Upgraded from a BMW M3 to the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1: Initial impressions

Most German options were considered before my M3 purchase, so i focused on the options from American OEMs this time.

BHPian vj123 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

2023 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Likes:

• LT4 small block engine.
• Magnetic ride control.
• Old school design and technology.
• Active exhaust and Supercharger whine.
• Ride and handling change with driving modes.
• Driver engagement and road / steering feedback.
• Value for money, even after $4k MSRP increase for MY23.

Dislikes:

• Lack of DCT.
• Visibility.
• Rear seat usability.
• Storage within the cabin.

ZL1 specification:

• Horsepower: 650 hp @ 6400 rpm
• Torque: 650 lb.-ft. @ 3600 rpm
• Engine: 6.2L LT4 supercharged V8
• Bore and Stroke: 103.25 mm x 92.00 mm
• Compression Ratio: 10:1
• Redline: 6600 rpm
• Axle Ratio: 2.85:1
• 0 to 60 mph: 3.5 seconds
• Quarter Mile: 11.4 seconds @ 127 mph
• Skid Pad: 1.02 g
• Top Speed: 198 mph
• Braking Distance 60 to 0 mph: 107 ft.
• Estimated Fuel Economy: 13 city/21 highway/16 combined mpg
• Curb Weight: 3,938 lbs.
• Weight Distribution (F/R): 54/46

Part 1: Search

Part 2: Order

Part 3: Buying experience

Part 4: Initial impression

Part 1: Search

Criteria:

• V8 engine, but would look into V6 as well.
• RWD vehicle and overall driver engagement.
• Prefer a new one, but preowned would be fine.
• Having rear seats might be a plus but not required.

Most German options were considered before my M3 purchase, so i focused on the options from American OEMs this time. While vetting cars before my M3 purchase, i was only considering sedans but i also considered coupes this time as i will be the only one present in vehicle for most of the time. Corvette or Porsche might be the most obvious choice, but i wasn't ready for either of them.

Vehicle being replaced

I started the search last fall after selling my 2022 G80 M3.

Eliminated after initial consideration

BMW M2cs (preowned):

I found a low mileage, well maintained, single owner F87 M2cs which was in a great condition. It had Akrapovič exhaust and full ppf which were a big plus as well. Since the used car market was cooling down, dealer had reduced the list price by $10k within a few months. They were selling it as a consignment and told me that the owner was motivated to sell the vehicle with more price reduction as well. Since i might used this vehicle as a DD, i wasnt sure if i would drive around without worrying about adding miles on an extremely limited production vehicle (2200 produced for the whole world). Also my wife was not really happy on spending this much on a preowned M2.

Dodge HellCat:

Charger and Challenger HellCats are an amazing piece of machinery and i like Charger HellCats especially the WideBody variants. With 707 hp, they have plenty of power but i was looking at the overall performance and not just straight line acceleration. MY23 was the last production year and most dealers had ADM for their in stock or in bound inventory. In 2022, i reached out to my dealer in the DC area for a quote before buying my M3 and he offered close to 10% discount on a factory order and the same dealer was charging $5k ADM now as the production was ending this year.

Ford Mustang GT500:

When i started looking for a replacement, S550 GT500 was already towards the end of production. Vehicles incoming to dealerships were either presold or had a hefty ADM. GT500 is equipped with DCT and i am a big fan of those transmissions. Had it had been a typical market without ADM, it would have been a really close call between the ultimate versions of Mustang and Camaro.

Final shortlist

Cadillac Blackwing:

Blackwings were created and developed solely with the driver in mind (LINK). 4BW and 5BW offers the ultimate driving experience which enthusiasts are missing big time in this age where technology is overtaking driver involvement. In terms of price and size, these vehicles are slotted in between traditional segments - 4BW sits in between RS3 and M3 whereas 5BW is in between M3 and M5.

4BW: Towards the end of last year, i was able to find a few 4BW in dealer inventory which were closer my build spec. I reached out to few dealers and some of them were willing to discount the MY22 leftovers as the market was cooling down with increasing interest rates. Since i was titling towards a

5BW: 5BW is the best sports sedan in this market, Period. It is the only sedan in the market which has a V8, rwd and manual combination.

Production was / is extremely limited and people were waiting for several months just for a build allocation. Total wait time from order to delivery can be anywhere between 6 and 18 months. Between MY22 and MY23, GM increased the base MSRP by $7k and that was the first bottleneck as i was already over my budget with my build specification. Since last fall, i have been tracking MY22 inventory almost everyday and came across a MY22 vehicle in stock with a local dealership when i was in India early this year. This vehicle had several additional options compared to my build and it was still available when i stopped by the dealership the following week once i was back in Michigan. It had a minor issue and dealership was working with GM on resolving it. After a long thought process, i decided not to move forward with this particular vehicle. Had i had placed a MY22 order with my exact build spec (before ordering my M3), i would have had a 5BW in my garage a while ago.

