Fearsome reworking of soon-to-retire muscle car is faster even than American tuner’s own Venom hypercar.
The Hennessey Exorcist Camaro ZL1 Final Edition has been revealed as the American tuner’s red-hot tribute to the Chevrolet Camaro – and its fastest-accelerating car yet.
The combustion-engined Camaro will be retired in 2024, having been introduced in its current sixth-generation form in 2016.
Reports out of the US suggest its replacement will be an electric mid-sized sedan, marking a radical departure from the two-door sports coupe format established for the model line back in 1966.
Limited to a production run of 57 cars as a reference to the Camaro’s lifespan, the Exorcist is powered by a thoroughly overhauled 6.2-litre supercharged V8 with 745kW and 1250Nm.
That makes for a 0-100km/h time of 2.1sec, matching the similarly conceived Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 and beating every car Hennessey has yet produced – even including its own 402km/h Venom hypercar.
Top speed is pegged at 350km/h and it runs the quarter mile in 9.57sec – matching the Tesla Model S Plaid and beating the Porsche 911 Turbo S.
Over the standard 478kW Camaro ZL1, the Exorcist brings a series of technical upgrades in its bid for muscle car supremacy. Its engine gets a larger supercharger, a high-pressure fuel system and a high-flow induction system, as well as bespoke camshafts, intake valves and exhaust valves. Its suspension has also been upgraded with upgraded pushrods.
The engine itself gets a plaque denoting the car’s build number. Production started today.
Cosmetic changes include a bumper-width rear spoiler, new alloys coloured gloss black, larger quad exhausts, white side stripes with ‘The Exorcist’ depicted on them and ‘Final Edition’ badging on the front wheel arches.
Hennessey founder and CEO John Hennessey said: “Our comprehensive upgrade to the Camaro ZL1 is one of my all-time favourites. The chassis, suspension and powerplant work seamlessly together, so all the driver experiences is raw, unbridled horsepower.
“There’s nothing else like our Exorcist, so we’re eager to share this special limited edition with fans of this iconic car before it’s gone forever.”
His company said the car took “years of research, development and refinement”. As with every Hennessey model, it comes with a three-year warranty.
It follows on from the original Camaro Exorcist, which was introduced in 2017 to “slay the Dodge Demon”.