Porsche GT3 RS Outshines Camaro ZL1 1LE on the Track
Porsche gets out of the corners and down the straights quicker than the Camaro, even with far less power.
The video above comes to us from the Turn In Track Out YouTube channel and it features a road course battle between a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and a 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The GT3 RS is one of the most track capable road cars that the German automaker has ever offered up to the public, but the Camaro ZL1 1LE is one of the most track capable American performance cars ever, trailing only the likes of the Corvette and the Dodge Viper.
The higher-powered GT2 911 might make for a better matchup on paper, but as this footage from Thunderhill Raceway shows, the Porsche doesn’t need big power to hold off the supercharged muscle car.
Tale of the Tape
While we don’t know for sure, there is no mention of modifications to either of these cars, so we can only assume that they are both stock. We know that they both have worn tires, but we don’t know what they are running for skins, so they could be running stock tires or they could be running something better.
The 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE is powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V8 that delivers 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque by means of a 6-speed manual transmission and it does so with a curb weight of 3,837 pounds.
The 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 RS is powered by naturally aspirated 4.0-liter Boxer flat-six, delivering 520 horsepower and 346 lb-ft of torque by means of a 7-speed dual clutch gearbox, with a curb weight of just 3,260 pounds.
In other words, the Camaro has a massive power advantage, but the Porsche is considerably lighter and has a quicker-shifting transmission. The 911 also has the weight distribution advantage of a mid-engine layout, but will these factors be enough to outpace the Camaro ZL1 1LE?
Battling on the Track
This racing action takes place at an open track session at Thunderhill Raceway, so there are cars of varying performance levels on the track, but the slower cars are aware of the faster cars, quickly getting out of the way. As a result, the Camaro ZL1 1LE and 911 GT3 RS are free to battle their way around the track as if they are the only cars on the track, with the exception of a few situations where they are briefly stuck in traffic.
The Camaro driver is pushing hard everywhere that he can, hitting higher speeds than he normally does on this track in an effort to close the gap with the GT3. The Chevy driver does a great job through the tighter portions of the track of keeping close, but the naturally aspirated 911 gets out of the turns and down the straightaways more quickly than the Camaro, even though the ZL1 has way more power. The Chevy driver tries his best to exit the turns as hard as the Porsche, but he finds the heavier car sliding around the track and losing ground.
At one point, the Camaro owner shares a quote about the 911 GT3 RS as font on the video, stating “that thing is fast in the straights, I have 125 more horsepower, Porsche has done something great here.”
In the end, while the Camaro ZL1 1LE driver is able to get very close to the GT3 RS a few times over the course of several laps, the Porsche is clearly the better car on the curvy road course.
Crank up your speakers and enjoy!
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