting, to test both the M6 and the A10 variants back to back, using the same driver. It would have provided more of a tangible and reliable delta between the two metrics posted. Nonetheless, this is the information we have at the moment and it seems as though the difference in time is almost completely negligible and possible to be replicated with either transmission. Now, if we were looking at a 2 second spread, well, then we'd have ourselves a solid winner on our hands, variables be damned.
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