Chevrolet Celebrates Camaro LeMans Run with Z51 Garage 56 Edition

The “Garage 56” run of the Next Gen NASCAR Camaro at the 2023 24 Hours of LaMans has been determined a success by all involved. The collaboration between NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet, Goodyear, and IMSA resulted in a vehicle that completed the 24-hour race and sounded great doing it. In celebration, Chevrolet will produce a limited run of 56 2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition models, which will be available later this year, and could possibly be ordered through Chevrolet of Spring Valley.

Running in a Class by Itself

The concept of Garage 56, was introduced at Le Mans in 2012 as a single-entry class reserved for innovative and extraordinary vehicles. This provided the perfect opportunity to showcase a NASCAR Cup Series car built to withstand 24 hours of maximum-effort driving. As defined, the Garage 56 ran in a class by itself but nevertheless finished the endurance race in 39th position out of the 62 cars entered. No. 24 Camaro ran 285 laps, which equals out to approximately 2,413.1 miles. That is roughly equivalent to racing four consecutive Coca-Cola 600s, which is NASCAR’s longest race.

The Garage 56 Camaro certainly had enough talent behind the wheel as its drivers included Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion; Jenson Button, 2009 Formula One World Champion; and multi-time Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller. The car ran flawlessly until lap 254, where a driveline issue brought the car into the garage for a 1-hour repair. This is not unusual in LeMans, but it was unfortunate because up to that point, the car was ahead of all cars in the GTE class. Though the Camaro didn’t compete directly in this class, it was considered the closest competition reference. The top GTE car finished 26th overall.

“It makes me proud for our sport,” Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and a NASCAR Hall of Famer, said in a NASCAR release. “The last thing I’d want to do is for us to come over here and fall on our nose. That’s what I was worried about. From the very beginning with Chad (Knaus) and Greg (Ives), I said we’ve got to do this right. We don’t spare any expense. Our NASCAR teams can do any kind of race they want to do. I mean, they got the talent, they’ve got the engineers, and they got a lot of smart people and they can do whatever.”

2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition

Like the racecar, the limited production Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition 650hp LT4 V-8 comes from the Chevrolet Small Block engine family, and the car will be shod with Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar rubber. The ZL1 Garage 56 Edition also features unique aero with dive-planes at the front fascia like the racecar and a NASCAR Cup car-style wicker bill spoiler on the decklid. 

The vehicle will come in a new-for-2024 Riptide Blue exterior color that matches the race vehicle. A graphics package echoes colors and themes from the race car, including thin gold stripes that accent a larger white stripe running from the hood to the rear decklid. On the hood, just beyond the nose of the Camaro, is the NASCAR 75th Anniversary logo which matches the logo’s prominent placement on the race car. The gold and white stripes become an accent to the monochromatic stars and stripes visuals that start on the engine cowl on the hood and extend to the roof.

“When adapting a race car appearance into a production car, you want to showcase themes, proportions and colors 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.”

As mentioned, there will only be 56 ZL1 Garage 56 Edition models produced. As there are 2,900 Chevrolet dealers in the U.S., It is unlikely that one will just arrive in our inventory, but if you are interested, you are invited to visit Chevrolet of Spring Valley and see about putting in your order.