What do we really "know" about the "Z/28"?
 

Now..we know that everyone, their mother, sister and dog were convinced that the LSA powered Camaro was going to be the "Z/28". It wasnt, instead GM brought a proper name for a HP monster back from the the dead, the ZL1.

Now people are convinced that GM is still going to make a Z/28, but why? I'm not stirring the pot, calling anyone a fanboy or a liar, I just want to etablish what the Camaro and automotive community (myself being a member of the latter) either know, think they know, suspect or want to have revealed, about the Z/28.

IIRC, we know Fbodfather commented that GM would not put the properly respected and legendary Z/28 name on any car that was not worthy of it.

What is really known about the Z/28? Consider this kind of like the ZL1's "FAQS AND FACTS" thread.

I think it is safe to say that GM will make a Z28. I just don't think it will be as soon as some hope. I truley believe the Z28 will come in the 6th gen form with a high reving, race inspired 5.5L V8 (DI & VVT) that I keep reading about. The 6th gen will also be much lighter than the current platform. Add on the typical suspension and braking upgrades, similar to the 302 Boss and the Z28 is a winner...and one worth waiting for, IMHO.

I know nothing I posted is fact, but it is fact that GM is working on a 5.5L V8 for the Corvette. I dont't think Camaro sales are going to fall off without a Boss compeitor, the SS and ZL1 will have enough momentum to carry the out the 5th duties on their own. Then GM can do it right with the lightweight Z28.

Which will more than likely mean a 5.5L powered Z/28 would now bow until the beginning of the 6th generation Camaro. Traditionally all new advancements and technology appears in the Corvette a full two years before they appear in anything else.

If, and this is a big if, the 5.5L engine comes out late next year (with the C7 Corvette) that could indicate a 2014 premier for the Z/28 with a 5.5L.

:popcorn:

First of all by what definition, and based loosely on which Generation, constitutes the aforesaid "worthy Z/28"?

I've had personal experience with both a Gen-1 '68 and a Gen-2 '73 Z/28. I've had experience with Gen-3 and -4 T/As. I've also had a Gen-5 Camaro. All have their own particular "flavor", but to me a "Z/28" is less about all-out 1/4-mile performance as opposed to a more fully "balanced" experience with a road-racy bent. Turn the 'wheel and the car turns now...and sticks. Stop with a capital S. Equal to, or better than, any comparable Pony car in the marketplace.

That was what Ford devised and defined when their response, the BOSS 302, appeared in '69. And that is what their version is, now. But Ford has had several years of GT 500 experience in the marketplace to saturate their heritaged high-margin 1/4-mile king, and therefore a more "matured" buyer body to listen to, and respond to...and, to their credit, they have! "The BOSS is Back!"

What can be done to a Gen-5 SS to make it quickly/readily marketable at a price between the SS and ZL1, while being at least an equal to the BOSS? And, as the sunset of Gen-5 quickly approaches, is there the time, the will, and the business case to see a Gen-5 version arrive, thrive, and prosper? Or, is there fear that a "proper Z/28" will, in fact, cannibalize ZL1 sales? Near- or equal-to-ZL1 track numbers with superior "feel" at a "bargain-basement" price-point?

As to a "recipe" for a Gen-5 Z/28, that has been beat to death...with the quickest, most cost-effective version likely housing such things as FE4, wet-sump'd LS7, ZL1 driveline (excluding MR) and brakes and wheels/tires, on an option-limited, batch-built basis for something around $45K. With an almost 8 lb. to ft-lb. ratio, handily beating the BOSS's 9.5...

Gen-5 engine in a Gen-5 chassis? Only if the final product's pounds per ft-lb. is less than 9, which, in a 3800 lb+ Gen-5 Camaro, means the normally aspirated Gen-5 V8 must produce more than 425 ft-lb of torque...and I doubt, if a 5.5 L version is the best they have, that will be the case. Seems to me a Gen-5 V8 is best suited to a "Jenny Craig'd" Alpha Gen-6 Camaro, anticipated at something in the 35-3600 lb area as an n/a V8 version (similar to the current Mustang).

Now if the Gen-5 engine is, in fact, 6.2 L, then 425 ft-lb will be no problem...the current LS3 is 420, and DI will add "grunt".

Sources thusfar have warned us not to confuse the C6-R's 5.5 L V8 as being production-specific as far as displacement...

So what do we REALLY know about a resurrected Z/28? Not much...but DO "stay tuned"...

What we know for sure....


NOTHING!

That's not exactly true...is it?

A "Z/28" WILL BE:

1) A Camaro

2) Performance-oriented towards handling/braking beyond mere SS standards

3) Regarded as a "halo" for folks not seeking Super Stock status

4) A strong seller

5) A worthy BOSS-beater!

...or it simply will NOT exist under that name...

You know what I meant... :laugh:

In short, we know absolutely nothing about the Z28. Everything is what we'd like to see, but we don't even know if something resembling our 'vision' of a zedder will actually be built on the Zeta/5th Gen platform. And if we don't know the 'if' then we certainly don't know the 'what'

All we really KNOW is that GM has given no indication that there will be one... :/

Number 3,
This post made me very happy.

Only if you read between the lines.
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