Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 onboard | evo Track Car of the Year

Take a lap onboard with Jethro Bovingdon as he wrestles the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 around the tight Blyton Park circuit.
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[@Dgannt]

A fun fact: Z28 has the same width front tires as the new 661 hp Ferrari 488 GTB has as rear tires.

[@PatrickEVRAable]

I have a hard time connecting with most American cars, but man the Z28 is special.

[@djombock]

I love mine. I thought about trading it in for a ZL1 1LE but I like how special it is and how much thought went into the design.

[@James-zj3ud]

I wouldn't either - there'll probably never be another car like it again

[@djombock]

@@James-zj3ud i think they are ending camaro production early next year ☹️

[@hbmartian]

I just picked up my 5th gen Z/28. I cant wait to put it through its paces!

[@thatsInzeyne]

Gorgeous car, best looking Camaro ever in my opinion. Shame it's not sold over here in the UK, i'd pester my Dad into buying one haha!

[@longtailgt]

I wouldn't go as far as calling this gorgeous. But yes, it looks great. Much better than the current Camaro. But still, neither of these hold a candle to the original 67 Camaro.

[@TSMSQ]

1:41 Fucking beautiful.

[@TheBigboySid]

fucking wide front tires too

[@CossieGT3]

Great car, this must be the best Camaro ever made! Also one of my favourite cars ever :-)

[@TheJkghfg]

I may slag this guy off sometimes, but fuck me he can drive a car.

[@conandoyle1740]

he is by far the best driver amongst automotive journalists

[@BVTCHER6669]

Thats my Dream car... Camaro Z28.. Beautifull Machine.

[@Prodriver33]

that opening lap was fucking fast! not talking of the car but the driver, that was on edge almost the whole way!

[@pascalmpower7944]

Not bad, it absorb bumps so well through apex and corner exit. I like its DSSV dampers, the damping accuracy is so high and it remains the same damping dynamic in each lap. Also, the faster it goes, more balance it is because it'll roll through more bumps at higher speed which gives the system more accurate average vertical g force for much accurate damping compression and rebound force. The factory suspension adjustment isn't too track focused, the front camber is about 1.5 degree but it actually offers more grip in this condition since there's greater tire contact patch to maintain good front end traction. The toe angle is about 0.1 deg for both front and rear which gives better traction under braking while offering a bit of agility in turning. The front caster is about 5.9 deg. The 305 front tire does offer good steering response but I think 5.9 deg is a bit too small for RWD with power-steering. For drivetrain, the low locking % rear diff is another reason why Z/28 is so stable through apex, the high flexibility of torque splitting makes the rear calmer but not faster because lower locking % will easily cause 1 wheel to spin much quicker than other, especially for RWD. That'll cause the traction control to slow its pace a bit at corner exit, especially at lower gears. The powertrain is fine but torque curve isn't linear enough compared to Mustang GT350R, anyway, the gear ratios are too long for jump in power. Overall, it's a good handling car to me. I will take this over 991 911 Turbo S.

[@richzilla08]

Why do you write these long posts as if your answering a question no one asked? lol.

[@pascalmpower7944]

richzilla08 It's just me being too excited, I love to analyze everything about a car that I'm interested in. I didn't expect someone to reply lol

[@amospizzey1]

I’ll replaced my Gen 2 997 turbo with the Z28 . Good comment 😁

[@INFsleeper]

Anyone who still uses the "American cars cant go round corners" cliche quite frankly has no idea what he is talking about.

[@solarbox]

Really? Because from looking at the lap chart, the only "Hot hatch" that was faster was a fully caged Mini race car, which set its fast lap in dry conditions (Go review that video). The Camaro put in a respectable performance given the somewhat damp conditions that it was running in. Truth be told, the Camaro's Pirelli tires are pretty close to being a slick tire. As a result, they begin to properly operate in a much higher temperature window. Go look at other videos of Z/28's on track and you'll see how they do in warmer temperatures. Yeah, it may be a bit heavy and old fashioned, but for what it is, there's no denying that it moves around a track in a pretty impressive manner. Also, I'm not so sure that a fully prepped Mini race car is cheaper than a Z/28. I could be wrong though.

[@streetsandpeaks3013]

+john m that's like saying everyone should drive AWD cars with flappy paddles... Driving a Camaro is an experience! It's not about small and quick, it's about holy shit, hold on!!! Unlike the newer tamed down Mustangs, the Z28 keeps the muscle car beast alive.

[@derbigpr500]

It doesn't matter. They're still so cheaply made that nobody would buy it in Europe. It's a car that does one thing well and absolutely sucks at everything else. You're better off buying a used E92 M3, you'll get a far better car for your money, properly engineered and put together, and will give you a far superior driving experience.

