Zac Quinn 
Last weekend was the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, and unsurprisingly, the Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro explicitly designed for this legendary endurance race won the hearts of racing fans worldwide. That’s despite finishing in 39th place overall, which is more than a few of the Porsche Hypercars can say.
Unfortunately, the format of the race broadcast focused on front-runners for class victories. That meant fans had to rely on following the legendary send-off of the Camaro through onboard camera feeds. Luckily, one fan was kind enough to assemble all the footage they could find into a single 17-minute-long video for all to enjoy.
Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro Le Mans Compilation
The footage pieced together by the YouTube channel The SuperSquad was primarily sourced from broadcast and fan footage posted online. But the compilation summarizes the Garage 56 Camaro’s week in France through practice, qualifying, and the race. The car was the people’s champion of the race, and though it couldn’t receive a trophy, it was clearly a fan favorite.
Linking back to the very start of the project, Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports’ Vice President of Competition and Garage 56 head, recently revealed that many people that worked on the car did it as something they wanted to participate in. Very few people worked on the vehicle as a full-time job. So, it was a passion project for many, and things didn’t stop there. Garage 56 Camaro Driver Jimmie Johnson made a statement after the ace was completed nodding to the outstanding fan reception; from the cool-down lap to the parade, people were stoked about the car, and for good reason.
The car’s exterior is modeled after the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which has always looked good, but where it shines is the addition of a Hendrick Motorsports 5.9-liter pushrod V8 engine with a redline and pure NASCAR sound. The 750-horsepower engine was paired to a sequential five-speed gearbox, and despite weighing 2,900 pounds, which is a lot for a Le Mans car, it still shot around the corners with the epic sound of a pushrod American V8 in its wake.
With the epic GM V8 muscle soundtrack almost as if the old Corvette Racing C5.R, C6.R, and C7.R made a return in spirit, as well. Nothing else came close to sounding like those race cars.
