Chevrolet Has Not Announced Pricing for the 2014 Camaro Z/28 but Says that the New Performance Model Will Cost More than a Camaro ZL1
“The Z/28 is NOT available to order now, and we won’t have pricing until the end of this year. But I can tell you it will be priced above the ZL1,” said Doran.
And with that statement, nothing official was said but we officially know that the Camaro Z28 will not be cheap. For the sake of context, the 2014 Camaro ZL1 starts at $56,050 in coupe form and from $61,250 in convertible. This means that we’re looking at the $60k range for the Camaro Z/28, but, its performance should merit that. That places it right in line with vehicles like the BMW M3.
Official pricing should be released in December or early January. Expect more performance numbers from GM around the same time. We’ll update you as soon as we know more.
GM has reinforced their dedication to product placement marketing by dedicating three vehicles to the new Transformers film, which Michael Bay is currently in the process of filming. Ahead of the film’s release, Chevrolet has been showing off these vehicles, and put them–a special prototype Camaro, a beautiful new C7 Stingray, and an interesting new rally edition Sonic RS–on major display at the SEMA show this weekend.
The new Camaro Bumblebee is maybe the most interesting vehicle of the trio, too. Unlike in the films past, the new Bumblebee has foregone its traditional bright yellow color for a little meaner shade of yellow-orange. This is a risky move, as Bumblebee has been one of the biggest and most important figures in the films thus far, since it messes with the Bumblebee Camaro identity a bit; however, it seems like a safe move due to the actual beauty of this new, special edition color.
In addition to the special paint job, the new Bumblebee Camaro also sees other changes. Chief amongst them is a unique front fascia and squintier front blue led headlights. The rear also features unique squared LED tail lamps which are similar to the current Camaro ones, but, unique in their own way as well. The over-all look is one that’s definitely exciting. Even for people who aren’t fans of the shallow robot-explosion films, this Camaro is worth some degree of excitement ahead of its release.
In addition to the Camaro GM also showed off a very aggressive green C7 Stingray. The Corvette features an extra large rear wing, which appears to be taken from a F1 racer or similar vehicle, and a very eye-popping custom paint job.
The last vehicle is an interesting one. It’s a special edition of the Chevy Sonic RS. The Sonic has built up a reputation as a fantastic little car–even as it has had to do so against the poor reputation history of Chevy’s past few years of small vehicle entries–and the RS has added a good deal of sportiness to that line. This white, black, and purple Sonic RS is considered a Rally edition, however. This doesn’t mean it offers more power or AWD, which seems counter-intuitive for a Rally edition of a vehicle, but maybe hints at Chevy’s desire to increase the vehicle’s performance profile moving forward.
Reddit user u/_WarShrike_ put together YouTube videos of the Camaro Z/28, Camaro ZL1, and C6 ZR1 Corvette next to one another. What this means is that you can see, side by side, how each of Chevrolet’s three finest vehicles tackle the world’s greatest course. I’ve watched the trio of videos multiple times now, myself, to catch some of the nuances of how the various drivers and vehicles tackled the course. To see, starting at 1:20 for example, the three vehicles enter that wide right curve at their own angles and speeds is absolutely fascinating.
The whole thing is a blast. You’ll definitely find yourself glued to your screen for the full 7+ minutes, and it’s even greater a testament to the Camaro Z/28′s abilities when you keep in mind the fact that the Z/28 beat the ZL1′s time that handily and was the only vehicle of the three to achieve its time on wet conditions. Extra seconds were left out there due to the weather, that’s for certain!
GM Gives Official Times and Press Release on the Z28 Lapping the Nurburgring
The Camaro Z/28, the newest, track oriented, performance variation of the fifth Generation Chevrolet Camaro, has been much anticipated. Since the Camaro’s rerelease, media outlets have been buzzing about such a potential vehicular revival. It’s finally happening, and it is happening with incredible panache.
