Class: LL1
Lap time: 3:04.0
Base price: $34,495
As-tested price: $43,185
335 hp • 3516 lb • 10.5 lb/hp
Tires: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric3 RunOnFlat
F: 245/40ZR-20 95Y, R: 275/35ZR-20 98Y
The 2006 Nissan 350Z Track lasted nine Lightning Laps and withstood 38 challengers before its LL1 class-record 3:12.5 lap fell. A Ford Mustang V-6 matched the Nissan’s time in 2011, but it’s the Chevy pony car that finally dethrones them both. The Camaro V-6 1LE does not merely claim the fastest LL1 time in the 10-year existence of Lightning Lap, it blasts the old record with eight sticks of dynamite.
Coming within $504 of the LL1 cap, the $34,495 Camaro 1LE steals more than eight seconds from the previous LL1 record holders. In doing so, it leaves in its wake a parade of more powerful and more expensive cars, and it absolutely stomps its current Blue Oval rival, the Mustang EcoBoost equipped with the Performance package. Were they on the track at the same time, the boosted Mustang would only be exiting Hog Pen onto the front straight as the Camaro crossed the start/finish line at 3:04. The Ford needs an additional 11.6 seconds to complete its lap. And it gets worse for Mustang acolytes: Despite a 100-hp deficit, the 1LE laps VIR faster than the eight-cylinder Mustang GT.
The first six-cylinder in the 28-year history of the 1LE badge, this Camaro offers far more grip than go. There’s so much stick and stability in corners that, through the spaghetti-noodle infield, the 1LE punches above its 335-hp rating with a quicker time in sector four than the Jaguar F-type Project 7, the 10-cylinder Audi R8, and the 707-hp Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, among others. At the limit, the Camaro defaults to a slight and manageable front-end push that makes the chassis feel imperturbable. Weighty steering places the front tires exactly where you will them.
LL1 competitors often demand frequent cool-down laps (and immense self-control) to keep from glazing the rotors, melting the pads, or chunking the tires. Not so with this Camaro. The 1LE kit is a bona fide track package with indefatigable brakes (Brembos up front) and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric3 rubber that wears progressively. The $4500 package also brings engine-oil, differential, and transmission coolers; a limited-slip differential; and a firmer suspension with rear toe-control links that trade bushings for stiffer ball joints.
The guttural 3.6-liter V-6—the same heavily revised engine as in all other six-cylinder Camaros—charges to 7000 rpm with a boisterous enthusiasm that’s seemingly been lost in all but the most exotic six-pot engines. It’s a fantastic engine, and also this car’s greatest shortcoming. The chassis simply deserves more power. Chevy already has the fix: the Camaro SS 1LE.
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