2019 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1’s real world performance tested

The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is a magnificent thing. Rear-wheel drive, supercharged V8 and 477kW/881Nm of the good stuff is a recipe we find hard to resist.

What’s more, HSV has done a fantastic job in converting the car from left- to right-hand drive. The thing is, in the real world it might not be as accessible as you’d perhaps hope.

As we illustrated in our first drive feature, Australian-market Camaro ZL1s lose their super-grippy Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres for less sticky, more road-focused Continental Conti Sport Contact 5 rubber.

Put that down to ADR requirements, but it means that all that supercharged stonk makes it very hard to get away cleanly.

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We put racing ace Karl Reindler into a launch control-equipped automatic ZL1 on an empty racetrack to see if he could emulate the claimed 3.5 second 0-100km/h time.

Caveats? It was Sandown, which isn’t hugely grippy, the weather was distinctly chilly and while it had been drizzling earlier, the track had subsequently dried out.

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After a number of runs, the very best figure the VBOX churned out was a disappointing 4.93 seconds to 100km/h.

In more amenable conditions, on a drag strip and with the optional Goodyear Eagle F1 refitted, the ZL1 will go a lot quicker.

But on the road, in a typical customer car, that’s as quick as it’ll likely be. In other words, don’t get too confident if you pull up alongside a Mercedes-AMG A45, a Ford Focus RS or an Audi RS3 at the lights.