Top Gear Takes Three V8 Monsters to the Track
Top Gear visits America to check out Corvette ZR1, Camaro ZL1, and Dodge Demon out on the track.
It’s a bit of a myth that Brits don’t appreciate the raw and stomach-churning power of an American V8. Unfortunately, it is still a European misconception that American cars lack in the handling the department. That’s something that’s being altered by Chevrolet though, and Europe is starting to notice. This video from the Top Gear Youtube channel features their magazine’s deputy editor and big horsepower fan, Jack Rix, putting three of the big guns around a track.
Immediately, Rix points out that putting a manual in a 755 horsepower performance machine like the ZR1 Corvette is absurd. The look on his face and in his tone of voice suggests it’s the fun kind of absurd, and it is. The Camaro ZL1 only comes with a manual the 1LE track package that Rix is driving for the Top Gear video. We love that Chevy understands the manual isn’t dead and still has its place. Hardcore certainly doesn’t mean it has to be only about the lap times and fast is fun for the sake of it as well. Rix also points out that the Camaro is also in the big boy leagues when it comes to getting its cornering on.
Of course, the Dodge Demon can’t claim the same thing, unless the track is straight and a quarter mile long. Which we have absolutely zero problem with. What we do take issue with is the trite and horrible cliche that the Corvette has a whiff if the mid-life crisis about it. While the mid-life crisis may be real, what’s also real is that new Corvette money isn’t something most people can afford in their earlier years. Particularly, people bringing up a family where it would need to be a second or third car. At ZR1 spec, it takes a very dedicated enthusiast to put the cash down on, and mid-life crisis person is more likely going to go for something a little more accommodating on the public roads.
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As for the Demon being the coolest one there… If you want your 10-second drag car pre-built with just some bolt-ons in a box to add, then sure, why not? Ultimately though, we agree that as an all rounder for daily and the track as well as something Europeans could take advantage of on slimmer roads, the Camaro fits the bill in any guise. It’s not too shabby on the quarter mile with an auto either.
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