hmm...they must be tired of the drumming they keep taking in the performance reviews. I realize that the ZL1 has come out on top of some of the comparos, but the fact remains that the new GT500 destroys it in a straight line.

Time to replace the 1900 blower with the LS9's 2300

 

But according to the vast majority of Camaro enthusiast posts that I read, straight line is fairly irrelevant. It's all about how easy it is to drive the car near the limit on a road course (which extremely few will ever visit) and the comfort level of the ride, thus more power is fairly irrelevant....to a great many...at least that's what they say.

 

The Gen V engines are coming out, they aren't going to invest any more in Gen IV engines.

 

Realistically speaking, what is the probability of the "super camaro" coming out on the 5th gen, and when would this be? Also, what is the proposed HP thats being tossed around for this "super camaro"? I am about to order my 2013 ZL1 tomorrow, but would wait if you know something i have missed.

thanks
anthony

 

You can bet another version of the 5th generation such as a Z28 is not going to happen.

Not this late in the life cycle.

 

What's mainly relevant is talking up whatever the car you like does better than the other guy's.

 

LOL. Can't argue with that!

 

Ok, but why stop there. Just put the LS9 in it...and we'll still be a little behind.

If ZL1 gets more power, I don't think it will be 80 more. It would be a pretty unprecidented thing for GM to do.

 

And with the potential ls9, comes the added cost over the lsa, so that is not to likely to happen in my opinion. The 60,000 + the zl1 costs is already a big piece to chew for most, as very few total less then 60,000 once sales and gas guzzler tax is added. I got lucky and got mine for msrp, but it still ended up a touch over 60,000.

I could see them bumping up the power to an even 600 or so but i think thats the top end of what the driveline is capable of reliably supporting for the factory warranty term.

Regardless, i put my order in for a AGM hardtop 6M ZL1 and cant wait to drive it!

 

Honestly, you're right in that there is likely no "super Camaro" being driven around Milford outside of an engineering toy or a mule for a related car.

That said, that doesn't mean that there isn't a durability margin for potentially increasing power via electronics or nothing more than a different pulley size for the supercharger. It's not going to be enough to bring the ZL1 up to the Shelby's 662+ horsepower, but it should be enough to close some of the gap.

But as far as the Z28 returning, again, there's only 2 seasons left on the current Camaro (unless GM changes it's tentative plans). Outside of cosmetic tweaks and electronic tweaks to up horsepower, I wouldn't hold my breath for a dramatic new Z28 till next gen.

 

A Z28 would follow the same lines as the Corvette Z06 in that it would be made as a track car. Therefore, a decontented SS (say a base Camaro with a 1LE package and SS drivetrain with a tweaked engine) would be what GM would almost certainly do. However, that would in fact cannabalize SS sales, which is why we haven't seen anything like that in Chevrolet showrooms.

Comparing cannabalization of sales to the Boss Mustang vs the GT isn't supported by research. The Mustang world is much different than the Camaro world. They place all versions of Mustangs on pedastals, and realize different Mustangs serve different tastes and purposes. In the Camaro world, long hostile threads and bloody wars start when someone suggests an SS is "higher" than a Z28 and vice versa. Ford can have a gazillion versions of Mustangs without the GT sales seeing even a blip of a decrease. All a new version does is get someone who already has a Mustang (or collects them) to trade up or add to the collection.

The other Z28 option is to have a base Camaro with ZL!'s drivetrain and 1LE suspension and sell it in the mid 40 range.

However no matter what GM does regarding Z28, if it's going to see the light of day in the final 24-36 months or so of the 5th gen it has to be extremely cost effective to do, won't canabalize sales of either the SS or the highly profitable ZL1, and in the end add sales to the Camaro bottom line.

When (and IF) that happens, then maybe we'll see a Z28.

Otherwise, short of Chevrolet renaming the SS version of Camaro (which is possible, the final 2 years of the 3rd gen had the IROC renemed Z28) we're gonna have to wait till the next gen.

 

The IROC-Z rename was based more on the price of royalties for using the "IROC" name wasn't it?

In all honesty, they should've simply called the SS+1LE package Z/28 and used the base Camaro (non-SS mail slot) nose and been done with it. The 1LE is being marketed as a "track car" with less content than the ZL1; isn't that what the Z/28 was meant to be in the first place?

 

I think Chevy realized that if they called the 1LE a Z28 it carries a whole lot of expectation to live up to. So by calling it 1LE it's a safe play and the car can earn its own merits without having the Z28 and its heritage being the story and possibly casting a shadow over the car.

That says to me that besides not wanting a riot out front of the Ren Cen by the Z/28 purists it also says that maybe the 5th Gen just doesnt lend itself to the formula and GM has already chosen to move past it.
I really think the GTO fiasco is fresh on their minds and probably why they don't take another hallowed Chevy name from the past for the new SS sedan.

 

That's a great theory and all, but I simply don't buy it based on the fact that GM has already screwed up the names of the 2012 ZL1 and COPO.

What is currently called the COPO should have been called ZL1 to be historically accurate. There are only 69 (units) 2012 COPO Camaros; they are track-only drag cars that can't be registered for street use. There were only 69 original 1969 ZL1 (COPO 9560) Camaros. While they could be registered for street use, they were developed as 1/4 mile track cars.

The 2012 (and 2013) ZL1 Camaros are more road-race than 1/4 mile, and are meant to be registered and driven on the street. A more accurate name would have been Z/28.

Furthermore, the 2013 1LE package can be ordered with anything from a stripper 1SS to a 2SS with the RS package and all the bells and whistles (including sun roof). Hardly an accurate follow-up to the original "stripper" 1LEs (which were Z/28s).

My point being, in my mind and in the minds of many Camaro purists, GM has already screwed up in how they've named the current generation of Camaros. To that end, the reason being there is currently no Z/28 should have nothing to do with GM not wanting to distort Camaro heritage or tradition, because they've already done that in spades.

 

While your point is valid, not a lot of people remember the ZL1 of 40+ years ago. So there isn't an uproar because it's really the purist (and deep purists) who understand the history.

Z28 has lived on for nearly the whole entire Camaro line. The means it's still relatively fresh as a name, and has always been the same formula every single generation the name has appeared on the Camaro.