If you didn't read our first drive of the 2012 Chevy Camaro ZL1, you might not know the six-speed TapShift automatic has a neat trick up its sleeve to makes gear changes quicker: it pre-fills the next gear, via a patent-pending algorithm.

That's the reason the automatic is slightly quicker--0.1 seconds--than the six-speed manual to 60 mph. It also improves response time from driver input to actual gear selection, making the driving experience that much more engaging, and closer to what you'd get with a dual-clutch transmission.

The improvement in delay between shifts is about 200-300 milliseconds, according to Chevy, but only in sequence up the range.

The new system made its debut on the ZL1, but 2012 Corvettes will also get the staged-upshift function from here forward.

Check out the video below for a quick explanation and demonstration.