There'Z Room At The Inn...
 

With today's pricing announcement for the ZL1...$54095 + Options + Frgt + Gas Tax...there would seem to be a large area of fiscal "no man's land" between the SS family and the ZL1. Like the $40s...

So, boyZ and girlZ, can there be a "proper business case" made for either, or BOTH, of the following:

1SS + 1LE mechanical components = low-low $40s

1SS + ZL1 mechanical components + LS7 = Z/28 = upper $40s

2SS content as an option

Coolers and 1LS trim as a "track-ready" option

Feedback please.

It was mentioned, some time ago, the BOSS was a two-year iteration; MY '12 and '13. With the '13 Shelby housing a 5.8L blown behemoth, is it possible the BOSS follow-up will, in fact, be similar to the '71 follow-up to the '69-'70 BOSS 302? What followed was a 1-year version called the BOSS 351...or just slightly below 5.8L...

Will we see a normally aspirated version of the 5.8, at something around 500 hp, in a BOSS-style 'Stang? That, my friends, would make a helluva 50th Anniversary trinket...painted GOLD, of course...

Where's an LS7/1LE when you need one? Properly named, of course...

The HUGE price gap is the problem here. GM has created a demand for a more performance geared Camaro, however many will want and not afford. Enter the Z28!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

1LE + LS7 = Z/28

How 'bout we ACT instead of REACT?!

Well, there's certainly a pricing model in the 40s that should work for a Z/28. There's every component to build it but the engine. I think not having the news out on the C7 Corvette certainly hurts any new engine announcement.

If we don't hear of Z/28 by the Detroit show, my money is the 1LE is a SS option.

That's a big YES!

I like this idea...the ZL1 is pretty much...everything. You get no options in the mechanical department other than an auto, and of the cosmetics...we're taking things like wheels, stripes, and a clearcoat over the CF insert or not.

Not complaining...I did order it, after all. Very happy. :D


But I like where you're going.

Pull off the coolers, de-feature the interior back to a 1SS level, and give it the 1LE exterior treatment...you could be looking at high 40s, pretty easily I think...

The equipment group is worth at least $4000, I think, the LS7 is about $500 less expensive retail......and the coolers a little over $1000, maybe?

But......Would it make more sense to turn this proposal into a "Z28 package"? Because you're talking about offering 2SS content, as well as optional powertrain items...that could get complicated, and expensive to do.


OR - What about this:

Z28 Model:

1LZ trim: 1LE concept As-Is = low-mid $40s

2LZ trim: ZL1 minus interior content, LS7 swap, 1LE-body swap, High 40s

They could work to avoid the GG tax on the 2LZ trim level...and that would put the difference between it and the least-expensive ZL1 you could get arond $5000...That's a bigger difference than the Boss Laguna Seca and GT500 (actually, those two are almost identical in price...)...




EDIT:


OR....:laugh:

Let the 1LE be an appearance package (GFX, hood, wheels, brakes) for the SS...

And do the Z28 as described in 2LZ, above. Pricing, and simplicity would seem to support this tactic...no?

1LE, as "conceived", makes a great addition to the Camaro clan as an SS add-on. Since the ZL1 is being offered in topless form, there's a definite case for the 1LE option to be available across the SS board: 1SS, 2SS, solid-roof or topless. Taking the "hard parts" and "cosmetics" into consideration, the MSRP for the 1LE Package should be under $10K.

BUT...

I personally don't see the 1LE/SS as an "exact" Z/28...

Just as in its original form, a Z/28 requires a lil bit more "steam" in the "boiler room". Contrary to brochure numbers, the 302 was NOT less powerful than the predominant SS engines. It made an honest 350+ hp, and was factored by NHRA as such.

What do we have to work with, on the shelf and good-to-go, that bridges the hp gap between the predominant SS engines (400-426 hp) and the ZL1's 580?

Only one...and the only one deserving of iconic nomenclature...

For those still scratching their craniums, read my "sig".

Working backwards from a ZL1 Coupe price of $54-ish, by substituting 1LS trim on a Base 1SS chassis, a lunch bucket track-taming LS7/ZEE should slide in at BOSS LS dough...and stun it like a bucking bronco's hoof to the head!

Even LESS, if you "option" the coolers and the body-stuff...not all Gen-1 ZEEs were festooned with spoilers 'n fancy threads...

Sold. Nomenclature LS7, when can we buy it? :chevy: