I always forget that Chevy even made a four-cylinder Camaro. Maybe that’s why I was extra shocked to see this video from ZZPerformance. The Michigan shop has a stellar reputation with small-displacement General Motors platforms, touting the motto of “Go Fast, Not Broke.” It’s only fitting, then, that ZZP would have a hand in this record-setting run, where a customer from Iowa hustled their turbo Camaro down the track in 9.768 seconds at 137 miles per hour.
Owner Jake Starr already held the record for the world’s quickest quarter-mile in a four-cylinder Camaro, going 9.92 seconds in a previous run. This pass at US 131 Motorsports Park was a good bit quicker, thanks in part to a 60-foot time of just 1.36 seconds. Every once in a while, the stars align with a prepped surface, sticky Mickey Thompsons out back, and a stellar reaction at the Christmas tree.
4-Cylinder Camaro Runs 9.768 Quarter Mile
ZZPerformance had Starr’s Camaro on the dyno back in October. It recorded peak figures of 593 horsepower near 6,500 rpm and 511 lb-ft of torque around 5,500 rpm. In addition to an upgraded Xona Rotor 7164 turbo with a 3D-printed exhaust manifold and Tial 38-millimeter wastegate, the Bowtie runs XDI injectors, ZZP sixth port injection, an SMG auxiliary pump, and a ZL1 low-pressure fuel pump. Fisher Built beefed up the 8L45 transmission for drag duty—a world-first for that platform, I’m told—and the limited-slip differential sends power to Camaro SS axles.
The engine has been bored ever so slightly—.25mm, to run ZZP’s forged 86.25mm pistons—and the valvetrain has also been improved with new valve springs and stage two cams. Starr had sturdier head studs installed, and it has stronger balance shafts and an ATI dampener.
Factory power numbers for GM’s LTG four-cylinder were OK as-is, with 275 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. It provided an 11 lb-ft torque advantage over the Camaro’s V6 before it was discontinued; however, it was down 60 hp to the larger engine. The General’s 2.0-liter also fell short of the Ford Mustang EcoBoost’s 315 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque.
GM has since put a larger 2.7-liter turbo four in other platforms like the Colorado ZR2 and full-size Silverado, and it makes up to 310 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque in those trucks. Very little is shared between the LTG and “TurboMax,” as the manufacturer calls its current four-cylinder. I’d be curious to see what one of those could do in a Camaro, and if Chevy decides to bring the model back for a seventh generation, there’s a fair chance we’ll find out.
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