Every Chevrolet Camaro Generation, Ranked By Top Speed

When Chevrolet designed its answer to the Ford Mustang, there was no clue that the result would set the company on decades-long performance-laden path. The Camaro would live on for 30 more years, with most generations of the car being faster than the ones preceding them. By the time production ended in 2024, the Camaro was faster than the 1970 Dodge Daytona in acceleration, and was just shy of the Dodge's 200 mph.

Here we look at the fastest (in terms of top speed) of each generation of Camaro, starting with the slowest. All were standard vehicles that could be found on dealers' lots everywhere, and not the COPO or a dealer's special like the Yenko 427 powered Mustang-slayer. These cars were not always the fastest in terms of 0-60 mph — especially in the early years when racing in the streets called for 4.11-ratio gears that lowered top speed. 

One thing to remember about the top speed figures here is that not all sources agree on the top end. Some use theoretical figures based on gearing, others test the car themselves. We will use MotorTrend's reported values via its sister magazine, Hot Rod.

Generally, Camaros got faster with each succeeding generation. The only exception to this was when the Gen 2 Camaro came out in 1970. Federally mandated emissions equipment, coupled with the added weight from safety measures such as bumpers, as well as consumers' focus shifting toward better fuel economy, led to lower performance off the line and at the top end.

The 402 cubic inch engine was available through 1972 (though still called a 396) in the Camaro SS, but the 4.11 gears in the rear end kept it from being the fastest of Gen 2 Camaros in terms of top speed. Detuned engines increasingly dominated, with compression in the Z/28's 350 dropping from 11:1 to 9:1 for 1971. By 1979, with the 350 Z/28 facing compression down to 8.2:1, and no real technological leap to make up for the detuning, this Camaro was the highest performance option available. It barely reached 100 mph, and the 0-60 mph time was in the 9-second range.

Motor Trend tested the 1971 Z/28 with a 350 and put the top speed at 120 mph, specifically with 3.73 ratio gears.

GM already had experience in stuffing large engines into relatively small cars when it released the Camaro in 1966 for the 1967 model year. The GTO and Chevelle had defined the beginning of the muscle car era, but the new pony car segment introduced by Ford's Mustang had created another niche to fill.

The Camaro started out with a set of slant-6 and V8 engines, including the 396. Chevrolet decided to leave the 427 out under normal circumstances, as it was reserved for full-sized cars and the Corvette. However, dealers could special order the larger engine for the Camaro under a dealer program called "COPO." Dealers such as Yenko made names for themselves by providing limited edition special-order 427 Camaros. 

The Camaro SS 396 was the fastest of the regular production Gen 1 vehicles. It would pass the quarter mile in 14.5 seconds along the way, and max out at 140 mph. The car was available with two and 3-speed automatics, as well as a 3-speed manual transmission, but was fastest with the 4-speed manual transmission.

The 1980s saw Chevrolet's first efforts in using newer engine technologies to improve the Camaro's performance. At that time, GM was relying on Buick for experiments with turbocharging and more advanced fuel injection, which led to the V6-powered GNX Corvette-killer (at least in a straight line). What the Camaro saw for the first time were fuel injected engines and 5-speed transmissions.

The IROC-Z captured headlines and was intended to mark Chevrolet's return to true performance cars. The Z28 was still available, though; and with the same engine and transmission combinations, it was just as fast as its more eye-catching stablemate. With tuned-port injected 5.7-liter engines, and either the 4-speed automatic or 5-speed manual, its top speed was up to 152 mph.

While 5-speed transmissions and fuel injection were becoming more commonplace by the 1980s, Tuned Port Injection (TPI) introduced to the public the idea that fuel injection could come in different flavors. By having multiple air intake rails, TPI broadened the power band, which helped the Camaro breathe better at low rpms.

By the early 1990s, Chevrolet had warmed up to the idea of the Camaro sporting more than a carbureted small-block mated to a 4-speed to make it go fast. The change in thinking produced a Camaro that boasted 1970 Superbird-level acceleration figures, if not top speed. Hot Rod puts the Gen 4 quarter mile at 13.6 seconds, and the top speed at 160 mph in MotorTrend's report.

Gen 4 also saw the introduction of the LS engines in 1998. The new 5.7-liter engines were actually a little smaller (346ci instead of 350) and the engine architecture shared very little with its predecessor powerplants. The LS series was quickly accepted by GM's performance-oriented fans, and three generations later, the engine series is still in production today.

Another change for the Camaro came with transmissions. Chevrolet offered the Gen 4 Camaro with 6-speed manual and 4-speed automatic transmissions, with the 6-speed reaching the highest top speed.

In 2003, Chevrolet pulled the plug on the Camaro, though that wouldn't last all that long. When the Gen 5 Camaro reappeared in 2010, some things had changed. The 5.7-liter engines were replaced with small-block 5.3-liter versions. In their place at the high end of the displacement range came a batch of 6.2 and 7.0-liter engines, with the former coming from Cadillac with a supercharger attached. 

The king of the hill among Camaros was the 2012 ZL1, which used the supercharged Cadillac engine to reach a top speed of 185 mph. It took top honors in the quarter mile as well at 12.1 seconds. The Z/28 used the normally aspirated 7.0-liter engine to keep up with a 12.3 second quarter mile, and a top speed of 175 mph. 

The ZL1 fed a 6-speed manual transmission, and managed these astounding numbers despite weighing over 4,000 lbs. For comparison, the versions of the 1990 IROC-Z weighed in at under 3,400 lbs.

The final sixth generation version of the Camaro as we know it included a car that, at any other time, would have been in the realm of science fiction. The Gen 6 version of the Camaro ZL1 has a top speed of 198 mph, along with a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds, and a quarter-mile time of 11.5 seconds. In those 11.5 seconds, it would reach 125 mph — faster than the fastest stock Gen 2 Camaro. Chevrolet achieved this feat by mating Cadillac's supercharged 6.2-liter engine to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

The paddle-shifted 10-speed, which was developed in cooperation with Ford, represents an achievement in the Camaro's performance. That said, the Gen 6 car was also available with a 6-speed manual transmission. For the first time in the history of the car, a Camaro with an automatic transmission was faster than one with a manual transmission. 

Camaro production ceased after the 2024 model year. Will the car return as an EV? With the performance figures of the last ZL-1, any new model that appears will have some big tire tracks to fill.