Chevy soups up, slims down with
return of the Z/28
The Z/28 was supposed to be revealed two
years ago. Digest that for a moment. After careful thought at the highest
levels, Chevrolet brass pulled the parking brake. Not on the car, but the name.
The super Camaro revealed at the 2011
Chicago auto show was mind-blowing, packing 580 hp from a supercharged V8. It
was loaded, heavy and designed for straight-line speed. Awesome, but not
exactly true to the track-bred ethos of the original Z/28, created in 1967 for
Trans-Am racing. Thus, Chevy called it the ZL1, the same designation as a
high-powered, limited-run model from 1969.
Chevy
soups up, slims down with return of the Z/28
“The ZL1 is wonderful, but it’s not the
Z/28”, said Mark R., General Motors North America president.
So Chevy engineers set about designing a
real Z/28. That meant making the Camaro as light as possible, beefing up the
brakes and obsessing over the grip. Initial testing indicates the Z/28 is three
seconds faster per lap at Virginia International Raceway than the ZL1.
Here’s why: The Z/28 is about 300 pounds
lighter than the ZL1, pulls 1.05 g on the skid pad and uses Brembo
carbon-ceramic brakes capable of 1.5 g of deceleration. None of this would be
possible without the 19-inch forged aluminum wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero
Trofeo R rubber.
The
Z/28 is about 300 pounds lighter than the ZL1, pulls 1.05 g on the skid pad and
uses Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes capable of 1.5 g of deceleration
Everything that wasn’t necessary was ripped
out. The wheels are lighter than the SS, the trunk carpet is gone, forget about
high-intensity discharge lighting, there’s a one-speaker audio system and air
conditioning is an option. Plus, the rear glass is thinner and there is less
sound-deadening material – get used to the roar of that V8. The back seats are
there, but they’re lighter thanks to the use of different foam.
The engine, sourced from the Corvette Z06,
is the heart of the Z/28, which had its coming-out party at the New York auto
show. The 7.0-liter naturally aspirated LS7 is rated at 500 hp and 470 lb-ft of
torque, paired exclusively with a six-speed manual tranny. The engine has a
cold-air induction system and revs to 7,000 rpm.
“The car definitely has a soul”, Camaro
chief engineer Al Oppenheiser said. It is the most badass car I’ve been in”.
Extensive aerodynamic treatments keep the
Z/28 rooted to the ground. There is a functional carbon-fiber hood extractor
that reduces lift, and the rocker panels, front splitter and rear spoiler are
made from a plastic composite.
The
engine, sourced from the Corvette Z06, is the heart of the Z/28, which had its
coming-out party at the New York auto show
Full figures, like the sprint to 60 mph and
top speed, were not released, as testing continues. Engineers are still trying
to strip even more weight in a never-ending quest to make this Camaro lighter
and quicker. It also won’t be a limited-edition car – Chevy will well as many
as it can.
Making the Z/28 a reality came into focus
two years ago, when Reuss took GM chief executive Dan Akerson for a lap in a
mule at the company’s proving grounds. “It was raw”, Reuss recalled.
But it got the boss’s blessing, breathing
new life into the Z/28. All of this took a while, but the launch early next
year promises to be worth the wait.
