Chevrolet to create Camaro ZL1 ‘Garage 56 Edition’

The Garage 56 NASCAR entry at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans generated a lot of interest, being the first Camaro to take part in the endurance event in more than 40 years and boasting an all-star driver lineup. Even before the specially-prepared Next Gen NASCAR Camaro had hit the track at La Sarthe, Chevrolet announced they’ll be releasing a special ‘Garage 56 Edition’ Camaro ZL1 inspired by the race car.

Chevrolet said that, while developing the Garage 56 NASCAR Camaro with their partners at NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, Goodyear and IMSA, it became clear that such a special race car needed to be accompanied by a production car. Chevrolet’s Performance Design Studio was charged with distilling the essence of the one-off race car into a limited-edition road car.

“When adapting a race car appearance into a production car, you want to showcase themes, proportions and colours without making the car look out of place on the street,” said Marc Mainville, senior manager, GM Motorsport Design Studio. “The Garage 56 Edition captures the feeling of the race car while allowing the car’s athletic lines to be in the forefront.”

Due for release in the US later this year, Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition features new-for-2024 Riptide Blue paint and adds a graphics package with elements from the race car. This includes a large white stripe running from bonnet to boot, outlined with thin gold stripes. The NASCAR 75th Anniversary logo — as seen on the race car – is added prominently to the bonnet, while a monochrome American flag on the engine cowl extends over the roof.

Each car will come with additional graphics that purchasers can choose to add to their Camaro. These represent the partners in the Garage 56 Le Mans entry and include a NASCAR windshield decal, white Goodyear front wheel arch decals and door decals displaying the race car’s number 24.

Hendrick Motorsports decals are added to the C-pillar and Garage 56 badging replaces the Camaro badging on the front guards. Additional exterior highlights include satin-finish mirror caps and a black fuel flap with carbon fibre inserts.

Inside, the only unique elements are Garage 56 emblems on the floormats and a Garage 56 badge on the steering wheel. The rest of the cabin is standard MY24 Camaro ZL1.

Beyond the cosmetic additions, the Garage 56 Edition also features unique aero parts, including the front fascia of the Camaro ZL1 1LE package, with dive-planes like the race car, and a NASCAR Cup car-style wicker bill spoiler on the bootlid.

The Garage 56 Edition will run the standard Camaro ZL1’s LT4 6.2-litre supercharged V8, producing 650hp and 650lb/ft (484kW and 880Nm). This engine is from the same Small Block family as the race car. Tyres are Eagle F1s from Garage 56 NASCAR partner, Goodyear.

Limited Edition

The Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition will enter production later this year at GM’s Lansing Grand River Assembly facility. Only 56 cars will be produced (limited to the US market), making it even more exclusive than the Camaro ZL1 Collector’s Editon that was announced in June.

The current generation Camaro was discontinued in Australia in 2020, so neither of the Camaro farewell special editions will be released locally.

Pricing hadn’t been revealed at time of writing, but unverified sources put the Garage 56 Edition at almost US$12,000 more than the standard Camaro ZL1’s list price of US$76,295. The Garage 56 Edition will certainly carry a premium over the standard 2024 Camaro ZL1, especially given the fact that Camaro production will end at the beginning of 2024.

The Garage 56 Camaro at Le Mans

Garage 56 was introduced to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012, reserved for innovative vehicles and new ideas. The first car to run under the one-entry class was Nissan’s radical Deltawing, with subsequent entries including hybrid powertrain vehicles (that are now mainstream) and teams with amputee drivers.

Translating a stock car into an endurance racer certainly fitted the Garage 56 criteria and was developed over months by Chevrolet and their partners (Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR, Goodyear and IMSA) as a way to promote NASCAR in its 75th Anniversary year.

“Even though Chevrolet has been racing since its inception in 1911, we’ve never done anything quite like Garage 56,” said General Motors President and former Holden boss, Mark Reuss.

The ‘Next Gen’ NASCAR Camaro was modified in several areas for Le Mans, not least of which included adding lights for night time racing, but also incorporating carbon fibre body panels, improved downforce, a much larger 127-litre fuel tank, bigger wheels, carbon brakes and lighter weight. The gearbox added paddle shifters, but the engine remained a good ol’ American V8, of 5.8-litre capacity and naturally aspirated.

The driver lineup was made up of Formula 1 World Champion, Jenson Button, seven-time NASCAR Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson and two-time Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, while the crew comprised Hendrick Motorsports team members, adapting NASCAR-style pit stop procedures that included using a manual jack!

After qualifying in 38th place, ahead of the entire GTE-Am field, the Garage 56 Camaro maintained that advantage for most of the race, with its highest position of 27th overall. After 20 hours and 254 laps, the car began to experience driveline problems, necessitating a gearbox change that took more than an hour. This dropped the car back in the field to ultimately finish in 39th place, but the car’s fastest lap of 3m50.512s was achieved in that final period.