There are not plentiful cars out there than pull-off a quarter-mile drag in under 12 seconds. Well, there are the bigger fishes like the Ferrari Italia, Nissan GT-R and Chevrolet Corvette Z06, but then these are all out sports models. From the Chevrolet house, there is another all-muscle car that can run the drag strip well within 12 seconds.
The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pulled the drag strip at Michigan’s Milan Dragway, closing in at 11.965 seconds at 117 mph (187.2 kmph). While this is the figure delivered by the manual version, the automatic Chevrolet Camaro did it in 11.936 seconds at 116 mph (185.6 kmph).
What comes as a surprise is that both the cars were stock showroom models with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar G-2 tyres, which is very different from the high-traction drag radials. With the drag radials employed, Chevrolet claims a record time of 11.49 seconds, though that would require the addition of five-point roll bar to run on NHRA-sanctioned tracks.
For pulling off the spectacular trick, Chevrolet explicitly designed the launch control system that can withstand the additional strain on special traction compounds, even up to Mode 5. This mode was tested with stock tyres, 18-inch drag radial tyres and 20-inch drag radial tyres.
While the launch control helps automatic cars to take gradual pick-up from a standstill, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 manual also features the launch control system to allow the driver to step foot on the pedal before releasing the clutch to get a perfect launch on various track conditions. When the car launches, its Performance Traction Management (included on automatic transmissions) manages torque to ensure maximum traction and minimum elapsed times.
We had recently brought you the news of General Motors contemplating on launch of Camaro in India. Don’t be under the impression that you’ll get to perform the outrageous stunt in our country. Turns out General motors will offer a smaller power plant for the Indian version of Camaro. There is still no word if it is the Coupe or Roadster version, but we will be delighted to receive one.
Don’t mistake the Camaro to be a mere dragster. It is a very capable machine on tracks as well as urban roads. However, we are not sure if that will win Chevrolet any Grand Prix. Meanwhile, check out the video of Chevrolet Camaro exploiting the drag strip.
