Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is GO!

Wonderbread · **Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is GO! -** 09-23-2009, 08:56 AM

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GM design chief Ed Welburn confirmed to us at the Frankfurt Show that the Camaro Z28 program is back on track. As we reported back in April, the Z28 was basically completed, with the design signed off, but the final engineering and certification work was put on hold as GM's financial situation spun out of control.

With GM now out of bankruptcy, the Z28 program has been restarted. Why? Insiders say the Z28 business case now makes sense because the new UAW contracts have reduced the labor costs on the car to the point where GM feels it can price it competitively -- and far enough away from Corvette. That's the good news. The bad news is EPA certification and GM durability requirements mean the Z28 is unlikely to go on sale until late 2011.

Our images are very close to the final signed-off design, based on photos of a scale clay model we've seen. Key details to note are the deeper front bumper fascia, with larger front aperture under the grille and the spotlights mounted in deep vents on either side. The Z28 also gets a different grille mesh compared with that of a standard Camaro.

At the rear is a taller lip spoiler that runs the full width of the car. A new rear-bumper fascia features a deeper section with integrated exhaust outlets. The wheels are 20-inchers with an aggressive "tuning-fork" five-spoke pattern.

A new hood features a large, forward-facing scoop. Underneath is the 6.2-liter supercharged LSA V-8 that also powers the Cadillac CTS-V. As we have already confirmed, this is quite a powerplant, delivering 556 horsepower at 6100 rpm and 551 pound-feet of torque at 3800 rpm.

The near-4300-pound CTS-V thunders from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and nails the quarter mile in 12.3 seconds (automatic) or 12.4 seconds (manual). Top speed is limited to 175 mph in the auto (to preserve the tranny), but the manual will storm to an autobahn-melting 193 mph. As the Z/28 will weigh 200 to 300 pounds less than the CTS-V, it may nail 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and run the quarter in the very low 12s. This Z28 could be the fastest Chevy ponycar since the legendary ZL-1-powered COPO 9560 Camaros built 40 years ago.

The Z28 is likely to only be available with a six speed manual transmission, unless GM can piggyback some of the car's certification on work already done for the CTS-V to get the automatic into the range at low cost.