Sam Krahn 
A listing online has a clean title sixth-generation 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for less than $40,000 with a clean title. That’s 650 horsepower from a supercharged LT4 V8 engine, magnetic ride control, world-beating cornering abilities, and screaming good looks for an unbeatable price. Keep in mind, the a new gen-six ZL1 is for sale on dealer lots from $62,995. And yet, there remains an incredible selection of alternatives for Camaro connoisseurs: a slew of Z/28 Camaro coupes for even less.
This fifth-gen Z/28, for instance has roughly 20,000 less miles than the listed sixth-gen ZL1, and is listed for just under $36,500. These bruisers carried 505 horsepower under the hood from the legendary LS7 naturally aspirated V8 engine. And since there also won’t be a sixth-gen Camaro Z/28, it makes this revolutionary muscle car that much more of a collectable.
Deciding which is best comes down to what you will use it for. If you had $40k to spend on a Camaro, which would it be?
At first glance, it’s easy to just take the ZL1 because it is newer, more livable, and more powerful. But the fifth-gen Z/28 is arguably more special. It stormed onto the scene in 2014 with obsessive lightweighting measures (such as glass thinning, one standard speaker, and no standard A/C), a Multimatic DSSV suspension system, and barely street legal Pirelli tires. It came exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission. Only 1,801 Z/28 Camaros were made.
The Camaro ZL1 for sale is the far more livable choice, and there doesn’t seem to be any other example of one under $40,000. Like the Z/28, it too comes with a six-speed manual transmission, but the similarities stop there. The interior is loaded to the brim with a nine-speaker Bose audio system, a Heads Up Display, heated/vented Recaro front seats, navigation, a Performance Data Recorder, a sunroof, and (much-needed) blind spot indicators.
Let us know in the comments below which used Camaro you’d prefer.
