Road & Track First Drive:
The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is a monster track car
Chevrolet re-launched the Camaro from oblivion in 2010 and, from the driver’s seat at least, that car underwhelmed. Built on GM‘s global rear-drive platform, known internally as Zeta, the Camaro’s bones originated from Holden of Australia, where tastes in vehicle set-up tend to differ from ours. The Camaro’s stateside development time was virtually zero, so the US engineering team washed their hands of it and sent the largely Australian-spec slice of Americana to dealerships.
Then Chevrolet unlocked the engineer’s toy-box. Four years later, we have this—a monster. The Z/28 is a low, stiff, single-minded demon, a crazed caricature of a track car, a menace to practicality and civility, a masterpiece.
To build this track-purposed Frankenstein, Chevrolet started with Zeta, took away unnecessary weight like trunk trim, sound-insulation, and a/c (it weighs less than the already lightened SS 1LE). Then engineers added trick aero bits, like a rear spoiler with a Gurney flap and front splitter (all of it good for 150 pounds of downforce at 150 mph). They rounded out the package by adding a Torsen limited-slip differential, massive carbon-ceramic Brembo brakes, and the very trick dynamic-suspension-spool-valve, or DSSV shocks.
DSSV is a fundamentally different kind of shock absorber. Instead of oil passing through deflecting discs, DSSV dampens motion of the wheel through a precisely cut hole in an internal rod that becomes more exposed as suspension travel increases. Admittedly, this is engineer jargon. What’s important to know: DSSV is very accurate, consistent, and expensive. It’s also near magic on the track. Oh, we almost forgot the mega-grippy Pirelli PZero Trofeo R tires, 305/30ZR19’s at each corner.
This raid on the top-shelf parts bin creates impressive numbers. The Z/28 is a 193-inch long, 77-inch wide box that holds nearly 1.1g in corners; an almost two-ton slug of iron that decelerates at up to 1.5g; a 505 hp old-school muscle car that costs $75,000, $17,350 more than the 580 hp ZL1.
Sitting down in the Z/28, it still feels like an everyday Camaro, until you turn the key and bring the seven-liter screamer to life. The 505 hp V8 growls at the start and settles into a low, Trans-Am-racer-like rumble. It’s the business. Clutch in, select first and smile that no automatic option exists for this car. Heading down the hot pit of Barber Motorsports Park, I wonder how the Z/28 will change direction and, more importantly, will it stop?
Then I hit the gas, accelerating through second gear, third, fourth; hitting 120 mph just as I cross the 3-marker for turn-five. I stomp on the brakes, hoping I don’t need to use the run-off, breath held and—Wait, am I stopped?
Yes, completely, and only at the 1-marker. The brakes are that good. Despite multiple attempts, they didn’t fade on track once, even slightly. With stopping power available as reliably as a Tokyo bullet train, the brakes inspired confidence, as did their phenomenal balance. By the third lap, the Z/28 coaxed me into flicking left at full-throttle into the high-speed esses, never going much slower than 90 mph and pulling well over 1 lateral g. No sweat.
Every lap was faster than the one before. I felt like I was jogging with a pitbull that’s in much better shape than me. The faster I went, the Z/28 kept pace. When the limit of grip did finally arrive, it came predictably. The Z/28 isn’t merely fast, it’s easy-fast. And that’s what impresses the most.
When the Z/28 first arrived I asked: why the Camaro? Why not apply this same logic to a more purpose-built sports car like, I don’t know, a Corvette? But after experiencing what a $75,000 Camaro really is, the answer is both cliché and fantastic—why not?