Camaro Blah Blah Ring Time Blah Blah

by Jack Baruth

October 15th, 2013 9:56 PM

Good news, everybody! The Camaro Z/28 is almost as fast as the Camaro ZL1 on a track that you’d need a 747 Cargo and a spare week to check out for yourself!

You can get most of the details at Road&Track but the most important thing for you to know is the final number of 7:37. This is faster than many cars including the R34 Skyline and slower than many other cars including the Camaro ZL1. Chevrolet spent a week of development and logged a thousand miles to get this time; however, they claim the car could go six seconds faster. I recall making a similar claim after qualifying once during a NASA race at Mid-Ohio. I was laughed at by everyone in the vicinity including the nice older lady who runs the concession stand in the paddock.

“Shut up and take this cheeseburger,” she said, “you’ve had two full sessions to run and you haven’t done any better than 1:44.2 in that Neon.” I still maintain that 1:44.2 is pretty fast around Mid-Ohio for a Neon. But I had a full cage in the car, and I was allowed to run any suspension and tire I could get away with…

Oh, yes. let’s look at the video, shall we?

#Burgerkingring #Camaro #Z28

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13 of 72 comments

DougD on Oct 16, 2013

Blah Blah indeed. I'm with Jack, and with James May on the importance of 'Ring lap times. This is further proof that modern cars are so good they're insanely boring. It's like baseball now, so boring we have to concentrate on the statistics just to try and make it interesting.

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- Mr Imperial on Oct 16, 2013
  
  What would you recommend, then? What criteria do you use in evaluating a new car?
  
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- DougD on Oct 16, 2013
  
  @Mr Imperial How about if it meets your actual needs, instead of the needs of some pro race driver who needs to do 1000 miles on a racetrack to get around faster than the R34 Skyline? Granted, I don't know you so it may be your actual need to do just that. However, if I was buying in this segment at the moment I'd be more concerned about how fun and confidence inspiring it feels for me to drive the car spiritedly on a twisty road,rather than a 10/10ths track situation with someone else driving.
  
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- Mr Imperial on Oct 16, 2013
  
  @DougD Just seeing if I could get more than just a re-quote of James May out of you. I understand that this display by Chevrolet doesn't validate the car to everybody. Thankfully, a one-size-fits-all approach isn't used by manufacturers; otherwise, we'd all be driving Camcords. It's the game of one-upsmanship that all manufacturers have been using since the beginning of the automobile. I don't see this trend ever ending, which, in my opinion, has helped to improve all cars. Thanks for your response-
  
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Suspekt on Oct 16, 2013

Re: Jack's artice: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/06/review-chevrolet-camaro-ls1/ He is bang on in that assessment. I owned a 1994 Z28 which I purchased in 1998. A few simple mods to the LT1 motor, and I was destroying cars (18 years old at the time) that had no idea what just happened. It was a shame the rear-end was so brittle and the interior pure junk; but that was the trade-off in putting over 350 torques to the ground. It was a beast. A savage, rip snorting, tire shredding, machine from another planet. But the best part? It was gorgeous. Sitting nice and low on billet machined Boyds wheels, it looked like Lord Vader himself... aahhhh, the days.

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- Larry P2 on Oct 16, 2013
  
  That's one of my big objections to TTAC: It is utterly clueless when it comes to ponycars, Vettes, Vipers, Jeeps, and four wheel drive pickups. Eurocentric (or more accuately VW-centric) and interior-centric in the extreme, TTAC has no understanding of the joys of cheap and fast cars. Can you REALLY claim to be a gearhead when you view cars like an interior decorator would? Nobody that claims to be a gearhead can really listen to that Z-28 video and not get a boner. It just can't be done.
  
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- Derek Kreindler on Oct 16, 2013
  
  @Larry P2 Larry, The LS7 is useless to myself and others if it's packaged in a vehicle that one can barely see out of. The 4th Gen F-Body is exceptional, as is the C6 'Vette. Both have great sight-lines which help one place the car properly on a road or a racetrack. I love looking over that long, low hood of my friend's C5 Z06 and feeling like I'm in some sort of aircraft. The Camaro fails this test miserably.
  
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- Mikey on Oct 16, 2013
  
  @Derek Kreindler I got to weigh in here. Did you ever know somebody that married, a smoking hot babe just for her looks? Then they lived with her for a while,and found what a P.I.T.A she was to live with. Try using a 5th gen LS3 6 spd Camaro,as a daily driver. I love mine, but if I didn,t have two other vehicles,the Camaro would have been gone 6 months ago. Just try and back that baby out of a tight,and busy parking lot. Its a sweet looking car,with a rumbling V8,that gives me a twitch every time I drive it. The right amount of cash comes my way? Bye bye Camaro!
  
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Mr_min on Oct 16, 2013

Camaro shamaro Burgerkingring times do count http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg0qyKTOczk VF Commodore Ute 8:40s You can see out it, tow with it, and carry some lumber. Oh wait I forgot, North America doesn't get cool pickups :-)

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- NMGOM on Oct 16, 2013
  
  mr_min - - - Watched you video. You're right. This is impressive, and the USA will be getting that car this year as the "Chevy SS". ---------------
  
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- Racer-esq. on Oct 17, 2013
  
  The Camaro is just a Commodore coupe. Which makes a lot more sense than a Commodore pickup. Because you get a back seat and better weight distribution. A ute is no more capable at towing than a Camaro (same rear suspension and unibody), and nobody is throwing lumber in the back of a $80K (if you're talking VF) ute. There is no "chicken tax" with Australia, it was waived in a trade agreement back in 2005. The only reason the ute isn't imported is that nobody in the US is going to pay $30K+ for a V6 regular cab unibody pickup.
  
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Boxerman on Oct 17, 2013

The reason the camaro is hard to see out if is because they did not compromise the design. Some here want something with sight lines like an accord, but then it will be a bland looking car. Style sells as does performance. Most camaro sales are V6 and its about style. The look is a big part of that makes the camnaro special. Otherwise you can just buy a boring G8 Gto which is the same car but with good sightlines and a blob to look at. As to nurbering laptimes. They are but one measure. I would really like to know how a stock z28 holds up to say 50 laps or watkins gelnn. From what I havbe seen even s stock z06 is suffering chronic brake problems. With racing fluids and pads and the necessary line change a stock z06 can still eat a set of pads in good day of tracking. A Bmw M3 can go all out at nurbering but will melt its brakes off within a few laps of a smaller US type track. So yeah Nurbering is but one measure. If you buy your z28 for trackdays you may well want to know how the car performs feels and holds up on well visited US tracks. A GTR for example is good for a few laps before heat soak sets in and dials everything back. Great for single paper laps but largely irrelevant.

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- Larry P2 on Oct 17, 2013
  
  I predict if the new Alfa sports car, albeit some 650 pounds heavier and substantially less horsepower than originally claimed, comes to within 2 minutes of the Ring time of that Z-28, TTAC will be praising it to high heavens.
  
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