Chevrolet has been busy testing the Camaro Z/28, and, after 10 hours of laps at the world-famous Nurburgring in rainy conditions, they can give us an official best track time: 7:37:40. That’s right. 7:37:40 in rainy conditions. That time puts the Camaro Z28 ahead of such vehicles as the more powerful Camaro ZL1, the Porsche 911 Carrera S, and the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640–squarely in the middle of world-class status.
That the Camaro could achieve all of this in wet conditions is a testament to the technologies Chevrolet outfitted the new variant with. The high performance engine and incredible Magnetic Ride Suspension combine on the vehicle’s extra light-weight chassis to lay down some incredible performance figures. The full video was released by Chevrolet today of the Z/28′s Nurburgring lap, and it’s worth watching every second of it. Below the video you’ll see the full, official, press release from GM.
Z/28 undergoes 10 hours or 1,000 miles of testing at Nordschleife
Fastest lap completed in 7:37.40 in rainy conditions
DETROIT – Chevrolet today revealed a video [see below] of the all-new, 2014 Camaro Z/28 lapping Germany’s challenging Nürburgring road course in 7:37.40, a time comparable with some of the world’s most prestigious sports cars.
The Z/28’s lap is four seconds faster than the Camaro ZL1, and beats published times for the Porsche 911 Carrera S and the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640. The Z/28’s lap was completed on less-than-ideal conditions, with damp pavement and pouring rain near the end of the run.
“One of the challenges of testing at the ‘Ring is that the track is so long that conditions can change radically in a single lap,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “Adam Dean, the development driver for Z/28, did a heroic job driving in deteriorating conditions. Based on telemetry data from our test sessions, we know the Z/28 can be as much as six seconds faster on a dry track.”
In terms of lap times, the Z/28’s improved speed came from three areas:
Increased grip: The Z/28 is capable of 1.08 g in cornering acceleration, due to comprehensive chassis revisions
Increased stopping power: The Z/28 features Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes capable of 1.5 g in deceleration, and consistent brake feel lap after lap
Reduced curb weight: The naturally aspirated Z/28 weighs 300 pounds less than the supercharged Camaro ZL1, with changes ranging from lightweight wheels to thinner rear-window glass.
The heart of the Z/28 is the 7.0L LS7 engine. The LS7 uses lightweight, racing-proven, high-performance components, such as titanium intake valves and connecting rods, CNC-ported aluminum cylinder heads and a forged-steel crankshaft to help produce an SAE-certified 505 horsepower (376 kW) and 481 lb-ft of torque (652 Nm). Air-conditioning is available, but only as an option.
A close-ratio six-speed manual transmission is the only transmission offered and power is distributed to the rear wheels via a limited-slip differential featuring a helical gear set, rather than traditional clutch packs. The new design enables the driver to apply more power and get through corners faster, by making the most of the capability of individual-wheel antilock brake function during corner entry braking, mid-corner speed and corner-exit traction.
The team spent a week at the Nürburgring as part of the Z/28′s performance-validation regimen, accumulating a total of 10 hours and nearly 1,000 miles on the track. Each lap took less than eight minutes to complete, despite having to overtake slower traffic at times. These hours are part of the grueling 24-Hour Test, which simulates a full year’s worth of track use of track days or amateur-level competition at the hands of an owner.
“Passing the 24-Hour Test is a requirement for all cars we call ‘track capable,’” said Wayne McConnell, director of global vehicle performance. “The test pushes the car at 10/10ths on the track for a total of 24 hours. During the test the only mechanical changes allowed are replacing the brakes and tires.”
The 24-Hour Test is broken into a number of segments over the course of several days – and even at different tracks – to evaluate performance in precisely measured and carefully monitored increments. Crucially, each valid test lap must be run within 2 percent of a target lap speed to count toward the 24-hour total.
The 24-Hour Test was first used in the early 1990s for the fourth-generation Corvette. Back then, the 300-horsepower Corvette was Chevrolet’s most powerful vehicle, and the 24-Hour Test measured 15 channels of data. Today, the 2014 Camaro LS offers a 323-horsepower V-6, while the Camaro Z/28’s racing-proven LS7 7.0L small-block V-8 delivers 505 horsepower, and the 24-Hour Test measures 130 channels of data.
