If taking your new car out for a track day and risking a parts failure is too much of a headache for your wallet, ease up if it happens to be a V8 Chevrolet Camaro. That’s right—you can succumb to the temptation of the race track or drag strip, and parts failures will more than likely fall under warranty.

Just like parts failures that occur on track with the Corvette are under warranty by the manufacturer, General Motors confirmed to Autoblog last week that the sixth-generation V8 Camaro SS has the same guarantee. The policy doesn’t apply to all versions of the car, but Autoblog added that GM will extend it to the Camaro 1LE and ZL1 as well as the expected Z/28. The previous generation of the ZL1 and Z/28 both had track coverage as well, according to Autoblog.

Despite the number of cars suitable for track days out there, such a forgiving warranty toward the activity isn’t really common. Take the 2015 Ford Mustang, for example—it has the Line Lock burnout-control feature, which Ford said is specifically geared toward owners who enjoy taking their cars to the track, but “using this feature in an actual race” voids the warranty.

Like the Mustang, lots of warranties can become invalid in cases of “unusual use.” According to Autotrader and our guy Doug DeMuro, that category includes activities that put extra strain on a vehicle such as using it as a snowplow or taking it out for an track day. But from what it sounds like, GM has enough confidence to shove aside at least one of those norms. From Autoblog:

“If you’re not modifying your car and you take your production car to a track day and you have an issue with one of your parts, it’s covered under warranty,” [Camaro chief engineer Al] Oppenheiser told Motor Authority. “That’s pride of craftsmanship that we know it will stand up to track use.”
As mentioned by Oppenheiser, there are several exceptions to the policy and owners who make significant modifications to their cars can’t expect warranty backup from GM.

As for how far the warranty goes in the case of putting on racing tires or track-focused brake pads, Autoblog reports that GM has yet to specify. They’re waiting on a reply, but expect the warranty to keep in tact.

So, if the fear of warranty coverage has kept you from enjoying yourself and the vehicle that you paid hard-earned money for at a race track, fear not—as long as your car is one of the lucky few, that is.

Go Get On That Race Track. Go For It.

We reckon everyone’s loved a good Nürburgring onboard since the late Eighties, when world’s bravest man Stefan Roser’s attempt in the hilariously wayward RUF CTR “Yellowbird” was forever immortalised in ‘Faszination on the Nürburgring’. If you haven’t seen it, you must watch it immediately.

This is the latest. It’s from Chevrolet, and it shows the new Camaro ZL1 lapping the Green Hell in 7m 29.60s. That’s faster than many fast things, including both the Koenigsegg CCX and CCR. Woah.

The car was unmodified from standard ZL1 spec’, with the exception of a roll-hoop, data-logging equipment and a set of Sparco racing seats with six-point harnesses. Roser, as you’ll have seen, chose a T-shirt and loafers.

The ZL1 is a Camaro with a supercharged 650bhp V8, 650lb ft of torque, special magnetic suspension, vast brakes, proper aero and sticky tyres. You’ll also notice the (quite handy) driver at no point manually selects a gear. The ZL1 has a 10-speed auto, here set to “Track” mode for “optimal gear selection without the need to manually select gears”. Right.

7m 29.60s is chuffing quick, and some 11.67 seconds quicker than the old ZL1 – a fact of which Chevy seems rightly very proud. Just nobody tell them it’s just three seconds quicker than a less powerful Alfa Romeo Giulia QV…

Chevy’s new track pack adds even more anger to an already angry car

Lock up your loved ones and allow us to introduce to you the new Chevrolet Camaro 1LE.

Put simply, it’s a Camaro ZL1 that’s had even moreanger injected into it, making the quick version of the humble American muscle car quicker still around a track.

How much quicker? Well, compared to the standard ZL1, the 1LE is three seconds faster around General Motors’ 2.9-mile, 18-turn Milford Road Course test track. So expect a reasonable chunk to be taken out the ZL1’s 7min 29.60sec Nürburgring time, too.

What kind of witchcraft has made this possible? Well, through a simple shopping list of track-worthy accoutrements but no more power. The same supercharged 6.2-litre ‘LT4’ engine as the ZL1 sits up front, producing 640bhp and 640lb ft of torque.

