Camaro Z/28 almost set for production...one small hiccup though

[fecurtis]

These are strange times at post-bailout GM. Having taken taxpayer money, the company is no longer master of its own destiny. It was bad enough when, late last year, new-model programs were halted to conserve dwindling cash reserves. Now, though, there's another thread running through GM's product planning process: not, should we build this vehicle, but is this a vehicle we should be seen to be building?

The Camaro Z/28 is one of those vehicles.

Sources inside GM say the new Z/28 is basically done. The image you see on these pages is 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 Z/28 also gets a different grille mesh compared with the standard Camaro's.

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 Z/28 will also share the CTS-Vs six speed manual and automatic transmissions.

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 Z/28 could be the fastest Chevy ponycar since the legendary ZL-1-powered COPO 9560 Camaros built 40 years ago.

Only problem is the Z/28 is on hold. First, GM ran out of money to finish and launch the car. Now, some inside the company are wondering whether selling a super-fast, super-powerful two-door Chevy coupe that will likely get no better than 13-19 mpg is the right thing to do for a company that's had to beg for money from a bunch of politicians who seem to think it really ought to be building gas-sipping Prius clones.

"In the current environment, it would be very difficult to get any traction on a large rear-drive program," says one insider. But a hard core of performance enthusiasts inside GM are hopeful they can get the Z/28 back on track. "If we leave it too long, the car will become irrelevant," frets one source. One idea reportedly under study calls for a strictly limited production run, with each car individually numbered, to attract collectors and enthusiasts, and priced to ensure a solid profit margin.

According to sources, GM product chief Bob Lutz has said that, while he would love to do the car, "We need to make the world right first." However, that could take cash-crunched GM a long, long time.

The Australian-developed Zeta platform that underpins the Camaro was the linchpin of GM's global rear-drive strategy. Although developed as a much lower-cost architecture than the Detroit-developed Sigma platform that underpins the Cadillac CTS, it was being considered as the basis for an all-new rear-drive replacement for the STS/DTS sedans. That program, like every large rear-drive program at GM, is on hold.

It's not just the fact that GM is short of cash; the other issue is the tougher CAFE standards that will mandate the automaker meet 35 mpg across its fleets by 2020. While being grilled by Congress last year, all three Detroit automakers unequivocally agreed they would meet that target. Which means large, heavy rear-drive cars don't have much of a future beyond the end of the next decade.

The Zeta platform is good through 2016, say GM sources. Engineers will work on weight reduction and efficiency improvements, such as better aero and standard six-speed transmission, on all Zeta-based vehicles to keep the platform viable through then.

Zeta's future is critically important for GM in Australia, where it underpins the volume-selling Holden Commodore and variants. But there are signs GM is prepared for a post-Zeta world Down Under.

The company has already announced a version of the Chevy Cruze will be manufactured in Australia. And now it plans to build a car based off the next-generation Epsilon architecture there, too. The new Epsilon can be stretched large enough to give the interior package Aussies want; more important, it can package all-wheel drive and even a transverse-mounted V-8 under the hood.

If Zeta goes, where would that leave Camaro? One scenario is that by 2020 it will be a smaller, lighter ponycar built on the compact rear-drive Alpha architecture being developed for Cadillac.

http://www.motortrend.com/features/a...rm_future.html

[SpudRacer]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

http://www.motortrend.com/features/a...rm_future.html

Sad.

[Jeff92se]

I think that's really poor policy for the democrats to dictate like that. What they WANT, isn't necessarily what will SELL.

What GM needs is cars that they can SELL so they can generate REVENUE. Who cares what cars it sells to get back on their feet again? Dumping the iconic Camaro is a big mistake. Especially since it's chassis could underpin other future RWD or rwd based AWD cars in the future. The world doesn't need more boring FWD cars.

[Wannabe6MT]

Originally Posted by Jeff92se

I think that's really poor policy for the democrats to dictate like that. What they WANT, isn't necessarily what will SELL.

What GM needs is cars that they can SELL so they can generate REVENUE. Who cares what cars it sells to get back on their feet again? Dumping the iconic Camaro is a big mistake. Especially since it's chassis could underpin other future RWD or rwd based AWD cars in the future. The world doesn't need more boring FWD cars.

+1 I agree

[mishap]

Originally Posted by Jeff92se

I think that's really poor policy for the democrats to dictate like that. What they WANT, isn't necessarily what will SELL.

What GM needs is cars that they can SELL so they can generate REVENUE. Who cares what cars it sells to get back on their feet again? Dumping the iconic Camaro is a big mistake. Especially since it's chassis could underpin other future RWD or rwd based AWD cars in the future. The world doesn't need more boring FWD cars.

The only issue I see with that is that GM screwed themselves up by not making cars that anyone wanted to begin with. Healthy car companies are making whatever the hell they want (see Nissan GT-R, IS-F, AMG C63, et al). Niche market cars like a 500+hp Z28 don't make money. They're halo cars meant to drive demand for plebian V6 models that look similar. Look at Ford...if they were dependent on Shelby sales, they'd be standing w/ Chrysler and GM asking for gov't handouts. The issue is, even in the 90's GM couldn't make money selling V6 Camaros despite their popularity, low manufacturing cost, and R&D that was paid for in 1955.

If GM wants to be the everyman's performance car...make a 35k model of the Corvette. The Camaro cachet is still there but they make more selling a sensible Malibu/Impala etc for a lot less engineering effort.

Pony cars live in a very limited space. The high power models can't be too cheap or they'll cannibalize V6 sales. They can't be too expensive b/c they lose out to high end Euro sports cars and lack much of the refinement people expect in a Bimmer. Basically you're left w/ baby boomers/yuppies looking to relive their glory days and haven't discovered Porsche track days. A 500+hp Z28 rules out almost anyone under 25 simply due to insurance (not to mention a steep car payment) and those are some of the people most willing to live with the tradeoffs of a 4000lb pony car w/ no interior space in exchange for 12 second timeslips.

[LightsOut]

come out with it and ill pick it up used 5 years later