2014 Camaro Z/28: The Bad is Back

Photo credit: Autoblog.com

Like many of my fellow enthusiasts, my automotive preferences lie with low-weight, high-power performance cars. This sector is primarily filled with stripped-out Porsches, Ferraris, BMWs and Audis, which are more often-than-not unobtainable to the common working man. This disturbing trend of “less weight means more money” was not always the case, though. In the late 1960’s, America found itself embroiled within an internal motorsport battle-royale. The SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) developed a racing series called the “Trans-Am Series” that featured production-based race cars, which participated in either the Under 2.0 Liter or the Over 2.0 Liter class. European manufacturers, such as Alfa Romeo and Porsche, competed alongside the best America had to offer, with race-offerings from nearly every corporate division.

Grid from the Golden Era of Trans-Am racing

Ford developed the Mustang Boss 302, while sister company Mercury offered the Cougar XR7. Chevrolet masterminded the almighty Z/28, and the S-Code designation for the Plymouth Barracuda was made specifically for the Trans-Am series. These cars were piloted by some of the biggest racing names ever to grace the tarmac, drivers such as Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, and Swede Savage. However, my absolute favorite of the legendary Trans-Am drivers has to be Mark Donohue and his Penske/Sunoco Camaro Z/28.  

No other classic racecar has left quite the same impression on me than the royal-blue-on-yellow Sunoco Camaro. With Donohue at the helm, the Sunoco Camaro snagged the first place in the ’68 and ’69 Trans-Am series, thus cementing the Z/28 into racing history. The Trans-Am battle was not just relegated to the track, however. Trans-Am fever spilled over onto the streets of America as homologation specials roared from stoplight to stoplight. While the Boss Mustang badge was discontinued in the mid ‘70s, the Z/28 proved to have staying power. The Z/28 badge was carried on from ’68 through ’74, reintroduced in ’77, and continued all the way up until the final Camaro year in 2002. With the demise of the Camaro, it meant the demise of the Z/28, and the end to a road-racing legacy. Sure, some of the Z/28 models in the ‘70s and ‘80s were less-than-inspiring, but the badge was always so damn mean. The death of both the Camaro and the Z/28 legacy was a huge blow for the masses of Camaro fans worldwide.

However, I’m happy to report the Z/28 has returned to the world of the living. The badge is back. The ‘mean’ is back.

The bad is back.

Photo credit: Autoblog.com 

At the 2013 NYC Auto show, Chevrolet revealed one of the most hardcore vehicles it has ever produced. The 2014 Camaro Z/28 sports a 300 lb. weight reduction, thanks in part to thinner glass, a diet-heavy alacantara-swathed interior, and new lightweight wheels. Cog-swappers, rejoice; The Z/28 is a manual-only muscle car. The Camaro receives a heavily reworked chassis, carbon-ceramic brakes, and a sexy front-splitter/undertray system. Lets go back to the previous statement; Carbon-ceramic brakes….on a Camaro! What a world we live in…..

It also is fitted with a new engine, and oh my goodness, what an engine it is.

I have not been looking forward to the eventual and inevitable death of the C6 Z06 Corvette. The discontinuation of the Z06 would mean the discontinuation of the LS7, which in my eyes, is one of the greatest American V8s produced in the last decade. GM must have noticed my tearful depression, and amazingly, the 7.0L smallblock has been given a lifeline with the Z/28. Oh yes, America has a 427 Camaro once again. Do I smell a factory Yenko package on the horizon? I sure hope so. And for those not convinced, here is what you have to look forward to:

Lets recap. A lightened, manual-only 500 HP 427 Camaro with active-aero, Recaro seats, and carbon-ceramic brakes. Oh my. If that does not get your heart racing, please visit your doctor, because that’s the greatest list of options ever to grace an American muscle car, ever. If its not already apparent, I’m just a bit excited.

 These statistics are all well and good, but how does the Z/28 stack up to against its competition?

Well, the inadequate resurrection of the Camaro ZL1 nameplate has the Shelby GT500 covered, and the parts-bin special 1LE Camaro faces the Mustang GT Track Pack. The obvious choice would be to compare the Z/28 to the new Boss 302, but Ford dashed the hopes of fans everywhere with the news of no Boss for the 2014 model year. That being said, lets do a little math and logic to see if the Z/28 can come out on top.

In a comparison between the 2012 Camaro ZL1 and the quite ridiculous 2013 Shelby GT500, the GT500 is bested around a track setting by roughly one half-second. Then, according to Chevrolet themselves, the ZL1 is whipped by the Z/28 on an unnamed track by over a mind-boggling three seconds per-lap. Enter Boss, stage left; the ZL1 trounces a Boss 302 Laguna Seca by about two seconds in this professional MotorTrend comparison. Don’t even bother with the Dodge Challenger SRT8 392, as I highly doubt the too-heavy cruiser could even best a Mustang GT around a track. Also withheld are the Cadillac CTS-V and Corvette due to a higher price point and the fact that the Corvette is not a muscle car.  So, without any real world tests, drag strip rumbles, or diagnostics, we can unofficially say that the Z/28 is the fastest muscle car around a track setting. You can keep your 660 HP quarter-mile missiles, Shelby. I want this Camaro GT3 RS.

