3 Of The Fastest Chevy Camaros Ever Made, Ranked By Top Speed

While we await the potential but unlikely return of the Camaro to Chevy's lineup (at least as a two-door V8-powered coupe), it's a fun exercise to look back on the muscle car's history and see just how fast some of the variants have been. There are all sorts of iconic Camaros worth mentioning from various generations, including several with ultra-powerful engines and impressive top speeds. Sure, lots of ultra-quick Camaros accelerated at insane rates, and some even had an impressive set of handling characteristics, but these versions were the ones meant to have the throttle pinned.

Setting some ground rules before we get into this list: these are factory times, quoted from the manufacturer, so modified versions of the Camaro aren't included on this list. There are lots of great examples of ultra-fast modified Camaros, but we just can't cover them all. Also, we're going with manufacturer claims here. While it would be nice to report tested top speeds for something as powerful as a modern Camaro, even the best-equipped testing centers don't have runways long enough to top out a modern vehicle like the Camaro. 

The standard version of the 2015 Chevy Camaro came with a 323-hp, 3.6-liter V6 – it was no top-speed king. Horsepower enthusiasts could upgrade to the SS, of course, which used Chevy's 6.2-liter V8 to make 426 hp. Where the big power was at, though, as it almost always was and is with Chevy high-performance models, was with the forced-induction model. The supercharged ZL1 also used a 6.2-liter V8 but it produced 580 hp and 556 lb-ft of torque.  

Camaro SS and SS 1LE models of the same generation were limited to 165 miles – a blistering speed, but not high enough to make the ranks of fastest Camaros ever. The top speed for the fifth-gen ZL1, however, was a scorching 184 mph. From a standstill, the ZL1 was pretty impressive, too. It went from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 4.1 seconds, crossing the quarter-mile in 12.3 seconds at 116 miles per hour.

With one of the largest engines ever put in a Camaro, the 2015 Camaro Z/28 takes the second spot on our list. The Z/28 was powered by a massive 7.0-liter V8 that put out 505 hp and 481 lb-ft of torque – big numbers for 2015. The Z/28 was intended for the racetrack, with 300 pounds of weight shaved off compared to a ZL1 Camaro to improve performance. It came exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission for maximum engagement and air conditioning was optional. 

The extra-large engine, known as the LS7, was built with unique race-derived techniques and with lots of high-end materials that helped it gain iconic status amongst Chevy engines. Like the standard ZL1, the Z/8 could go from zero to 60 mph in just 4.0 seconds, but it was more than just an acceleration car. The reduction in weight, along with the big V8 up front was enough to propel the Z/28 to a top speed of 190 miles per hour.

At the heart of many of Chevy's fastest cars ever is the aforementioned 6.2-liter engine, the LT4. Available in other cars like the C7 Corvette Z06 and the Cadillac CTS-V, the 6.2-liter engine puts out an astonishing amount of horsepower. Part of that is due to the large displacement, but the other part is the big Eaton supercharger that sits atop the engine. 

Total power for the LT4 when it was stuffed under the hood of the ZL1 was 650 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. That was enough to roast the tires from a stop (provided you were brave enough to turn off the traction control), and if you lacked the self-control to lift off the throttle, the ZL1 could eventually reach 198 miles per hour. Getting that close to the 200 mile-per-hour mark is a trick few vehicles this side of supercar status achieve. Starting MSRP for the supercharged ZL1 back in 2024 was $75,395 – a relatively approachable number for something with as much power as the ZL1.

The Camaros included on this list are from the manufacturer, with factory specs. We'd love to include modified versions of the Camaro with massive horsepower numbers – cars like the 1,000-horsepower Exorcist – but there are just too many examples out there to sort through. It's notable, though, that the Exorcist has clocked a top speed of 217 mph, an incredible speed for any machine, especially one that has its roots in basic, two-door transportation. Also, we've left out COPO Camaros and their race-ready crate motors since the vast majority of the car-buying public won't be able to get their hands on a COPO. As a reminder, to rank them, we placed them in order according to their manufacturer-claimed top speeds.