The Chevy Camaro has never been a shrinking violet.
There is nothing subtle about the resurrected 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. It is a pure hammer, a mighty weapon of patriotic fury with but one mission: go fast as hell around a track. There’s a 7.0-liter LS7 V-8 stuffed under its hood. There are myriad exterior bits intended to turn airflow into grip for meaty 305/30ZR-19 Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R rubber. Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes are standard, while the air conditioning and more than one audio speaker are options. Inside are manual Recaro seats, a flat-bottom steering wheel, and a lot less sound deadening. Hell, even the rear window glass is thinner just to save a few pounds. And that’s just the streetable version—the Z/28.R race car we’re here to discuss takes the fanatical pursuit of speed to another level. Stevenson Motorsports and CKS Autosport have prepped Z/28.R racers for the GS class in IMSA’s Continental Tires SportsCar Challenge. Their maiden race was a support event for the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona called the—ahem—BMW Performance 200. To learn more about the new race car, we turned to Lisa Talarico, Chevy’s program manager for its IMSA entries, and found out just how much of the regular Z/28 makes it into the R. (Spoiler alert: It’s a lot.)
1. The monster motor and gearbox are stock.
There’s 505 horsepower and 481 lb-ft of torque living inside the all-aluminum V-8, which is fitted with a dry-sump lubrication system from the factory—the only change made for the race car is a different oiling tank. Just one transmission is available on the Z/28, a Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual capable of handling 600 lb-ft, and it goes straight from assembly line to the track. If anything, this proves just how much the R version was kept in mind when developing the $75,000 street Z/28.
2. The differential is also stock.
It’s a Torsion limited-slip design that forsakes the clutch packs often found in LSDs for a helical gear set. Talarico notes that this “makes it easier for the drivers to get the torque to the ground,” which we’ll note is pretty important for racing.
3. There was no need to fiddle with the aero package.
Chevrolet often touts that the stock Z/28 aerodynamic kit was an important element that allowed an example to scorch the Nürburgring Nordschleife for a 7:37.40 lap—in the wet. So it follows that it needed no changes in the transformation to Z/28.R. TO drive home the point, Talarico pointed out to us “the production splitter, rear spoiler adjustable wicker bill, belly pan, wheel flares, rocker panels, and the hood extractor vent.”
4. The Brembo carbon brakes had to go.
The stock carbon-ceramic discs (measuring 15.5 by 1.4 inches up front and 15.3 by 1.3 at the rear) make the street Z/28 capable, Chevy says, of smashing your brain into the inside of your skull at 1.5 g under deceleration. They also, of course, save weight. But they had to go because of IMSA’s racing rules, which dictate rotors that would be at home in the Iron Age.
5. Only GM engineers likely would be able to spot the suspension differences.
The spec sheet for the factory Z/28 lists struts up front and a multilink setup out back, and that’s what you’ll find in the racer, although it’s tweaked a bit. Talarico explains: “We’re running the stock suspension points and pretty much the same stock suspension except for some bushing changes we had to make for endurance racing. The arms are stock pieces outside of some small changes that are unique to our style of racing.” Chevrolet claims the stock suspension is good for 1.08 g in cornering—we’d love to find out what sort of grip the Z/28.R can deliver.
6. Out goes that one radio speaker.
As sparse as the stock Z/28’s interior is, most of it has to be stripped out for racing. The Z/28.R gets its own race seat, a set of critical instrumentation, and a Pratt & Miller–developed roll cage that adds critical chassis stiffness.
During the Z/28.R’s maiden race—aptly named, as BMW M3s dominated the 2.5-hour event—the cars proved slightly slower than the leaders. But Chevy has until March 15 and the second race of the season, the 12 Hours of Sebring, to find the pace. Anyone want to bet against this thing?
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