[Tran]

Via Motortrend:

According to Chevrolet PR spokesman Monte Doran, key members of the Camaro development team were so concerned that news of the Z/28 would leak out prior to the New York International Auto Show that they gave the vehicle a special name. Camaro engineers initially used “Camaro HP” (High Perfomance), but even that was deemed too revealing — enough to arouse suspicion inside GM and around car-crazy Detroit. So what was the more obfuscatory name Chevy came up with for the Z28?

Steve.

Really. Doran says “Steve” was selected for ease of discussion at planning and development meetings.

Even with that level of subterfuge, the arrival of an LS7-powered Camaro wasn’t entirely a surprise thanks to a document that leaked out a few days before Christmas. The document listed GM VIN codes and included an entry for the LS7 under the Camaro’s engine list, giving rise to speculation as to when and what, but the timing of the leak caused it to be largely overlooked — and it certainly gave no indication that said possible LS7-powered Camaro, which we now know to pack 500 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque, would be a lean track-focused machine weighing some 300 lbs less than the 580-hp Camaro ZL1 and bearing the famous Z/28 badge…and the codename Steve.

Via Freep:

n dreaming up the Z28, the engineering staff made an early decision.

"Only a car true to the Z28 name" would get the designation, says Al Oppenheiser, the chief engineer for Camaro. The development the car was such a closely held secret that internally the project was known as "Steve."