[@jackh7550]

+derbigpr500 till your rod bearings go out and you have to do a major service. They are amazing cars but for the money you are better off with a vette or a new mustang

[@Cursalock]

+Streetsandpeaks there is nothing tame about a Mustang GT350R.

[@simp2234]

went I am canada. I saw that car. sound amazing. is just master pieces....

[@ivannosic9570]

I Really like this car in every sense keeps the real aspects of a true sport car not like many others nowadays.. any idea if comes to Argentina?? i want one :-)

[@skullkidd209]

Dream car

[@skullkidd209]

+IceBankk everyone and their mothers get a vette. Not trying to be a follower

[@medavlogger4433]

+Jamie Mann II I want a z06, zl1, customised jeep, tesla roadster when the new one comes out and a 488 gtb.

[@futureimperfect6183]

Black body on black wheels and with that ducktail spoiler? Perfect. And I'm not even a Chev guy!

[@pagotogarage]

Really! Almost don't have rolling. We can see with the vídeo that the body control is very beautful, the composture of the car in the transitions corners is very incrideble!

[@TheStallion234]

Still a pretty damn quick lap considering a damp track and worn out tires. The Americans are coming

[@ToulKorkMan]

to spread freedom bombs?

[@TheStallion234]

If by 'freedom bombs' you mean powerful N/A V-8s, then yes ha

[@michaelcooper2141]

+TheStallion234 Outside our pass two leaders, "Freedom Bombs" meant GTFO or we'll level the poo out of this please. America, F'k yeah. We don't always start wars but we can sure end them. WWI-WWII World Champs biotch

[@michaelcooper2141]

+Michael Cooper Funny thing is American V8 do kick butt. All our Flagship racecars win a win consistently on the world stage.

[@TheStallion234]

That was a little aggressive ha. I know what it means, I'm an American too, but I'm just here to talk about cars

[@GoMaDssb]

Cinematography always on point

[@haaake]

Balance looks lovely.

[@MuadDib1402]

Sounds great.

[@minxlabrada]

Sounds really good!

[@SennaF1]

A nascar for the road. 👌😎

[@stefankoles]

imagine how the new z28 it will be

[@lightbulbisbright]

not naturally aspirated. that's for sure

[@burracing3742]

+Sarin Murlidar base model has a 2.5 I4 turbo, but the SS has a 6.2 V8, and a new V6 in the middle

[@dudeisnotcoolio]

Montana plates and a plate frame from the Bay Area? US Spec car?

[@streetsandpeaks3013]

The Head Cam on the driver made that lap look shockingly harsh...but pretty much shows the Camaro on track experience! Hold on and shut up. Love this car because once upon a time that was a 'sports car' in North America. Everyone wanted to be Smokey and the Bandit, not some fashionista in short pants in a Porsche he would never mod (can they lower the 911 please?). I bet the Z28 would win a longest jump contest with all the other track cars - and drive away. LOL

[@spdcrzy]

LOL that's what the Z/28 is made for though - no modulating the throttle, no delicate steering inputs, no feathering the brake pedal. Just point, shoot, smash, and repeat. In almost any other car (and even most supercars), you'd have to be careful. Not this car. "Careful" makes you dead in this car, because there's too MUCH grip. Too careful and you'll get run over. Too brash is just about right.

[@vgamesloja]

if not rainny the z28 will be fast than gt4

[@daltonvillnave8601]

is this prior to the gt350r?

[@benson556]

anything on the GT350 or GT350R?

[@Doughbodyboy]

The new viper acr ?

[@noobasdfjkl]

Why do they have Montana plates?

[@alandaher]

The visibility in a Camaro just kills me. Still a very capable car!

[@tannerpatterson3088]

Americans don't need visibility, we have bald eagles on top of the car to see for us

[@charlesmcguffy]

Nah, it's because you have traffic lights and stop signs everywhere so you never have fun driving.

[@ItzMorphinTime22]

+Tanner Pat lmfao!!! MURIKA!!!!

[@goodfella949]

Seriously! looks like your driving out of a tank almost...

[@resplendentwitticism]

I have a Camaro and it's a bitch to turn right but other than that it isn't that bad. The experience of riding in that car is worth it for me because it has such a stealth feel to it. Tint the windows and you're never seen, but always heard.

[@Flabernat]

Now I'd really want to see what the lighter 6th generation Camaro can do in Z/28 form!