“Our cars’ performance and capability have advanced tremendously in the past 20 years, which required us to continually improve the parameters of the 24-Hour Test,” said McConnell.
“Today’s test pushes the car harder than the vast majority of customers ever will. As a result, when we call a car ‘track capable’ we are confident that it will perform reliably and consistently for our customers.”
This Bulletproof Camaro–capable of withstanding fire from an AK-47 or a .44 magnum–is easily one of the most badass Camaros on Earth
Oil magnates. Movie stars. Musicians. Politicians. The bulletproof SUV is the vehicle of choice for the insanely wealthy and, often times rightfully so, paranoid, but an SUV just doesn’t have the flair or power of an uninhibited American muscle car. To fill that void, in steps the Camaro SS.
Manufactured by Texas Armoring out of San Antonio, the bulletproof Camaro is almost fast enough to outrun shots fired at it, and more than capable of handling their impact. Built from a base Camaro SS, this special Camaro is one of the coolest–if not the most unreasonable–Camaro mods we’ve ever seen.
Built using a combination of lightweight polyethylene-based armor plating and bulletproof composite glass, the Texas Armoring Camaro is capable of withstanding 9 mm and .44 Magnum handguns, as well as 12-gauge shotguns, and AK-47 and AR-15 automatic rifles. All of this armoring only adds about 500 pounds to the vehicle, as well. The car is able to deflect this bevy of ammunition thanks to the company’s brilliant layering of glass and polycarbonate materials throughout the body.
If this isn’t enough for you, the engineers at Texas Armoring will also install a supercharger conversion kit on your bulletproof Camaro to bump the power up from 400 to 550HP. The get-up-and-go oomph of the extra supercharged HP, when coupled with the ludicrous protection of the literal bulletproof construction makes for one of the baddest and most insane Camaros we’ve ever heard of. Of course, one thing Texas Armoring doesn’t install is ridiculous badging, which means that your bulletproof, supercharged, Camaro SS will be the ultimate sleeper vehicle.
If you’re in the market for a vehicle that does all the things that this one does and offers all the protection this one offers, conversion starts at $45,000–about $10,000 more than you’d pay for your fully loaded Camaro SS in the first place. The complete package, with all extra goodies and performance bits, will set you back a cool $80,000 on top of the cost of the base Camaro, but will also give you a fully fortified underbody, reinforced roof, and runflat tires capable of driving for about 50 miles even after sustaining a gunshot. There’s no better way to keep yourself safe from all of those unsavories and to do so in style!
Chevrolet’s ZL1 Performance Components Will Be Made Available as Upgrades From Chevrolet Performance for Their Other Camaros
Owners of Camaro V6 and Camaro SS vehicles who have found themselves envious of the Camaro ZL1′s many upgrades and goodies can now start acquiring them for themselves directly from Chevrolet. Chevrolet Performance is making a full line of ZL1 Performance parts available for purchase, including components from the ZL1′s suspension, chassis, body and aerodynamics, and drivetrain.
The benefit of purchasing these component parts, instead of purchasing from the bevy of aftermarket Camaro parts manufacturers, is that the Chevrolet Performance parts once installed will not affect your vehicle’s factory warranty.
Pricing on the various parts and kits has not yet been listed, but, will be made available soon. Below is a list of some of the more interesting parts being made available:
ZL1′s larger, greater cooling, Brakes are now available for the Camaro V6 and Camaro SS. They will be made available in both front and rear, as separate a la carte options for the SS, and in a singular all-wheel kit for the V6. The V6 can also be upgraded to the SS brakes.
The 1LE Track Pack is available as a secondary upgrade for both the SS and V6. The kit improves chassis stiffening and stabilization and vehicle handling.
The LS7′s high-lift camshaft and ported heads are available as an option for the Camaro SS. This performance package will improve vehicle performance output and vehicle tunability, and fits on all Gen-IV small-blocks with a 4-inch and larger bore.
