Phenom-
enal power,
Mensa-smart
10-speed auto-
matic, chassis
that’s at home
on any road.
Too many
ratios for sat-
isfying paddle
downshifting.
Makes
the good old
days seem
less awesome.- ROAD TEST. CAR AND DRIVER. MAR/2017
It allows a dramatic windup through first, then supplies a
progression of rapid-fire rpm rewinds as you rocket to triple-digit
speeds, the gearbox racing through upshifts with superbike-like
snappiness. In Los Angeles traffic, conversely, the transmission
picked through the ratios with virtually imperceptible gearchanges.
At any pace, it shifts with minimal torque reduction and never hunts
for the right ratio. When you demand thrust, the trans executes a
sudden yet smooth downshift without any intermediate steps. Mat
the throttle from 60 mph and a flawless tenth-to-third transition
wakes the LT4 like a sleeping lion poked with a branding iron.
Consider the ZL1’s 50-to-70-mph passing performance, a test
we initiate once the transmission has selected its highest ratio as
the car lopes along at 50 mph. At 2.1 seconds, the ZL1’s surge is just
0.3 second behind that of the 532-hp Tesla Model S P90D, which
doesn’t need to shift its single-speed gearbox.
Having given it 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet, the engi-
neers leave it to the driver to exercise the restraint necessary to
produce the best acceleration. Despite having launch control, the
quickest way to 60 mph requires standing
on the brake, then smoothly and slowly
rolling into the throttle. The goal is to have
the accelerator fully squeezed just as you
shift into second. You must shift manually,
else the autobox will upshift before the
6500-rpm redline, thinking your slow-
moving right foot reflects a lack of com-
mitment. Mastery begets glory. You’re
moving a mile a minute after 3.4 seconds.
The quarter-mile flashes past at 125 mph,
just 11.5 seconds after releasing the brake.
Chevy makes only minor adjustments
to the transmission calibration as you
switch between the ZL1’s driving modes. In
the sport and track settings, the engine
cuts fuel on upshifts for faster gearchanges,
which are accompanied by a satisfying blat,
yet the computer still targets the same shift
points. That changes when enthusiastic
driving triggers one of three performance
algorithms, still in sport or track mode. The
first level holds gears when you lift off the
throttle and rev-matches on downshifts,