Chevrolet Camaro Z28 | Rise & Drive
The Z/28 has a special reputation. We found a special morning to test it...
Not long after the millennium, GM killed the Camaro. The termination had been a long time coming. The fourth generation model was a pony car in more ways than one, and uncompetitive in its domestic market. Chevrolet returned to the drawing board, and didn't come away from it for four years. Happily, when they did, it was with a home run. You don't need to know anything about muscle cars to know that the fifth generation Camaro was terrific - visually speaking, it was uniquely American and uncannily well proportioned.
Buyers heartily agreed, and from 2010 its manufacturer shifted over 80,000 examples a year. As is traditional for the US market, umpteen special edition versions were to follow - but Chevrolet waited until 2013 to attempt a Z/28. That's because the badge enjoys the hallowed status thanks to its motorsport heritage and the manufacturer had genuine ambitions for its track-based focus. The engineers diligently removed mass from the Camaro's decidedly hefty frame, and weaponised the remainder with a hand-built 7.0-litre LS7 V8 capable of revving to 7,000rpm.
The dry-sumped engine was shared with the Corvette Z06, but the Z/28 enjoyed an identity all of its own - one unmistakably muscle car in tradition. That makes it almost impossible to dislike, even when hemmed in by narrow UK roads. Or that's the theory at any rate. We dispatched Dan P to South Wales to test it. And while the rest of the country slumbered, this is what the lucky so-and-so learnt...
I wonder if this is the very same car that C.Harris owns, and is trying to sell?!
He put it in an auction a few weeks ago according to his Twitter, so either lent it to PH beforehand or the new owner did.
That's the feeling I get as Dan drives and describes this car: the everyday acquires a sense of occasion.
The aural delight as the revs climb, that rich exhaust note (thank you, cam-in-block with pushrods!), the meaty shifts right under your control. Even at 5/6/7 tenths, as Dan says.
Oh... And are you ready for 10 years of annual servicing that costs mere buttons?
This car is so well sorted, a couple of people seem to have gambled on future value. You can still find online, from time to time, five or six-year-old examples for sale with, like, a couple hundred miles on the odometer. For circa $65,000. Others with a bit more mileage can be had for around $45,000. Worth it, imo.
Like everybody else here, I believe this "Rise" concept is a unique way to showcase a car as well as the lovely landscape in which it drives. Thumbs up for the touch of Blighty with, yet again, the flask of tea. Bonus points to the camera person for those tracking shots across the greenery.
I imagine that it's a bit of a bother to get out of bed so early, but it's plain to see that the result is worth it.
other UK sites have tested this car, MY14, MY15; none mention "slow" or laboured at low revs
less than 7:38 on the Nurburgring
and therefore quicker than Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, Ferrari 430 Scuderia and other top shelf brands
Ferrari 599 GTB is slower, longer and wider; loads of cars in the UK are larger, and this has been addressed ad infinitum with Camaro and other Yanks
you can easily find a better car, I reckon, but not for the money
In all honesty the SS is fine for me (400 horses for the auto and 425 for the manual - 2013) but there are a couple running around the UK with 1,000 hp and quite a few more between 700 and 800....
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff