America’s love affair with muscle cars is more than half a century old. There is no silent present either. We love our fast cars. There is something about the deep sound of the engine and the feel of the road. You get your fingers wrapped around the steering wheel, the engine revs, and then you start to feel the pulsation of the car, rough and rough, like a hungry beast wanting to attack. Your blood pumps, your soul soars and you feel alive, truly alive. You put the car in first gear, grab it in second and you’re free.
There’s no feeling like it in the world, and the sooner you catch the years, the faster you’ll go. This is where the Chevy Camaro ZL1 changes the game. You have probably already seen or heard about the removal of the pin on cars installed in newer models. These paddle shifters allow the driver to shift gears as you would from a manual transmission but without taking your hands off the wheel. Paddles are mounted on the steering wheel, similar to music and telephone controls. A driver can use his thumbs to shift gears and shift gears.
To date, paddle shifters in use have not been faster than polishing a good gear shifter the old fashioned route. GM changes that. GM upgraded their TapShift system for the 2012 Chevy Camaro ZL1. Using proprietary software algorithms can speed up response time to change by up to 60 percent. The algorithm effectively predicts when the driver will shift based on current gear, speed, throttle and torque. The system uses this information to allow it to pre-fill the gear in the next consecutive gear, releasing hydraulic pressure before the driver takes his turn. By doing this, the gears of different letters do not miss a beat and are almost instantaneous.
The Chevy Camaro ZL1 has now reached such a high standard that it truly has a class of its own. The 6.2L pushes out 580 horsepower. It has a 0 to 60 time of 3.9 seconds, and a top speed of 184 mph. With these states, the Camaro ZL1 successfully challenges many supercars.
GM is releasing a new TapShift system this spring on the 2012 Camaro ZL1 Tempo and will release a convertible this summer as a Chevy Camaro ZL1 model. GM also plans to release an updated TapShift system on the 2012 Chevy Corvette. Starting next year, the updated TapShift will be installed in all GM production model vehicles that currently use TapShift.