But as you can probably tell, there have been some quite hefty aero revisions. Primarily that huge carbonfibre wing on the rear deck as well as air deflectors and dive planes on the front fascia to stick the Camaro to the track.

Aero is only one way of improving its track nous; set-up is another. And Chevy’s spanner monkeys have been hard at work on the adjustable, race-derived suspension with trick dampers (like those found on the Colorado ZR2 and previous Camaro Z/28), while the front-end features springs with adjustable perches for changing ride height, and the ability to dial in some negative camber. Nerdy stuff. The springs are also stiffer, and the rear stabiliser bar is also adjustable if you fancy getting your fingers oily.

Weight has been lost thanks to new, lightweight forged aluminium wheels (saving 3.3 kg per corner), thinner rear glass and a fixed-back rear seat to give an overall 27kg lower kerb weight than a standard ZL1 Coupe.

Meanwhile, all that power gets to the road via a six-speed manual gearbox and the widest tyres ever offered on a production Camaro: humongous 305mm fronts and 325mm rears, wrapped in bespoke Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar rubber.

There’s no word on price yet, but just like the normal ZL1, you’ll no doubt get serious bang for ya buck when it goes on sale later this summer.

Chevrolet has established a new performance benchmark with the introduction of the 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE — the most track-capable Camaro ever.

Taking the track-focused 1LE formula to an unprecedented level, the ZL1 1LE incorporates racing-based suspension and aero technologies, as well as exclusive Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3R summer-only tires,* in an extreme track performance package.

“The track-focused 1LE package offers progressive levels of performance across the Camaro lineup, from the V6 1LE to the SS 1LE,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “But with the new ZL1 1LE, the progression takes a quantum leap — this is the ultimate track-day Camaro.”

In preliminary testing, the new ZL1 1LE was 3 seconds faster than the standard ZL1 Coupe around General Motors’ 2.9-mile, 18-turn Milford Road Course test track.

The improved track performance is driven by four key elements:

Aerodynamics: New aero features including a carbon fiber rear wing, specific air deflectors and dive planes on the front fascia produce grip-generating downforce to help the car stick harder and drive faster in turns.
Adjustable suspension: The ZL1 1LE features racing-derived, lightweight Multimatic DSSV® (Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve) dampers front and rear for exceptional wheel and vehicle control. The front-end ride height is adjustable with the front dampers, which are used with all-new, adjustable camber plates. The rear stabilizer bar also offers three-way adjustability. All of the components are designed for quick changes at the track for optimal performance and a quick return to street settings when the track day ends.
Wheels and tires: New, lightweight forged aluminum wheels are an inch wider but an inch smaller in diameter, front and rear, than standard ZL1 wheels and are used with new Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3R tires that deliver max lateral grip of 1.10g. Developed exclusively for the Camaro ZL1 1LE, the 3R tires are designed to warm up faster to help maintain more consistent grip and speed, lap after lap. The overall footprint grows approximately 10 percent over the ZL1, but the wheel-and-tire package weighs about 1.5 pounds (3.3 kg) less per corner.
Lighter weight: The lighter wheels and dampers, along with reduced thickness rear glass and a fixed-back rear seat, contribute to an approximately 60-pound (27 kg) lower curb weight than a standard ZL1 Coupe.

“The new Camaro ZL1 1LE offers the supreme track experience,” said Mark Dickens, executive director, Chevrolet Performance Variants, Parts and Motorsports Engineering. “It’s the pinnacle of Camaro performance and advances the 1LE’s nearly 30-year legacy of uncompromising, track-tailored capability.”

The power behind the ZL1 1LE is the 650-horsepower, supercharged LT4 engine backed by a six-speed manual transmission featuring Active Rev Match. Brembo brakes, including red calipers with the 1LE logo, are also included. Additional standard features include dual-zone automatic climate control, Bose premium audio system, heated/ventilated front seats and heated steering wheel.

The 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE goes on sale later this year. Pricing will be announced closer to the on-sale date.

Track Camaro gets drag racing kit and a Hot Wheels styling pack

Muscle-car fans, feast your eyes on the 2018 COPO Camaro – a car that exists to cover quarter-miles in as little time as possible. And literally nothing else. Because it’s not road-legal.

