Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE NASCAR racer is a distinction without a difference

By Stephen Edelstein October 31, 2019

The ZL1 1LE is the most hardcore performance version of the Chevrolet Camaro, so it makes sense that it will represent Chevy in America’s most popular racing series. Chevy will race the 1LE in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020. But the change is all about branding. Chevy already races a different version of the Camaro, and the new race car will be mechanically identical to it.

Related Videos

The current Chevy NASCAR is badged as a Camaro ZL1 — without the 1LE suffix. In showrooms, the 1LE is a significant performance upgrade over the standard ZL1, adding features like adjustable suspension and more aggressive aerodynamic appendages. The 1LE also weighs more than 50 pounds less than a standard ZL1, according to Chevy. All of those changes make a noticeable difference from behind the wheel, but they don’t apply to the NASCAR versions of the Camaro.

Despite having “stock car” in its name, NASCAR no longer uses cars based on production models. All manufacturers build cars to a NASCAR-specific template, then add cosmetic details to make each race car look like a different road-going model. Chevy isn’t allowed to make any mechanical changes just because it wants to switch from the ZL1 to the ZL1 1LE. However, Chevy said it applied lessons learned from the 1LE production car to optimize the aerodynamics of the race car.

It’s the same story with the other automakers competing in NASCAR. A stock Toyota Camry would never have a chance of beating a Camaro in a race, yet the two regularly go wheel to wheel in the NASCAR Cup Series. At least Ford’s current NASCAR racer is badged as a Mustang — the Camaro’s eternal rival.

Road relevance is more important in other forms of racing. The latest Corvette race car was developed in tandem with the 2020 Corvette road car, for example, and Formula One adopted hybrid powertrains because automakers are currently emphasizing that tech. Cutting ties with road cars might give engineers more freedom to develop and test new technologies, but NASCAR hasn’t shown much interest in that either.

NASCAR is fairly low tech, even compared to race series that use production-based cars. The rules are about creating a very specific kind of spectacle, and given NASCAR’s popularity, it’s hard to blame organizers for sticking with that model. Things might change soon, though, as NASCAR has discussed adding hybrid powertrains, following the lead of Formula One and IndyCar.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Cars

Business upfront, 31-inch TV in the back. BMW’s electric i7 is a screening room on wheels

Front three quarter view of the 2023 BMW i7.

The BMW 7 Series has been the venerable German automaker’s flagship for more than 40 years, but with its latest redesign, BMW is taking things in a new — and electrifying — direction.
The 2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 (or i7 for short) is the first all-electric 7 Series in the model’s history. It’s positioned against electric luxury sedans like the Lucid Air, Tesla Model S, and the Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan, a longtime BMW rival. But BMW took a different approach with its electric chariot of the affluent.
Because while those other EVs are based on clean-sheet designs, the i7 is just one version of a car that continues with combustion engines. It shares styling and tech — including an available fold-down, rear-seat widescreen monitor — with internal-combustion 7 Series models. So it offers a more traditional approach to luxury for EV buyers who don’t want to change anything about their cars except the method of propulsion.
Those buyers will also pay a slight premium. The i7 starts at $120,295, compared to $114,595 for the 760i xDrive, the first gasoline 7 Series model of the new generation. BMW also plans to offer a less expensive gasoline 740i for $94,295 sometime after launch. But when you’re spending this much on a new car, those aren’t huge differences.

Design and interior
The new 7 Series — and by extension the i7 — is sure to prove controversial due to BMW’s new front-end styling, which combines a massive grille sure to stoke internet memes and odd-looking two-tiered headlights. The effect is exaggerated by an available blacked-out front-end treatment, which makes it look like parts are missing.
Those styling elements carry over from gasoline 7 Series models to the i7, as does the hulk-like body shell, which is abnormally tall for a sedan, requiring steps at the hood and rear bumper to blend them with the thick center section of the body. The i7 also retains a long protruding hood, which is necessary to house the engine in gasoline 7 Series models, but is just an affectation here.
BMW claims the i7 will appeal to buyers who want a traditional luxury sedan first and an EV second. To be fair, the i7 is much more conventional-looking than the streamlined Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan and Lucid Air, or the grille-less Tesla Model S. But some of that work has been undone by BMW’s unorthodox design choices in other areas, which may not appeal to traditionalists either.
The i7 is sure to prove controversial due to BMW's new front-end styling.

Cars

GMC poured all of its truck-making expertise into the Sierra EV pickup

A 2024 GMC Sierra EV towing an Airstream trailer.

The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks are twins, and that will continue to be the case when they go electric.
Chevy unveiled its Silverado EV at CES 2022, and now it’s GMC’s turn. The 2024 GMC Sierra EV borrows some key features from its Chevy sibling, as well GMC’s first electric truck — the Hummer EV. Some of those features were actually pioneered by General Motors two decades ago on non-electric trucks, and are now making a comeback.
You can reserve a Sierra EV now, but deliveries aren’t scheduled to start until early calendar-year 2024. Production starts with a high-end Denali Edition 1 model, with other versions arriving for the 2025 model year.

Design
The Sierra EV updates the design language of the internal-combustion GMC Sierra for the electric age. A big grille is no longer needed for cooling, but it’s still an important styling element that designers didn’t want to break away from, Sharon Gauci, GMC executive director of global design, explained to Digital Trends and other media in an online briefing ahead of the truck’s reveal. The grille shape is now outlined in lights, with an illuminated GMC logo.
Like the Hummer EV and Silverado EV, the Sierra EV uses GM’s Ultium modular battery architecture which, among other things, means the battery pack is an integral part of the structure. So unlike most other trucks — including the rival Ford F-150 Lightning — the Sierra EV doesn’t have a separate frame. The cab and bed are one piece as well, all of which helps increase structural rigidity.
The Sierra EV also borrows the Midgate setup from the Silverado EV. First seen on the Chevy Avalanche and Cadillac Escalade EXT in the early 2000s, it allows the bulkhead and glass behind the cab to be removed, effectively extending the bed. Combined with the fold-out MultiPro tailgate from the internal-combustion Sierra, it can expand the default 5.0-foot, 11-inch bed length to 10 feet, 10 inches. A frunk (GMC calls it the “eTrunk”) provides covered storage space as well.
Because it’s pitched as a premium vehicle, the Sierra EV gets upscale interior materials like open-pore wood trim and stainless steel speaker grilles for its Bose audio system. But the design itself, with a freestanding portrait touchscreen and rectangular instrument cluster, looks suspiciously similar to the Ford Mustang Mach-E cabin. The touchscreen even has the same big volume knob as the Ford. We hope GMC’s lawyers are ready.

Cars

Check out Spectre, Rolls-Royce’s first all-electric car

Rolls-Royce's Spectre, its first all-electric vehicle.

Rolls-Royce Introduces Spectre: The World's First Ultra-Luxury Electric Super Coupé

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has taken the wraps off the Spectre, its first all-electric vehicle.