General Motors has decided to share with us a fresh batch of photos of the next chapter in the Chevrolet Camaro's ongoing 21st century rebirth, the ZL1 series, which will soon launch in both Coupe and Convertible flavors. The Camaro ZL1 Coupe was first introduced to the public nearly a year ago at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, and it will arrive in U.S. dealerships this spring as a 2012 model with a starting price of $54,995 (€43,000). It’s Convertible brethren will join in later in the summer as a 2013 model with pricing to be announced closer to the launch date, though if Chevrolet keeps the same pricing policy as the regular open-top versions, buyers should expect a $5,000 to $6,000 premium over the coupe model.
Both the Coupe and Convertible variants of the ZL1 get a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 SAE-rated at 580HP (432 kW) and 556 lb.-ft. of torque (754 Nm), which makes it the most powerful engine ever to be offered on a series production Camaro.
The Camaro ZL1 Coupe with the 6sp manual hits 60mph from a rolling start in 4.0 seconds and the quarter mile in 12.1 seconds at 119mph (191km/h) before it tops out at 180mph (290 km/h). The automatic model is slightly faster at 3.9 seconds, 12.0 seconds and 184mph (296 km/h) respectively.