Chevy did the first batch of COPO Camaros in 1969, when it introduced the ‘Central Office Production Order’ system that allowed dealers to order cars with engine/drivetrain combos they wouldn’t normally be able to.

It was designed for fleet buyers really, like police departments or utility companies, but enterprising dealer Fred Gibb used it to create a special, strip-ready Camaro with the ZL-1 427 engine, a heavy-duty cooling system and special rear-axle.

Gibb ordered 50. Other dealers followed suit, taking the total to 69. Since the programme was brought back in 2012 (nobody bought them in the Sixties, hence the gap), Chevy has done 69 cars a year in honour of Gibb’s originals.

Lucky buyers of this year’s COPO get the choice of a new 302 V8 (based on the LT1 in the Camaro SS) “built for drag racing with unique components”, a N/A 427 7.0-litre V8 or a supercharged 350 5.7-litre that gives mid-eight-second quarter-miles at almost 160mph. All COPOs get a SFI-approved ATI TH400 three-speed automatic and “racing chassis and suspension components, including a unique solid rear axle system in place of a regular-production Camaro’s independent rear axle”.

You can also get a special Hot Wheels appearance package. The COPO was unveiled alongside a regular Camaro equipped with the $4,995 HotWheels Edition package that gives special trim and many badges.

Chevrolet and Hot Wheels today announced the 2018 Camaro Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary Edition, celebrating 50 years of partnership, performance innovation and design.

The commemorative package pays homage to iconic Hot Wheels features including a Crush exterior color and stripes that replicate the toys’ famous orange tracks. The $4,995 package, available on Camaro 2LT and 2SS coupe and convertible models, goes on sale in the first quarter of 2018.

“The Chevrolet Performance design studio is full of designers who were inspired by Hot Wheels,” said Tom Peters, director of Exterior Design for Chevrolet Performance Cars. “The Camaro Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary Edition captures that passion, turning childhood fantasy into reality.”

Camaro and Hot Wheels have pushed the boundaries of design and performance for 50 years. The 1967 Camaro offered a distinctive design with available hidden headlamps and a front sub-frame that enhanced responsiveness and refinement. In 1968, Hot Wheels elevated the performance of toy vehicles with wide wheels and low-friction axles, designing them to be the fastest toy cars on and off the track.

“In the 1960s Hot Wheels and Camaro challenged vehicle design by elevating the speed, power and performance of both die-cast and pony cars alike. For 50 years, both brands have developed high-performance cars that embody the challenger spirit.” said Chris Down, senior vice president and Global Brand GM, Hot Wheels. “We’re thrilled that fans can now experience the essence of Hot Wheels in this special edition Camaro.”

Commemorative package details

The 2018 Camaro Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary Edition is available on 2LT and 2SS coupe and convertible models with the following content:

• Satin Graphite stripes with Silver Ice Metallic accents
• Satin Graphite ground effects
• 20-inch forged aluminum wheels (with summer-only tires on SS) in Satin Graphite with milled faces and unique center caps
• 50th Anniversary Hot Wheels fender badges
• Unique grille with Galvano Chrome inserts
• Orange brake calipers
• Dark taillamps
• Black taillamp panel with the Hot Wheels emblem
• Black Chevrolet bowtie emblems
• Jet Black leather-appointed interior with exclusive orange inserts and orange accent stitching
• Orange kneepads on the doors and orange safety belts
• Embossed front-seat headrests
• 50th Anniversary Hot Wheels badge on the steering wheel
• Illuminated doorsill plates with 50th Anniversary Hot Wheels badges
• Premium carpeted floor mats with orange stitching and “ghost” stripes

For more information visit Chevy.com/camaro-hot-wheels.

The Camaro Hot Wheels Edition joins approximately 20 other Chevrolet models at the SEMA Show, Oct. 31-Nov. 3. Follow the action at ChevySEMA.com, #CHEVYSEMA, @ChevroletPerformance on Instagram and Chevrolet Performance on Facebook.

FAST FACT: The Custom Camaro was the first Hot Wheels vehicle released in 1968 and was part of the original 16. The toy was offered in about 20 color combinations, with Gold and Creamy Pink being among the rarest — and most collectible — hues.