Camaro ZL1 (vs GT-R) Review by Road & Track

[Swacer]

Originally Posted by Joebot8484

Here's a thought for everyone to consider! what if you made the GTR rear wheel drive only? Then who wins that fight.........yea I thought so, ZL1 baby!

Except it isn't....and defeated the design of the car.

Thats the same argument as...if the GT-R has 4 flat tires...you'll probably win then too haha

[2ndCamaro79]

was hoping for Z06 (the base car - not Z07) to be the benchmark for ZL1 - mostly because then I knew there wouldn't be too much to worry about from the Blue Ovary crew.

I am with you on this, and it seemed liked the reviewer mentioned it over and over. I believe the ZL1 was benchmarked with Z06 just with a different engine. My reason for that is the GS Vett has the same engine as the SS Camaro
IDK, in my mind the ZL1 should be a little bit better than a base Vett If it turns out the ZL1 is closer to the base Vett then the Z06 we have a tough fight ahead with Ford. I now see how much having two sports cars plays into the fight against Ford who only has one.

[2012ZL1]

This comparison is definately a win for the ZL1. The test was done at temperatures below what the ZL1 tires function, and the awd of the Nissan can easily compensate for the lack of tire grip. With this in mind, the Z had a remarkable showing.

In appearance, the Nissan looks too ricer. Visually the ZL1 is a win for its muscle look. The Nissan looks a bit like a bigger version of a RX-7 to me.

The test shows the ZL1 is way beyond its league in terms of performance and fun for the dollar. There is no way to say it other than the ZL1 is hands down a better car for the money than the GTR.

The GTR is a Corvette level competitor, and It is obvious that in warm weather the ZL1 would be a close competitor for the GTR on and off the track.
What I find more interesting, is that to find a car to compare to they had to go up a class to Corvette level cars. This tells me the ZL1 is the king of its own class, and would handily embarrass cars within its own field including the GT500.
After all ford had to scramble and throw 100 more hp at its GT500 for the upcoming model year, and it remains to be seen if that will even make a difference.

On top of that, V6's just don't sound right and part of my vehicle enjoyment comes from the sound of the exhaust note. In automobiles NOTHING beats a v8 for exhaust note.
If these cars were priced the same I'd still choose the ZL1 based on a variety of reasons important to me.

[Shurenuff]

Originally Posted by Swacer

Except it isn't....and defeated the design of the car.

Thats the same argument as...if the GT-R has 4 flat tires...you'll probably win then too haha

You're right, a lot of what makes a car perform the way it does has to do with many factors. The GTR definitely uses AWD to it's advantage and the numbers prove that, even if it changes the feel of the car versus RWD. There's also the advanced transmission vs manual/standard auto, weight, etc.

That's why this comment from you didn't make a lot of sense to me.

Originally Posted by Swacer

What I don't think is fair, is that they didn't use the 2013 Nissan GT-R. If they want to compare cars, use the 580hp GT-R against the 580hp Camaro. See how they do as that eliminates the hp battle. That would make it so that the track and driver would be the only difference.

huh?

[Als 2012 Zl1]

Originally Posted by 2012ZL1

This comparison is definately a win for the ZL1. The test was done at temperatures below what the ZL1 tires function, and the awd of the Nissan can easily compensate for the lack of tire grip. With this in mind, the Z had a remarkable showing.

In appearance, the Nissan looks too ricer. Visually the ZL1 is a win for its muscle look. The Nissan looks a bit like a bigger version of a RX-7 to me.

The test shows the ZL1 is way beyond its league in terms of performance and fun for the dollar. There is no way to say it other than the ZL1 is hands down a better car for the money than the GTR.

The GTR is a Corvette level competitor, and It is obvious that in warm weather the ZL1 would be a close competitor for the GTR on and off the track.
What I find more interesting, is that to find a car to compare to they had to go up a class to Corvette level cars. This tells me the ZL1 is the king of its own class, and would handily embarrass cars within its own field including the GT500.
After all ford had to scramble and throw 100 more hp at its GT500 for the upcoming model year, and it remains to be seen if that will even make a difference.

