Highly Modified 850 HP ZL1 Camaro Does Everything Well

Take No Prisoners

The latest and greatest version of the Chevy Camaro is a car that can be molded to do just about anything well. We've seen them compete in autocross, drag racing, and all-out track warfare, dominating the competition everywhere they go. But this particular ZL1, owned by Tony Scalici and recently featured at Hot Rod, was designed more as a take-no-prisoners all-rounder.

Photos: Hot Rod

Early Impressions

Scalici's love for Camaros goes back to when he got in trouble with the law while street racing his mom's '69. So after he retired from the Army a few years back, he founded G-Rods Garage. Since then, he's churned out all sorts of cool rides, but he soon found himself itching to compete, specifically in the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge. So why not build a Camaro for that very purpose?

Photos: Hot Rod

>>Join the conversation about this ZL1 right here in the LS1 Tech Forum!

Showroom to Track

Scalici actually started out racing a '79 Trans Am, but that wasn't quite enough. So he settled on a 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE, which is a formidable track machine straight off the showroom floor. Scalici immediately stripped the car down and started prepping it for the track, first installing an 8-point roll cage and some chassis bracing from Detroit Speed to stiffen things up a bit.

Photos: Hot Rod

>>Join the conversation about this ZL1 right here in the LS1 Tech Forum!

Big Boost

The ZL1 packs 650 horsepower in stock form, but Scalici obviously wanted more. So he took the car to JDP Motorsports, who beefed up the internals with forged components. They also added Lingenfelter heads and a cam, ported the blower, and threw on another pulley to up the boost. With meth injection, the car now puts down 850 hp on E85.

Photos: Hot Rod

>>Join the conversation about this ZL1 right here in the LS1 Tech Forum!

Beefed Up

The stock 6-speed manual transmission was fortified with a Centerforce twin-disc clutch and backed up with a carbon-fiber driveshaft. To beef up the suspension, a custom coilover setup from JRi was added. An AP Racing brake kit helps slow it all down in the corners, thanks to huge 15-inch front and 14-inch rear rotors covered up by 18-inch Forgeline GS1R wheels.

Photos: Hot Rod

>>Join the conversation about this ZL1 right here in the LS1 Tech Forum!

Weight Savings

Many of those aforementioned components also helped shave some weight off the Camaro, but Scalici continued that mission with a host of Anderson Composite body parts. They include a carbon-fiber hood, doors, winglets, rear diffuser, front grille, decklid, and belly pan. That shaved 310 pounds off the stock car's weight, which made a significant difference on the track.

Photos: Hot Rod

>>Join the conversation about this ZL1 right here in the LS1 Tech Forum!

Straight to the Top

Perhaps most importantly, Scalici's Camaro is now good at pretty much everything, not just carving corners. But he's currently leading the GT class of the Optima series with one overall win at Pikes Peak International Raceway, as well as two Second Place finishes. And if she were still around, we'd bet that would at least earn some forgiveness and a nod of approval from his mom.

Photos: Hot Rod

>>Join the conversation about this ZL1 right here in the LS1 Tech Forum!

For help with service of your car, check out the how to section of LS1Tech.com