The 2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1: The Last Great V8 Camaro Gets a Proper Send-Off

Chevrolet confirmed in March 2023 that this generation of Camaro would retire at the end of the 2024 model year, with no gas-powered successor announced. This ZL1 review captures the top of the lineup at exactly that moment — supercharged 6.2L V8, available manual transmission, Recaro seats, and styling that refused to soften. Viewers are calling it a genuine monster and a ‘now or never’ buy. Watch to see the last great V8 Camaro in action.

Chevrolet made it official in March 2023, confirming the sixth-generation Camaro would retire at the conclusion of the 2024 model year, so by the time this particular ZL1 rolled through for review the clock wasn’t just running down — everyone could see the end date. This was the last call to buy a genuinely new V8 Camaro before the nameplate went on hiatus. That context changes how you watch a review like this one. It’s not just a walkaround of a fast car — it’s a look at the top trim of a lineup that was quietly running out the clock, and this ZL1 wanted to make sure it went out swinging.

Why 2024 Became the Camaro’s Unofficial Farewell Tour

General Motors never framed the sixth-generation Camaro’s wind-down as a dramatic send-off — it went out via a March 2023 press release confirming the car would retire at the conclusion of the 2024 model year, with the final example rolling off the line at Lansing Grand River in December 2023. Chevrolet was careful to say the nameplate itself wasn’t dead forever, but no next-generation gas-powered successor was ever confirmed. That confirmed end date turned ordinary trim-level reviews like this one into something closer to a documentation project — capturing exactly what the last widely available V8 Camaro was like before the lineup disappeared from showrooms entirely.

⚑ Featured Gear

Start Car Conversations →

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The ZL1: Top of the Camaro Food Chain

Sitting above the SS and 1LE trims in the standard Camaro hierarchy, the ZL1 represents the most track-focused, highest-output version of the sixth-generation platform, built around a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 and available with either a 10-speed automatic or a manual transmission depending on configuration. This particular example runs the 10-speed automatic, a gearbox that trades some of the manual’s engagement for genuinely quick, computer-optimized shifts that can outperform most drivers’ manual shift times in a straight line, even if it sacrifices some of the interactive character purists want from a car wearing this badge.

The 1LE Package: Track Focus Layered on Top

Beyond the standard ZL1 spec, Chevrolet offered a 1LE package that added further track-oriented hardware — stiffer suspension tuning, more aggressive aerodynamic elements, and additional chassis reinforcement aimed squarely at lap-time performance over daily comfort. Even without every 1LE box checked, the availability of that package on this generation’s ZL1 underscores how seriously Chevrolet treated the car’s performance credentials right up until the end, refusing to let the lineup coast on reputation alone as production wound down.

Recaro Seats and a Genuinely Sporty Cabin

Inside, this ZL1 carries Recaro bucket seats along with leather and Alcantara trim that together give the cabin a noticeably more focused, motorsport-inspired feel than the base Camaro trims below it. That interior upgrade matters because it addresses a common criticism of muscle cars generally — cabins that don’t match the performance promised by the drivetrain — and the ZL1’s more premium execution helps justify its position at the top of the lineup beyond just raw horsepower figures.

Styling That Doesn’t Apologize for Being Aggressive

The sixth-generation Camaro’s design leans into an aggressive front-end treatment and bold three-dimensional taillights that clearly separate it from the smoother, more restrained styling of rivals like the Ford Mustang. That’s a deliberate choice on Chevrolet’s part, and on the ZL1 specifically, every styling cue gets amplified further with wider fenders, more prominent aero elements, and a stance that makes clear this isn’t meant to be a subtle daily driver, even though it’s genuinely comfortable and practical enough to work as one.

The Manual Transmission Question

While this particular test car runs the 10-speed automatic, the ZL1 was also available with a genuine manual transmission for buyers who wanted maximum driver engagement over outright quickness — a distinction that mattered enormously to a subset of enthusiasts as automakers increasingly phased manual options out of their lineups entirely. Having both options available on the same top-trim car, right up until production questions loomed, was itself becoming rare across the broader industry by 2024.

‘Now or Never’ for V8 Camaro Buyers

Viewer reaction to this review captures the urgency of the moment directly, with comments describing the situation as “now or never” for muscle car lovers and calling this generation of ZL1 a genuine monster. That sentiment reflects a broader anxiety running through the muscle car community throughout 2024 — the sense that buying decisions being made in that window might be the last chance to get a genuinely new V8 Camaro before the option disappeared from dealer lots for good.

A Send-Off Worth Remembering

Whatever comes next for the Camaro nameplate, this 2024 ZL1 represents a version of the car built by a team that clearly wasn’t interested in phoning in the final chapters — a supercharged V8, an available manual transmission, Recaro seats, and styling that refused to soften on its way out the door. Reviews like this one matter more in hindsight than they did in the moment, serving as a documented record of exactly what the last great V8 Camaro was actually like to drive.

The ZL1 Name’s Roots in 1969

The ZL1 badge dates back to an extremely limited 1969 Camaro option package ordered through COPO 9560 and built around an all-aluminum 427 big block conservatively rated at 430 horsepower, a car so rare and expensive when new that exactly 69 were built — a fitting number for the model year — making original 1969 ZL1 Camaros among the most valuable muscle cars in existence today. Reviving that name for the sixth-generation Camaro’s top performance trim was a deliberate move by Chevrolet to borrow the weight of that history for a modern supercharged flagship, and it’s part of why enthusiasts take the ZL1 badge more seriously than a generic top-trim designation. Watching this generation’s ZL1 potentially close out the nameplate entirely adds real weight to a name that’s carried genuine significance since the muscle car era’s original peak.

A High Point Worth Documenting

That’s a lot of pressure to put on a single model year, but it’s exactly the position this ZL1 finds itself in — carrying a name with genuine 1969 pedigree while closing out the sixth generation for good. Whether Chevrolet eventually brings the Camaro back in some form or lets it stay retired, this particular ZL1 will remain a documented high point of what the nameplate was capable of before production questions ever became part of the conversation.

Watch the full video above. Share your thoughts in the comments below.