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. 

Bentley EXP9F: Excess or Excellence?

With the recent reveal of the Bentley EXP9F SUV concept at the 2012 Geneva Auto show, various forums and pundits have been up in arms about the controversial luxo-brusier. The EXP9F joins the lucrative “high luxury” SUV market, which includes models from next to every major luxury automotive manufacturer in the world. Many people, however, do not believe that Bentley should betray its rich and storied history, as Bentley has never mass-produced an SUV before. Many think Bentley is simply jumping on the performance SUV bandwagon, along with other turncoats like Porsche and Maserati, and will lead to nothing but brand-dilution.

With the EXP9F, however, it seems to be carving out its own specific niche in the market. The most expensive luxury SUVs on sale right now all have high performance dispositions, with high powered engines, sport tuned suspensions, and interiors inspired by the cockpits of high-end sports cars. However, because the EXP9F is a Bentley, things are understandably a bit different. You see, when a well-to-do individual wants a luxurious GT to cruise around in both style and comfort that can be used every day, they have a few paths to choose from. If you want a sporty, fast, and performance oriented GT, the Aston Martin DB9, Porsche 911 Turbo, and Maserati GranTurismo fit the bill rather well. On the other end of the scale, if luxury, interior appointments and ride comfort is your priority, the Bentley Continental GT is the ideal choice. Modern Bentleys always have similar characteristics that are standard across the model range. They feature sumptuous leather, wood and/or brushed metal  interior trimming, state of the art media/infotainment systems, and a ride quality that is unparalleled by anything except perhaps a modern Rolls-Royce, which, depending on the model, usually costs quite a bit more. With the EXP9F, it is business as usual. The seats are large and heavily cushioned affairs, with copious amounts of both leg and headroom. The EXP9F is teeming with every gizmo and gadget imaginable, and the exterior sports the trademark garish Bentley grille that is three sizes too large.

 All of these creature comforts add massive amounts of weight to the vehicle, which only hampers what little performance capabilities this couch-on-wheels already has. Because of the lack of a performance oriented attitude, as well as what is assumed to be a uniquely high price tag, the EXP9F does not have any apparent competitors from other major companies.   The Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Mercedes-Benz G wagon, BMW X6M, and the upcoming Maserati Kubang are the most expensive SUVs on sale today, with prices ranging from $90,000 to $150,000. All of these SUVs are born from companies with rich racing histories, with current model line ups saturated with sports cars and GTs that have racing lineage that can be traced back from decades of race prowess and victories. However, while the Bentley marquee does indeed come from a storied race history, with legendary race cars like the immortal Bentley Blowers, the racing DNA has unfortunately been lost over the ages.

Two of these are legendary race cars, and one is a cushy roadgoing GT. Guess which ones are which....

  Long ago, with the sale to Rolls-Royce in 1931, Bentley eschewed any sports cars in the model lineup, with the exception, perhaps of the legendary Turbo R and the advent of the new Continental GT SuperSports. Because of this, I have little issue with EXP9F going into production. Since the price is sure to be heads and shoulders above the budgets of regular buyers of performance SUVs, and there is little performance history left to abandon, there will be little to no brand dilution. In reality, the EXP9F will perhaps coax a rival Rolls-Royce SUV into production from BMW, which would be a fantastic high-dollar competition that would only be a boon for us interested gear heads.

 When Porsche announced the Cayenne, I was quite disheartened. Porsche has an incredible racing history, with its past model lineup exclusively occupied by low slung sports cars and powerful GTs. As with Maserati and the new Kubang, introducing a sports SUV to a sports car dominated lineup somehow feels cheap. While the SUV does indeed turn incredible profits, it removes the “special” feel of the previous race-inspired models. The entire affair ends up feeling like an exercise in model rebadging, a decision seemingly made by number crunchers, and not fellow automotive enthusiasts, and that ultimately detracts from the “cool factor” of the brand. However, as the Bentley has nothing really substantial to desecrate, the EXP9F does nothing but interest me in the future of the budding ultra-luxury SUV market.