2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 makes 2017 Corvette C7 Z06 and Grand Sport not just overpriced but obsolete as well...

What takes place at +General Motors currently, in the narrowing field of high performance vehicles can be described in two words: a BATTLE OF HEAVYWEIGHTS.

Although this phrase typically is not taken literally (see the previous generation of Corvette versus Camaro eternal combat saga), this time around, the current chief of the Corvette program managed to force the observers to accept these words at their face value.

In the past, with the previous generation of Camaro, there was really no contest which of the models is the dominant species, the previous generation Camaro was a real porker, even in its most powerful version, ZL1, it was not contest to C6 Corvettes.

However, this time around, things have changed and changed in a very peculiar way, favoring Camaro while shaming the latest Corvette, certainly, not the way +Tadge Juechter and his team of Corvette "experts" envisioned the outcome.

As this blog pointed out many times in the past, the Camaro team took the route that should have been the Corvette pathway into the future, gaining power, improving aerodynamics and losing size and weight.  None of that, with the nominal increase of power can be said about the latest generation of Corvette.

Apparently, to drive this point even further, here is the newest version of the Camaro top dog, ZL1.  Rest assured, it is still a porker at 3860 pounds but it is also the very first time when the power output advertised on the Camaro matches its counterpart in the Corvette line up, 650 hp in Corvette Z06 is met with the same exact rating in its Camaro counterpart, ZL1.

If this alone was not a legitimate reason for the Corvette team and its associate crew of nuthuggers, things get considerably worse from there on: the aerodynamics of the new Camaro ZL1 not only match the latest "certified supercar" but seem to favor the Camaro.  The cooling problems obviously have been on the table for the Camaro designers, the front openings are huge, considerably larger than on Z06.  To top it off, the Camaro designers approached the engine compartment air circulation in a considerably more effective way, the hood vent opening is about twice of the size found on the Z06 "certified supercar".

To put things in perspective, IF Juechter nincompoop and his crew followed the route Camaro team took, the failed Z06 would have to be over 300 pounds lighter, include active aero and turbocharged overhead come firebreather to  set itself apart from the ZR1 predecessor.  Such car would not only prove to be a worthy successor but also gain noticeable advantage over its Camaro counterpart.  As it stands, none of this took place and the car peddled to the ignorant masses is for the first time technologically inferior to the Camaro.

Since nothing is perfect, neither is the new ZL1, being dragged down  (pun fully intended) by relatively high center of gravity, plenty of fat, limited traction necessary to hook up the additional power,  unfavorable weight distribution and of course, the cancer called LT4 in lieu of a true high performance power plant.

And here is the real kicker, the pricing structure: the new Camaro ZL1 starts at about $62.5k which is not only about 24 grand less than the failed Z06 but also about 2.5 grand less than the latest joke from Juechter and GM, the C7 Grand Sport.  Will the new ZL1 chip away from the already dwindling sales of the C7 Z06?  Of course it will, for the money, the new Camaro ZL1 is the real bargain, at least within GM truly twisted and quite limited high performance line up.  Now, where things will really get interesting is the C7 Grand Sport which is not only heavily underpowered as compared to ZL1 but also slower all around, as a matter of fact.

Here is another irony, the mysterious C7 Z06 sporting extra dual air intakes in its fugly front bumper and the rear mounted wing in lieu of the barn door seem to borrow the "fresh" idea directly from the upcoming ZL1, right down to the dual intercoolers hiding behind the extra air inlets, allowing the ZL1 to become the trend setter salvaging the giant cluster fuck the seventh generation of  Corvette became since the day it was announced.

With the new Shelby GT500 right around the corner, this may be a good time for GM to reconsider overproducing the newest Corvettes and allow the fine UAW crew to get the much needed long break while the Corvette team prepares the next failure called C8.