In the not-so-distant past, manufacturers could improve their cars’ Nurburgring lap times by a few seconds per lap from one generation to the next. Now, though, they can find nearly a quarter of minute of lap time from one year to the next.
Chevrolet revealed Thursday that the performance-oriented 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE’s lapped the Nordschleife in 7:16.04, which is 13.56 seconds faster than the standard ZL1. That represents an almost incomprehensible improvement of more than a second per mile around the 12.9-mile German track.
What makes that so impressive is that Chevy likely could make another sixth-generation Camaro that’s faster still. With the 1LE, the main thing Chevy did was increase the car’s level of grip, both mechanical and aerodynamic, without increasing its power output or significantly reducing its weight.
We were shocked when Porsche recently announced the new 911 GT3 is 12 seconds per lap quicker than the previous one. But what Chevy did with the Camaro ZL1 1LE is even more impressive.
We’re seemingly at a point in history where automakers already have the know-how to eke out every last bit of performance from their current platforms. But only some choose to do so, whereas many wait to make significant gains between generations.
Thumbnail photo via Chevrolet