The full ZL1 Driveline, featuring 9.9-inch rear ring and pinion with limited slip differential in a heavy-duty cast iron housing, and asymmetrical driveshafts, will be made available in both automatic and manual for V6 and SS models, as well.
The Future of GM Features Many Things, and the Camaro is Chief Amongst Them
This is a 2-parter update, as I wanted to share both of these videos with you. So, I’ll break it down in to two parts:
Part one: The Camaro Advertises to the Brazilian Market
The future of American automobiles is tied almost as much to foreign markets as it is to our own domestic one. This has become obvious as we’ve seen Ford make major moves in to the European market with their vehicles, and make even bigger plans for moving ahead with a full global strategy for their Mustang.
For their part, Chevrolet hasn’t been sleeping on global markets. We’ve seen commercials featuring the Camaro from Brazil before, two of them in fact. And they’re good. This year, with the 2014 redesign hitting Brazil as well (the Brazilian market is the largest non-North American Market for the Camaro), a new commercial has been released:
This new commercial is incredibly reminiscent of the Chevrolet ‘Find New Roads’ commercial featured during the Super Bowl last year, and for a good reason: it’s basically a Portuguese language version of that very same ad campaign. However, the American version didn’t ever feature a Camaro–or, for that matter, Mike Tyson, either. In the American version the Corvette had the premiere spot, but, the Brazilian commercial definitely treats the Camaro as the flagship car with, arguably, the advertisement’s best segment.
Here’s the American version, for comparison:
Part Two: A look to 2020 and Beyond
In a new video released by GM featuring Frank Saucedo–GM’s Director of Advanced Design–we get a glimpse of what GM’s strategy is moving forward with design and production. They have a long-term plan that looks past the year 2020 in an effort to stay ahead of the curve and continue creating vehicles like the C7 Corvette and Chevrolet Camaro which highlight the most forward thinking visual and performance design cues.
Strangely, the video focuses on the California automotive culture instead of the more classic American ones of the Midwest and Southeast, in its efforts to look toward the future. The video makes some great points about consumer desires and highlights the Bumblebee Camaro a fair bit, but, it also seems a little shortsighted ultimately–a strange comment to make about a video titled 2020 Vision whose focus is looking to the future and for the long term.
They mention foreign cars and foreign car design, but, they also fail to mention the very American identity that has made vehicles like the Corvette and Camaro so undeniably successful. Here’s to hoping these aspects aren’t forgotten as Chevrolet moves forward, too.
The Camaro Z/28 and C7 Corvette were Both Caught on Camera Testing out the Nürburgring
Preparing for their releases in the months to come, Chevrolet has been putting their flagship C7 Corvette and new, track-monster Z/28 Camaro under the microscope for heavy performance scrutiny. Last week, the two vehicle were spied tearing up the asphalt at the world-famous Nürburgring motorsports complex track. They each looked absolutely at home.
The lightweight, no-frills, Camaro Z/28 is a vehicle designed specifically for conditions like those offered at the Nürburgring, and the car shows it. It appears to be stiff and agile, cornering well and tearing through the straightaways. The sound of the LS7 piped through new Chevrolet factory Tri-Y headers and performance Z/28 exhaust is absolutely incredible.
So, while these videos provide no hard details yet on ‘Ring performance, they definitely show the Z/28 as a monster that belongs in such a locale. Expect to see the Z/28 lap the Nürburgring in the low 7:30′s or high 7:20′s territory when it’s finally released. There’s potential, too, for a low 7:20′s, but that would be a miracle lap type number for a car as heavy as the Camaro Z/28, even with the LS7 V8 powering it forward. Until we know exactly how the Z/28 does on the ‘Ring, just enjoy the glimpses of it we can get, and get excited to see everything that a track-tuned, naturally aspirated, 500+HP monster of a Camaro will be able to accomplish.
Camaro Posts Strong Sales Raises in August and Build Larger Lead in the Pony Car Sales Race
The number one competition for the pony car industry doesn’t take place on any track: it occurs in a battle of numbers from showroom to garage floors. Vehicle sales are the number 1 indicator of which car in each segment is the best, as they’re based not only on the track numbers vehicles produce, but also the public popularity–an indicator of success in design and marketing far beyond what any writer could tell you.