Chevrolet Camaro:

Camaro might be the most underrated American muscle car of this generation. Mustang has its own set of followers and Stellantis marketing team has been doing a great job with Challenger (current generation is even older than the Camaros) especially after the launch of Hellcat variants. Even though Camaro SS and ZL1 are great overall products and performs exceptionally well in the track, i feel GM has not marketed the product well to the target market.

Current generation: Camaro is into its 6th generation and current platform has been in production since MY16. There is no information on GM developing the next generation and its rumored that production might cease by MY24 as the current platform will already enter into ninth production year. Days after i bought mine, GM announced that they will be ceasing Camaro production in another 10 months (LINK).

V8 options: Camaros is offered in eight different variants and four of them comes with a V8. Even though the V8 variants look very similar on paper, they are very different in real life especially the overall driving character. If you compare them with Porsche's 911 lineup, it can be equated to Carrera T (LT1), GTS (SS 1LE), GT3 Touring (ZL1) and GT3RS (ZL1 1LE).

LT1: Base V8 trim with 455HP. All trims (expect ZL1) received a front fascia (mid cycle) update in 2019 and this one looks the worst. I did not consider this trim during my search.

SS 1LE: SS has the same engine as the LT1 but adds several performance, visual and feature upgrades. Mid cycle exterior upgrade on this variant isnt that bad as the LT1. 1LE Track package which cost $7k adds several performance goodies - Dual mode exhaust, Magnetic ride control, Brembo calipers in front & rear, Electronic limited slip differential, Performance tuned suspension, Recaro seats, to name a few. This variant offered the best value for money.

ZL1: It has the renowned LT4 small block engine (supercharged V8) developing 650HP. Its a real power house which offers a great balance between performance and everyday livability. This trim has the same powertrain as the 5BW.

ZL1 1LE: ZL1 with 1LE Extreme Track pack is a track monster which can put supercars twice its price into shame. $7.5k Extreme Track package adds Performance suspension with DSSV dampers (totally different suspension than a ZL1) and several visual upgrades. I have a friend who has one and the occupants can feel every road imperfection, even a minor one. I dont mind have a stiffer ride but this might be a little overboard for a DD. Also the big wing might being too much attention at work and other places.

After going over the pros and cons of all V8 trims for a while, i decided to move forward with the ZL1.

Part 2: Order

Allocation:

GM was not manufacturing enough ZL1s and it was extremely hard to get a build allocation as most dealers had a waitlist. Here are the worldwide production numbers since 2019.

Once i decided to get a ZL1, i started calling dealers in Michigan and other states to understand the waitlist for their future allocations. After talking to almost 20 dealers, i decided to place order with 3 dealers based on the waitlist position and comfort level with the sales person.

Dealer #1 - Waitlist position 1 with a medium sized dealer.

Dealer #2 - Waitlist position 15 with a high volume dealer.

Dealer #3 - Waitlist position 1 with a medium sized dealer.

I followed up with my dealer contacts once in a while regarding the allocation status and there wasn't any progress with all three orders after 4 months. So i started calling dealers who had incoming vehicles similar to my build and spoke to more than 25 dealers across the country. Either the vehicle was ordered by another customer or the dealer was asking for a ADM (Additional Dealer Markup) over the MSRP.

GM would typically release their dealer build allocations on thursdays and the build specification has to be finalized before the following tuesday. By mid of Feb, i got an email from dealer #2 that they have received few ZL1 allocations and my order would be accepted by the following week. Not sure how i got this allocation when 14 people were in front for me. I think people either would have decided not to move forward with their order due to personal reasons or have an option on their build which was on production constrain. 1LE option on ZL1s was on production constrain due to carbon fiber availability since last fall and GM is hardly building anything. People who had specced that option in their build never got accepted and here is the constrain summary for a build week in March.

Build specification:

Exterior: I loved the Rapid blue shade on a ZL1 1LE especially with the black contrasts in the exterior. Since i was ordering the ZL1, I wanted to go with a darker shade as i felt this suited the overall personality of the vehicle. My top choices were Black and Riverside blue. I like black color in general and decided to move forward with that shade. I did not add any additional carbon fiber bits as it might delay the production and it also felt it muted with black exterior.

Interior: I added red seatbelts as it would brighten the interior. Carbon fiber options were skipped to avoid any unexpected production delays.

Others: ZL1 don’t have a lot of standalone options or packages as most features were standard on this variant. PDR (Performance Data Recorder) was the only option which i was contemplating since i placed my order. This feature was an integrated onboard camera system in the windshield and it was developed by Cosworth which allows the user to record a high definition video of their driving experiences with the option to add a telemetry overlay on top of the footage. Its a great options for someone who tracks their vehicle but i wasnt going to track this vehicle regularly and was going to use this feature like a dashcam. After several back and forth, i decided to skip this option.

Continue reading BHPian vj123's ownership report of his Camaro for more insights and information.