[@mthusiast3468]

I wish they would test a shelby gt350r for comparisom

[@easycheddy]

Weird that they didn't include the Shelby gt350r or the viper acr which both considering the price is great performers and even the z28 considering what it is still is a great car sometimes numbers don't say everything about a car and they admitted that that car wasn't in great condition and worn tires

[@DocWolph]

The Z/28 is a Trans-Am race car. Sadly Trans-Am does not exist in the form that would accept this car.

[@bismillahmashallah]

Anything will go quick around the track with 305 race slicks around a circuit...

[@MrManuel1329]

Semi race slicks

[@bismillahmashallah]

+MrManuel1329 closest thing to race slicks this car costs fucking 80k and its a piece of shit just put these tires on your ss with the race package and ur good.

[@MrManuel1329]

Middleastbeast Dont talk to me none car guy

[@horhay333]

No air conditioning? Vents visible in all interior shots?

[@Nemoticon]

Cars without AC still have vents, lol...

[@yosemite-e2v]

It still has a heater.

[@leloodallasmultipass]

+George Karl III Choose your battles, George.

[@Smooth587]

Nice Z28 also nice Honda prelude 5th gen tail ^^

[@crazyjatt24]

So original

[@carbonzl1994]

They are modern day equivalents of the 1969 Camaro. They don't even look like a Prelude's taillights. 1969 Camaro: c.images.boldride.com/chevrolet/1969/chevrolet-camaro.2000x1203.Feb-18-2012_07.40.18.501451.jpg Prelude: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Honda_Prelude_rear_20071115.jpg Not even close to the Prelude. Maybe the curve on the outsides of the taillights and that is all. The new Camaro has a cut in the shape at the bottom center. The reverse lights are rectangles inside of the taillight like the old Camaro, where on the Prelude it runs the whole bottom of the taillight. Nice try, troll. Get a real car like a Camaro, not your ricer Honda.

[@burracing3742]

+Justin Klumpp aero package, not taillights

[@SebastianLaborn]

i think chevrolet should make a new chevelle

[@baillierobertson3621]

Now there's an idea 🤔

[@theraggededgeonboardfastes8461]

GM should 've refreshed this engine and released it in the C7 Corvette but instead they ended up offering 2 versions of the supercharged 6.2..it wouldve made 550 bhp, been measurably lighter than the c7 z06 with a more balanced weight distribution and with a taller final drive mated to the c7's 7 spd. Tremec manual would've paid homage to the c6 z06 wailing smoothly to 7000 rpm eschewing the staccato power delivery exhibited by every c7 vette. Tragic the c7 had no LS7----

[@longtailgt]

Camaro is faster than all those lightweights like Caterham and Ariel Atom?!!! WELL DONE, Chevy! Good job.

[@Nemoticon]

I know of no other car that has 305mm front tyres! It must ignore the car's weight completely and just pull into corners like racing car, lol.

[@voilemontagne]

some of the car did their lap in the rain.

[@rdcsqualus]

Seriously? I am not sure why people are making a big fuss about the interior. Stop looking at the interior, listen to the engine and enjoy a really really great American muscle car.

[@baloalpar4149]

There can be only one JB and that is Jason Button, you impostor ! Just kidding. Really good input on the car. I find the Camaro cool for some reason.

[@seantaylor2683]

do you mean Jenson Button?

[@baloonia1]

Haha, yes him of course, didn't notice that I typed his name wrong. All shell be corrected, thx for saving me.

[@leonchn7500]

Do M4 GTS vs Mustang Shelby GT350R

[@ScottPC]

Will it fit on UK roads? No way... ;)

[@Mangotropic]

coomarow!!

[@TekNeez]

I have incredible respect for the Z/28. I just think Chevrolet could have spent a little more time with the inside cabin. It's just so dated & bland.

[@Turshin]

ACR is better. but this ain't so bad though. Good job EVO. Thanks for not giving us another biased ass review.

[@Nemoticon]

I think the Camaro would be a better daily drive then the ACR, while still being very fast. But the ACR really has been proven to be a formidable track weapon, I admit that in spite of not liking it.

[@moesaurenman4734]

ACR is of course better, its also over double the price and on a much lighter platform. ACR absolutely demolishes hell it even beat a 918 around Laguna Seca, but you have to give it to chevy that they took a whale of a chassis that got terrible reviews when the gen 5 launched year after year they refined it and made a very special and capable car that can hang with some of the best cars in the world

[@FEGTTTSDH]

and how feel the ACR in street or daily driving compared with the 918?

[@Nemoticon]

FEGTTTSDH An 18th Century shed!

