Track-capable Camaro Z/28 Validated at Nürburgring

  • 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 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.

Image source: media.GM.com

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.”

Camaro COPO to star in Fast N Loud tonight

Chevrolet Performance COPO Camaro to Star in Discovery Channel's "Fast N Loud" 

The COPO Camaro will play a major starring role in tonight's (October 14, 2013, 9:00 PM EST) airing of Discovery Channel's hit automotive television show, "Fast N' Loud". Gas Monkey Garage owner and star of the show, Richard Rawlings and his sidekick, Dennis Collins, worked at the Performance Build Center in Wixom, MI as well as the COPO Camaro Build Facility to help assemble their 1-of-69 NHRA drag race Camaro. 

Filmed in late June of this year, the show details the step-by-step process that it takes to hand build a COPO Camaro. Richard and Dennis started by building their 427 engine, then they headed off to the COPO Build Facility where they work side by side Chevrolet Performance technicians to add an NHRA-approved roll cage, straight axle conversion, and continue the process to build their COPO from the body-in-white up. Along the way, the stars of "Fast N Loud" stop off at the GM Heritage Center to tour the over 100 year history of General Motors.


For a sneak peak at tonight's show, follow this link: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/fast-n-loud/tv-schedule.htm

This season premier of "Fast N Loud" airs tonight at 9:00 EST on Discovery.

Source: Chevrolet

Camaros and Charity

The Buyers, Builders & Owners Meet & Greet (BBOMG) represents the Chevrolet Camaro enthusiast community from across the United States and Canada. In addition to providing BBOMG participants with unique experiences, we are proud to be able to give back to GM based communities to remind people of the benefits of having General Motors as a corporate citizen in their community.

We all appreciate the standard of life which Detroit has given us for nearly a century and the participants and supporters of BBOMG wanted to somehow give back.

In partnership with General Motors and Chevrolet, BBOMG is proud to present a donation of $4,044 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit.



We acknowledge that the youth of today represent the success of tomorrow and BBOMG wishes to show our appreciation to the communities by supporting today’s youth-based charities. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit is a fine example of what youth-based charity should be.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Chief Development Officer, Nancy Maier shared the following comments;

“To put things in perspective as to what this donation will do for our Agency, it will allow us to remove 6 - 10 youth from our wait list. We will now have the ability to pair a vulnerable young boy or girl with a positive role model who will work to provide educational and emotional support to a child who may not receive that support at home. Each year we want to serve more children than the previous year. Last year we served 1,271, and in this last quarter of 2013, we are hoping to reach 1,300 children. You have helped us get closer with this gift.”

BBOMG would like to thank all of our sponsors and supporters which make the event possible.  In particular, we would like to acknowledge the extensive support that GM has provided over the years.  Most importantly, the event organizers would like to thank the BBOMG participants who make the event more than just a car show….they make it an experience!


And now for a bit of history:

A group of dedicated GM enthusiasts had attended many Car shows and Camaro Events - but in their mind, the one thing that was missing from these shows were all the men and women who toiled to bring our magnificent Camaros to us, the buyers and enthusiasts.  And thus, they created the "Buyers, Builders, and Owners Meet and Greet" as a way to connect all of the men and women that contribute to the “Build” of the Camaro with the customers that “Buy” the Camaro.  

Since 2010 people came from all over Canada and the United States to meet the men and women of the Oshawa Build Centre, the St. Catharines engine plant and other local GM Suppliers. This year BBOMG invited participants to Detroit so that people could acknowledge GM design and also experience the world-famous Woodward Dream Cruise.

The founders of this event believe participants comments such as these describe it best:  "It's a celebration of the Camaro, a celebration of the men and women who build it and a celebration of the people that make this community so great. -- You will leave this event having made some of the best friends you've ever had. -- BBOMG is more than just a car show - it's an EXPERIENCE!".  In addition, BBOMG has also endeavored to contribute to the local communities through charitable donations.  And amazingly they’ve done all this without charging any registration fees to participants!

- Scott Settlemire / Specialty Vehicles and Special Events at General Motors