Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Named MotorTrend's Best Driver's Car 2014

[FenwickHockey65]

Camaro Z/28 is Motor Trend’s Best Driver’s Car
General Motors

September 25, 2014

DETROIT –Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is Motor Trend’s 2014 Best Driver’s Car. It’s the first American-brand car to win the 7-year-old award.

The Best Driver’s Car contenders are selected from all new or significantly revised performance cars launched in the 12 months prior to the test. To pick the winner, the editors of Motor Trend conduct objective and subjective testing – including digitally instrumented laps at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and high-speed driving up and down a 4.3-mile hill climb on a closed rural highway – to determine which car delivers the most engaging experience behind the wheel.

After completing that battery of tests, the editors of Motor Trend wrote:

“The transformation of the fifth-generation Camaro from ‘muscle car that handles pretty well’ to Best Driver’s Car winner is astounding. You feel the superior engineering in how the car responds to inputs both internal and external. From within, the car reacts immediately and precisely to your commands but doesn’t punish your mistakes. From the outside, the Z/28’s suspension attacks bumps and dips with an unbridled passion for keeping the tires on the pavement.”

Previous winners of Motor Trend’s Best Driver Car award were:

• 2007 Porsche 911 GT3
• 2008 Audi R8
• 2009 Porsche Cayman S
• 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia
• 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera 2S
• Porsche 911 Carrera 4S

“The mission for the new Z/28 was to create the most capable, best-handling Camaro in our history,” said Mark Reuss, General Motors’ executive vice president, Global Product Development. “As such, I can’t think of a better validation of that mission than for the Z/28 to be named Motor Trend’s Best Driver’s Car.”

The Camaro Z/28 builds on the legacy of the original SCCA Trans Am-series contender introduced in 1967. Its unique exterior is designed like a race car to produce downforce that presses the car against the track for greater grip and faster lap times. Comprehensive chassis and suspension changes, including a lower center of gravity, specific stabilizer bars, higher-rate coil springs and other chassis and suspension features have been optimized for the track – enabling more than 1.08 g in lateral acceleration and 1.5 g in deceleration.

Racing-bred dampers, tires and Brembo carbon ceramic brakes play important roles in not only maximizing performance, but making it more predictable and consistent with every lap. Engineers also made sure the Z/28 was as light as possible to maximize its power-to-weight ratio. Everything from lightweight wheels to thinner rear-window glass is used to reduce curb weight and improve the overall weight balance. The carbon ceramic brake rotors, for example, collectively save more than 20 pounds of unsprung weight, compared to the Camaro SS.

In fact, 100 percent of the unsprung mass – suspension, wheels, tires and brake system – has been changed from the Camaro SS, dramatically enhancing the balance and overall driving feel of the Z/28.

A 7.0L LS7 V-8 rated at 505 horsepower (376 kW) and 481 lb-ft of torque (652 Nm) complements the lightweight vehicle components to give the car an enviable 7.6:1 power-to-weight ratio. It was bred on the racetrack, with features designed for high-rpm performance and durability, including a durable forged-steel crankshaft, lightweight titanium connecting rods and high-flow cylinder heads with lightweight titanium intake valves.

[radz28]

D@MNIT FEN!!! You beat me, like Z/28 did all those other cars

Start around 58:55-ish

[Mikebrinda]

Approved.

[Zfatuated]

Motor Trend failed to understand it was only the tires, it was only "fair" they put Trofeos on all the other cars, so therefore this award means nothing (SARCASM!)

Congrats GM and all involved in the Z/28 team. Well and deservedly earned accolades. That's quite the previous winner's list that the Z/28 now joins.

[TonyNDeb]

Very cool..

[RLHMARINES]

Sh*t Hot!!

[Orange Crush 1LE]

Z/28 is a brilliantly executed track beast, awesome!

Also noteworthy was at the very end of the video- Anyone else notice that the Porsche 918 just took the Laguna Seca production car track record at 1:30.97? Yikes that's hauling. Still, hard for me to get excited about an uber pricey super car that you'll never in your lifetime see on track days. The Z/28's the real-world track car that takes the crown, as it should.

[AlohaBR]

AWESOME!
Great job for Team Camaro and Team Z/28!!

[PYROLYSIS]

Wow. That's an awesome accomplishment. You can see from the previous winners that just finishing ahead of Porsche is something to be proud of.

[backtotintops]

Did you notice they put a camera and sensor in Randy's underwear too

[rtcat600man]

best street/race car period

[Sven59]

Fantastic!

[Stock Boy]

This is awesome. I absolutely love this car and felt like I was one of the few that thought that it's price was absolutely worth it, although too much for me. Everyone that has one should be proud of the recognition that it's receiving. I'm glad to have a car that is in the same family and sometimes get confused for one.

[v8]

Looking at the last winners, its great to see GM beat out the competition.

Way to go