That being said, the Camaro is king in its class, and further proved so this August.
The Camaro saw a 33% increase over August of last year to total 8,875 deliveries (deliveries are completed sales). These totals put the Camaro’s YTD deliveries at 59,156. This number is good for a sizable lead over the Mustang and Challenger. The Mustang had come close, pre-August, in YTD totals, but a 22% decrease in sales from last year left their August total at 5,866 and their YTD numbers lagging behind the Camaro with 54,745. The Challenger has the fewest sales of the three, but is also the only vehicle to post consistent sales increases over the last two years. While just two years ago the Challenger held an almost invisible portion of the market share, today they account for 4,392 deliveries in August (also a 33% increase) and 38,645 sales for the entire 2013 year.
Full charts and numbers below. All infographics courtesy of Camaro5 forum member Enator:
Lots of New Information Released Concerning the 2015 Mustang Force Camaro Fans to Ask What Comes Next for Their Beloved Automobile
Recent reports have indicated that the next-generation Mustang–which is the Camaro’s most direct competitor–will be a much smaller vehicle. How much smaller? Some reports indicate 16 inches shorter and 7 inches narrower, and a minimum of 400 pounds lighter. Other reports also indicate that the vehicle will be available with a 4 cylinder engine in Europe, will feature a V6 base engine in the States, and will start at an almost identical price to the current generation.
So, what does all of this mean for the next-generation Camaro? We already know that the next-generation Camaro will be built on the new Alpha platform being used for the Cadillac ATS, and as such, will be a smaller vehicle, but will its dimensional shaving compete with that being done to the Mustang? If the Mustang loses 400 pounds its 2015 curb weight will be right around 3100 pounds. If the Camaro cuts weight in the same manner, its vehicle will weigh in at around 3,350 pounds. Those 250 pounds aren’t huge, but, they could result in a difference of vehicle handling, and that’s also assuming that the Camaro design team are capable of shaving off that much weight. To remain competitive, they’ll either have to do just that, or improve handling in other aspects.
2014 Transformers Bumblebee Camaro
Clearly, cutting weight in similar numbers to that will be the most logical answer. A 3,350 pound Camaro powered by a 300+HP V6 would be an incredible car. Finding a way to cut weight even further–that is, if the Alpha platform can deliver on all of the promises Chevrolet has made of it–would make the Camaro not just a pony car, but also, in that realm of pure driver experience track car that has made the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ so instantly popular. However, getting below 3300 pounds will certainly be difficult, considering where the Camaro is coming from in this generation.
To remain ahead of the curve by comparison to the Mustang, something else may need to be done. Especially when we consider that the Mustang, for the first time in its life, is receiving a modern independent rear suspension. Its reliance on the solid rear suspension has always left the Mustang in the Camaro’s dust in a track setting. Chevrolet does have more advanced suspension components today than even the Independent Rear–their Magnetic Ride Suspension seen on the ZL1 Camaro and 7th Generation Corvette is world-class leading–but those are expensive, and will certainly be made available only to higher end Camaro models. Does this mean, simply, that the V6 Mustang may be a more well-performing car the V6 Camaro? We don’t know yet, but there’s a fear that that might be an actuality.
Of course, performance doesn’t always equate to great sales. Price and appearance are, often times, just as important, and sometimes even more so, when a buyer is making their decision. To truly stay ahead of the Mustang, Chevrolet has to offer their next-generation Camaro at an almost identical price point as their current one, and they have to continue to provide a visual style that’s more appealing than their competitors. Their style for the fifth-generation Camaro is what allowed it to win the current-generation pony car war. Regardless of what comes next, we’re excited to see it, as improvements for one vehicle only mean improvements for the other as well. We’re hoping the sixth-generation Camaro is the best Camaro we’ve seen yet, and, we have faith in the Camaro design and production team to deliver on those hopes.
