Where will this whole thing end up? In 20 years will we be daily-driving 1,600-hp ponycars and 950-hp Toyota Camrys? At the beginning of my tenure here at Autoweek, 300 hp was a good amount of power. The craziest cars on the planet, say the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti and Dodge Viper, just crested 500 hp. Now every domestic and almost every international brand has at least one 500-hp car. And dammit if they’re all unbelievably drivable on the street. These aren’t rattle traps and they won’t just last one year or one race, they’ll last 10 years and 100 races.

Take the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for instance. Out of the box it comes with 650 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque from its 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8. That’s mated to a ten-speed auto or a six-speed manual. And that car is as daily drivable as a Ford Taurus. It’s the same with the 707-hp Dodge Hellcat Challenger, easily drivable by anyone with general knowledge of physics and a healthy respect for the automobile.

So, when Lingenfelter Performance Engineering got its hands on the new ZL1 to work its magic, we weren’t surprised in the least when it just felt like a slightly more powerful, workaday Camaro convertible. Fortunately, a well-built car that isn’t scary to drive doesn’t mean it’s not fun. In fact, the ease of piloting this beast through traffic only adds to the fun when you get a hole in traffic and can open it up.

The Lingenfelter Camaro ZL1 gets an output boost to 720 hp with a tune and pulley set.

To get those extra 70 horses and 80 lb-ft of torque under the hood is just a matter of Lingenfelter’s shop installing its pulley set and a setting up a specific engine tune created for the LT4. When I asked head-of-household Ken Lingenfelter about how much the new ten-speed transmission can handle, he said “plenty.” Proving that fact, Lingenfelter offers an 800-hp version with a bigger supercharger.

But back to this package: Lingenfelter adds a new harmonic balancer, a drive damper pulley, a new supercharger belt, new crankshaft bolts, NGK iridium spark plugs, a high-flow air intake, a custom engine tune, badges, assembly and a one-year, 12,000-mile warranty. All of that will set you back $4,695 and it’ll take a few days, with prior notice. Of course, you’ll have to spring for a new ZL1 Camaro, which costs $63,795, including destination and gas guzzler tax.

The supercharged and Lingenfelter-retuned LT4 V8 is as smooth as anything I’ve ever driven. Power is meaty and ridiculous from idle to redline, at least in the first six gears (there wasn't room to hit the last few). It doesn’t squawk the tires when you stomp the pedal so much as woosh them away in a cloud of smoke and rubber. The car barely moves. When it does leave the scene, all that remains are two 12.7-inch black marks with little piles of steaming slag. The ten-speed never hedges, and gets extra aggressive once it realizes you’re trying to go fast. The only real downside is that the engine and exhaust noise mostly drown out the supercharger whine, which is one of the best reasons to have a supercharger in the first place.

The GM Alpha platform, which Lingenfelter didn’t touch, is one of the best American setups on the market. It underpins the Cadillac ATS, all the Camaros and the bigger Cadillac CTS. Here in the ZL1 it’s flawless, and a big part of why this 720-hp Camaro is so streetable. It feels solid over the small bumps and secure over the bigger ones. It never crashes or rattles, and really shines deep in a high-g turn over damaged pavement. The ZL1 doesn’t skip sideways as much as slowly and gently asks for more lateral real estate. Again, that’s not LPE’s doing, but worth noting just the same.

The ZL1 is already the pinnacle of Camaros. But that doesn’t mean a small boatload of extra horses won’t help. And, if you happen to pull up next to another ZL1 at a stoplight, you’ll be sure to have an extra car length by the next intersection.

One suggestion? Ask LPE for a badge delete when you order -- then you’ll really surprise the competition.

Vehicle Model Information

ON SALE: Now

BASE PRICE: $68,490 including base ZL1 Chevy Camaro

POWERTRAIN: 6.2-liter supercharged V8, 10-speed automatic, RWD

OUTPUT: 720 hp; 730 lb-ft

CURB WEIGHT: 3,820 lb

PROS: More power than your neighbor's Camaro

CONS: Fuel mileage and speeding tickets

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