The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 has just set a blistering lap time at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, destroying Germany’s Eifel mountains in 7:37.47. Let’s stop for a moment and list out a few notables that are slower than this pushrod powered Camaro.
The $100,000 Porsche 911 Carerra S, $240,000 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera and $400,000 Lexus LFA. The list goes on if you’d like but I’m not going to take the time type out all of the so-called “competitors” which the Z/28 obliterates. Are you listening BMW?
To date, only the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the Dodge/SRT Viper have set faster marks under an American badge. Chevrolet says the Z/28 never needed more than 8 mins to complete a lap despite running into heavy traffic during the 1000+ miles of Nurburgring testing.
The most recent production car record at the track was set last month by the Porsche 918 Spyder, which made it around in a scant 6:57 — thanks to its 887 hp hybrid powertrain, 7-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel-drive and $845,000 price tag.
The Z/28 is a bit more traditional. This Camaro is powered by a 505 hp 7.0-liter V8 with the tried-and-true six-speed manual transmission. Perhaps the most technological bit on the 2014 Z/28 is the magnetically controlled suspension system.
The key to the Z/28’s performance is weight saving. Chevrolet has re-worked the chassis, making it stiffer. They’ve stripped it of the heavy and arguably useless sound deadening material. The Z/28 also gets thinner glass and makes air conditioning an option only available if you mark the checkbox when ordering.
Pricing has not been announced, but the Z/28 is set to go on sale early in 2014.