On top of that, V6's just don't sound right and part of my vehicle enjoyment comes from the sound of the exhaust note. In automobiles NOTHING beats a v8 for exhaust note.
If these cars were priced the same I'd still choose the ZL1 based on a variety of reasons important to me.

+1 I couldn't have said it better. There more to a car than just the stats.

[htron50]

APPEAL? GTR, no thanks.

I like that about how much I like sushi instead of a hamburger. Not so much!

But, like the sushi the GTR will run through you faster. And, the road noise will upset your stomach about as much.

[YourBlindingBias]

Originally Posted by Joebot8484

Here's a thought for everyone to consider! what if you made the GTR rear wheel drive only? Then who wins that fight.........yea I thought so, ZL1 baby!

wow.. that was a joke right?
You just created a car that didn't exist and beat it with a ZL1 and celebrated lol

[Shurenuff]

Originally Posted by 2012ZL1

On top of that, V6's just don't sound right and part of my vehicle enjoyment comes from the sound of the exhaust note. In automobiles NOTHING beats a v8 for exhaust note.
If these cars were priced the same I'd still choose the ZL1 based on a variety of reasons important to me.

That's a big part of the whole experience that I value greatly. That, along with the standard manual tranny and a few other factors. It might not be as bleeding edge tech, have a lower displacement engine that outputs huge power, a tranny that shifts in split seconds, and a launch control that'll make your eyeballs bleed, but that doesn't matter as much to me.

The two cars offer very different experiences in many regards, but I'd choose the ZL1 every time (unless both were free, then I'd choose the GTR and sell it for a ZL1 ).

[kush396]

Ill take the better looking American car, Chevy all the way..

[RobMorgan]

The article is a very good read. Everything I saw and read makes me happier with the choice of the ZL1 for a track worth every day driver. Now read this quote from the article and see if it is what you would want to drive around in:

In a full lap of Inde, the GT-R will use 2nd through 5th gear while the ZL1, with its Tremec TR6060 manual, was optimally rowed between 3rd and 4th with only one opportunity to use 2nd. This necessitated a reliance on low-end torque in the ZL1, while the GT-R kept its overworked V-6 screaming like an industrial Hoover vacuum cleaner choking on a cat.

I really want to drive around a Hoover vac choking a cat

[2ndCamaro79]

[flash=http://youtu.be/cVw3-vNxzRc]width=425 height=350[/flash]

[2ndCamaro79]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cVw3-vNxzRc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[OldJedi]

Originally Posted by RobMorgan

The article is a very good read. Everything I saw and read makes me happier with the choice of the ZL1 for a track worth every day driver. Now read this quote from the article and see if it is what you would want to drive around in:

In a full lap of Inde, the GT-R will use 2nd through 5th gear while the ZL1, with its Tremec TR6060 manual, was optimally rowed between 3rd and 4th with only one opportunity to use 2nd. This necessitated a reliance on low-end torque in the ZL1, while the GT-R kept its overworked V-6 screaming like an industrial Hoover vacuum cleaner choking on a cat.

I really want to drive around a Hoover vac choking a cat

I like cats but would rather not have one stuck in my vacuum cleaner. Much less drive around with it. The ZL1 looks much better going around the track while the GT-R still looks like a Nissan. I know with four wheel drive and a twin turbo V-6 it is a heck of a competitor, but it never really did very much for me. The ZL1 sounded much better also. You just can't beat the sound of a V-8 accelerating. So, for me I would rather keep the $40,000 difference and be more more comfortable driving around too.

[Deki]

Jesus H...so much face palm. From "if the ZL1 was AWD" to "if GTR was RWD" and now to "ZL1 looks better on the track". Was anyone really surprized with the result? Pointless comparison. And I'm willing to bet half of you haven't sat inside a GT-R let alone driven one. Car is impressive.