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Written by Jake Stumph
When the fifth generation Camaro Z/28 hit the scene in 2014 the world was put on notice. It was a $75,000 Chevrolet Camaro, which was an eye popping price for a Chevy without “Corvette” written on the back. However, said price tag was more than justified by the firepower it received and the performance it produced.What Makes a Camaro Z/28?This stripped down, “lightweight” (for a Camaro) track day special featured every performance aide General Motors could throw at it. Starting with the powertrain, the Z/28 featured the 7.0L LS7 V8 engine from the C6 Z06, paired exclusively to a 6-speed manual transmission. The chassis uses aluminum suspension links; stiffer bushings, and GM’s MagnaRide, which are infinitely-variable, magnetorheological dampers. From there, the car was fitted with massive carbon ceramic brake discs with six piston Brembo monobloc calipers up front and four piston calipers in the rear. It was further lightened by deleting the sunroof, radio and air-conditioning. Since it was still heavy for a track day special, the General saw fit to christen the Z/28 with 305 section width Pirelli Trofeo-R track day tires, optimizing the mass-to-tire ratio.The amount of racey tech in the Z/28 is mind boggling for a road car. Good luck finding carbon ceramic brakes, front and rear on other any car south of $100,000. This was a guns blazing attempt by GM to dethrone the Porsche 911 GT3 at half the price.Why Should We Care?Why should you remember to breathe? The Z/28 is the ultimate expression of the Camaro, and is reminiscent of the Trans-Am racers for decades ago. It’s bad-ass to the max and we are reminding you because the market is flooded with “used” examples with basically no mileage. We found almost 100 examples currently on sale in the continental United States, from 0-mile, brand new cars to “used” examples sporting almost 20,000 miles. Here’s the kicker: that 20,000 mile car is the highest mileage example on the used market that we can find. About half of the examples for sale now have under 1,000 miles. One thousand miles means it’s broken-in and ready for you to rip it around the track like it deserves. Yours now for less than $50,000.Yes, you can pick up basically new Camaro Z/28’s for 2/3 of the original sticker price. In fact, one such Z/28 recently made the news as it was a General Motors display vehicle, with a scant 336 miles on the odometer for $49,995. That’s crazy, but it’s the rule, not the exception. If you’re willing to travel, you can haggle your way into a Z/28 for about $45,000. This is an American sports car icon that must be driven and cannot be ignored. That Mustang GT350 seems overpriced now, doesn’t it?Tags: bargain, camaro, Camaro Z/28, deal, LS7, of the century, Z28
Date written: December 14, 2016
More of this article on the LS1 Tech website
ID: 6134
When the fifth generation Camaro Z/28 hit the scene in 2014 the world was put on notice. It was a $75,000 Chevrolet Camaro, which was an eye popping price for a Chevy without “Corvette” written on the back. However, said price tag was more than justified by the firepower it received and the performance it produced.What Makes a Camaro Z/28?This stripped down, “lightweight” (for a Camaro) track day special featured every performance aide General Motors could throw at it. Starting with the powertrain, the Z/28 featured the 7.0L LS7 V8 engine from the C6 Z06, paired exclusively to a 6-speed manual transmission. The chassis uses aluminum suspension links; stiffer bushings, and GM’s MagnaRide, which are infinitely-variable, magnetorheological dampers. From there, the car was fitted with massive carbon ceramic brake discs with six piston Brembo monobloc calipers up front and four piston calipers in the rear. It was further lightened by deleting the sunroof, radio and air-conditioning. Since it was still heavy for a track day special, the General saw fit to christen the Z/28 with 305 section width Pirelli Trofeo-R track day tires, optimizing the mass-to-tire ratio.The amount of racey tech in the Z/28 is mind boggling for a road car. Good luck finding carbon ceramic brakes, front and rear on other any car south of $100,000. This was a guns blazing attempt by GM to dethrone the Porsche 911 GT3 at half the price.Why Should We Care?Why should you remember to breathe? The Z/28 is the ultimate expression of the Camaro, and is reminiscent of the Trans-Am racers for decades ago. It’s bad-ass to the max and we are reminding you because the market is flooded with “used” examples with basically no mileage. We found almost 100 examples currently on sale in the continental United States, from 0-mile, brand new cars to “used” examples sporting almost 20,000 miles. Here’s the kicker: that 20,000 mile car is the highest mileage example on the used market that we can find. About half of the examples for sale now have under 1,000 miles. One thousand miles means it’s broken-in and ready for you to rip it around the track like it deserves. Yours now for less than $50,000.Yes, you can pick up basically new Camaro Z/28’s for 2/3 of the original sticker price. In fact, one such Z/28 recently made the news as it was a General Motors display vehicle, with a scant 336 miles on the odometer for $49,995. That’s crazy, but it’s the rule, not the exception. If you’re willing to travel, you can haggle your way into a Z/28 for about $45,000. This is an American sports car icon that must be driven and cannot be ignored. That Mustang GT350 seems overpriced now, doesn’t it?Tags: bargain, camaro, Camaro Z/28, deal, LS7, of the century, Z28
Date written: December 14, 2016
More of this article on the LS1 Tech website
ID: 6134