[@FEGTTTSDH]

lol

[@johnyacoub69]

Evo needs to test the 6th gen. car; so much better in every way - inside, outside and under the skin.

[@mazin2892]

305's up front?! god damn..what's the point of that in a rwd car?

[@Sleepy.Time.]

she is a big girl but still nimble on the dance floor

[@randyjr3479]

gt350r

[@kendallarroz]

I actually got to drive the red one and yes they are powerful. I wouldn't even recommend a base camaro. But I'd still get a Boss Mustang before it.

[@BrianMcNay]

Really?!

[@torment12345]

cayman GT4 all the way...

[@user-lb7pt6jb3o]

murica

[@p.sethia1830]

1700kg? The track car? Wth man... Steering is sloooow.

[@trevorjansen4102]

This thing looks evil.

[@Riiiisc]

OMG the interior 0_o

[@TheSuperMotoHooligan]

Haha...mini was faster...

[@thepassionofthegoose5472]

Rain. In comparisons with the GT3 and GTR (track spec) it equaled or bested, and no I don't own (or desire) one.

[@TheDoosh79]

If only it were 3-400kg lighter. I don't know why American cars have to be so big and heavy?

[@dtroy15]

A big part of it is that American cars must meet different (some would say higher) safety standards. that's why many british cars for example (like this from the radical company) aren't street legal in the US, but basically all American cars are legal nearly world wide.

[@dtroy15]

So the doors have extra bracing inside the sheet metal, as does the roof. The overall length is longer with more material for improved crumple zones. There are more airbags and the seat belts are attached to strengthened pillars, etc.

[@TheDoosh79]

Taking extreme things like the Radicals out of the equation, things like Lotus', Caterhams and other lightweight sports cars are road legal in the US, so it's possible for them to be made. BTW I'm not talking about featherweight road legal racing cars, I'm talking about things like the Z28, why does it need to be 1700(!)kg?

[@TheDoosh79]

There is hardly any difference between EU and US car safety, don't kid yourself you have to have an extra 500lbs of steel welded into every car for it to pass regs. "The recent study, sponsored by the U.S. Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, found that occupants of vehicles meeting European Union safety standards have a lower risk of serious injury in frontal or side crashes compared with vehicles meeting U.S. standards. But cars meeting U.S. standards provided drivers and passengers with a lower risk of injury in rollovers."

[@seantaylor2683]

the z/28 wasn't built from the ground up to be a track car, the 5th gen Camaros used an older Holden chassis designed for sedans and the z/28 has the ls7 from the c6 zo6 which isn't necessarily the best engine for track use. The new platform the 6th gen cars are on would make for a much better starting point

[@DonkeyEvo]

GT350R>Z28.

[@Mickey-im3bg]

Not too bad for ww2 technology, I mean its ok for being the bluntest tool on the surgical table. Far too overpriced though.

[@evilmuffen117]

You can get one for under 60k

[@Mickey-im3bg]

+evilmuffen117 z28 no you cant.

[@evilmuffen117]

+NIGHTFOX Yup, they marked them down a lot, seen a lot for a little over 50k.

[@Mickey-im3bg]

+evilmuffen117 well i live in Canada and here there isn't one under 75k

[@evilmuffen117]

+NIGHTFOX I live in the U.S. and the dealerships can't get rid of them so they dropped the price. People aren't looking for racecars here.

[@user-lb7pt6jb3o]

Shelby GT350R is even better

[@RandomVideosFirst]

cheap tacky interior :( why are all american muscle cars made this way?

[@DethThrasher1]

because they want to sell it cheaper than german cars

[@tiborpandza8530]

You're wrong and right at the same time. The GTR's interior has always either been just below or on par with the germans, especially now with the 2017 GTR it is really improved compared to the older one. I had the opportunity to sit in the new one and the leather is exactly the same as Audi's new leather and the center console has been vastly improved. I don't even like GTR's btw

[@Doughbodyboy]

+john m can't compete at the same price point? If the American car cost the same as the euro boxes the interior would be just as nice. function>form America > World.

[@MrLalasd]

The 2016 camaro is much better. It is lighter, more powerful and just better all around.

[@MrLalasd]

+john m That is bullshit. The new Camaro is better equipped than a M4 for half the price.

[@olajimimark]

First.

[@jerezM392]

shut up, no one cares wether you are first or not.

[@MegaKawa3]

+Ismar Latte, you shut the fuck up lil punk

[@LegendInThaMakin]

+Ismar Latte plz tell him again.

[@jerezM392]

+LegendInThaMakin nah it's pointless, little kids will always argue about who's first 😬

[@AmericanBadAss2.0]

Tesla is way faster