The 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the sixth-generation platform exploded onto the scene with 650 horsepower and the same figure in torque. While that wasn’t exactly groundbreaking in the age of horsepower-mad Mopars like the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, the LT4 V8 in the ZL1 powered a razor-sharp performance car with circuit-carving credentials. It was a muscle car that could handle, an eight-cylinder unicorn that belched gold coins. Tragically, GM is pulling the plug on the Camaro and the ZL1. Moreover, the Ford Mustang Dark Horse isn’t quite up to the task of replacing it.

The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is more than a supercharged muscle car; it’s one of the fastest American cars to take on the infamous Nürburgring

The Chevrolet Camaro is dead. Long live the Chevrolet Camaro! After six generations of petrol-powered battle with the Ford Mustang, Chevy’s most beloved pony car will ride off into the sunset after the 2024 model. For the first time since 2009, the Mustang will enjoy a Camaro-free market.

However, the loss of the Bow Tie’s 2+2 performance nameplate is compounded by the departure of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Sure, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat arrived as a 2015 model year with 707 horsepower, unheard of before that. However, the 2017 Chevy Camaro model offered the ZL1 with a similarly supercharged 6.2L LT4 V8, albeit with 57 fewer ponies. 

What it did do, however, is introduce one of the best-handling muscle cars ever, full stop. At the ZL1 1LE trim, not even the asphalt-cracking, 760-horsepower S550 Shelby GT500 could contend. In a 2020 comparison, Car and Driver awarded the overall win between the two to the ZL1 1LE, despite its better affordability.

Therein lies the rub. The current workaday hero of the S650 Ford Mustang lineup is the 500-horsepower Dark Horse, barring a reimagining of the Shelby GT350 or GT500. We’re not going to discuss the Mustang GTD and its hypercar price tag. Despite performance parts reminiscent of the now-discontinued Shelby GT350 and Mach 1, the Ford Mustang Dark Horse is underpowered and a bit primitive.

Of course, then there’s the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE’s performance at the fabled “Green Hell.” Here are some of the fastest American cars around the Nürburgring, starting with the ballistically fast 2017 Dodge Viper ACR.