Photo credit: Autoblog.com

The return of the Z/28, Boss, Stingray, and ZL1 within a two year span indicates much for the future of American muscle. Maybe we will see a return of the Chevelle, 442, CobraJet, and Mach 1. Maybe a Boss 429?

How about we bring back Pontiac, first. 

Neon R/T: Ghosts of a Bygone Era

Photo credit: Car and Driver

Small, front wheel drive four-pot high performance cars are some of my favorite vehicles on the road. These “pocket rockets” have the daily drivability and gas mileage of a basic four cylinder economy car, with a little bit of something else thrown in the mix. One analogy that often comes to mind with these pocket rockets is a bowl of grits. Plain grits, without any seasoning or additions, are inherently quite bland. Basic econobox sedans and coupes unfortunately fall under the umbrella of these “plain grits”. They get the job done, but are quite joyless about it. There is no pizzazz, no verve, and no spirit about the way they get you to point A. Now, these performance models are the spicy, seasoned grits that require half a gallon of water just to choke down. With the exception of slightly warmed over “sport” models that change nothing but the wheels and badges, these feisty powerhouses often take high performance engines, sport tuned suspensions, and beefy transmissions, and cram them into the cheap, light shell of an econobox. Cars like the Cobalt SS Turbo, Shelby Omni GLHS, and the Integra R cement the whole “cheap and cheerful” mentality for those who want performance AND usability. Often with huge wings, flashy graphics, and large wheels, I always stop to admire these tuned terrors.

Whenever I stumble out of my dorm building on my way to class, I always cast a sideways glance at the Flame Red Dodge Neon R/T sedan parked front and center in the student priority parking section. With its “2.0 Magnum”  and “R/T” badges, 5 speed tranny, dual exhaust, and large wheels, the R/T Neon seems to play the part of a hard-line sportscar, but unfortunately falls prey to lackluster performance figures.  Its 150 horsepower engine fails to divvy up the power necessary to move the 2800 lb. bulk in anything but a moderately nippy pace. Despite these dreary performance handicaps, the Neon always catches my attention for a few reasons. One, it is quite uncommon. And two, it carries the storied R/T badge, which I find a bit ironic.

Back in the 60’s and early 70’s, any Dodge cars wearing the R/T badge were tarmac burners who terrorized pony cars from stoplight-to-stoplight. The Road/Track designated muscle car bruisers were known for their big engines, big bodies, and beefy suspensions set for the drag strip. As Dodge continued to slap the R/T badge on to models well into the ‘80s and 90’s, the R/T badge began to show up on some less-than stellar performers. Models like the Durango and Aspen were limp underachievers that slowly undermined the respect that R/T had built up from the ‘60s, with R/T eventually finding its way on the Stratus, Journey, and the car in question, the Neon. Virtually every Dodge vehicle found a sporty sibling with a shiny R/T badge. In the mid 70’s when the gas crisis struck a V8-obsessed America, the scramble for small, front wheel drive cars contributed to the death of the large, heavy, and quite thirsty muscle car formula. The Neon is a direct descendant of this malaise-era mentality of small engine, low performance, high mileage economy models.  Not content with contributing to the downfall of the muscle car era, the Neon becomes an unholy abomination who unsuccessfully attempts to cannibalize the identity of its fallen brethren. It becomes, in my mind, the complete opposite of what it tries to mimic. Instead of causing me to recall the epic 426 Coronet, Challenger, or Charger, I think of bailouts, outdated chassis, and poor quality. The R/T badge is something to be venerated, not slapped willy nilly on any four wheeled product that rolls out of Detroit.

This extreme badge dilution brings a bit of melancholy to my mind. While I am well aware that the “true” modern performance Dodge vehicles proudly wear the SRT badge, I find the R/T badge a bit more meaningful. In my mind, it’s something akin to the memory of an old friend. The badge is a remainder from the “good ‘ol days”, days full of quarter miles and stoplight burnouts. The Street Racing Technology line doesn’t do much for me. It’s right there, in the name: Street. While yes, these modern cars are more powerful than their R/T counterparts, R/T signifies something a bit wilder, a demon not quite comfortable with life on the street. Road/Track signifies a duality within the name that holds so much more power than other competitors. SuperSport (SS), GT, GTO, these names, outside of those in the know, don’t signify much. Road/Track bluntly outlines what this vehicle was created to do.  R/T cars from yore were delegated to track duty on weekends, followed by a splash of racing between the lights on the drive home. In short, Dodge, it’s time to reclaim the crown. Put the Track back into Road/Track!