The Chevrolet Camaro has always been a performance car, but the bow tie bunch took things to a new level starting with the 2014 model year. That’s when it introduced the most hardcore Z/28 ever. It featured aggressive aerodynamic upgrades, a naturally aspirated 505-horsepower 7.0-liter V8, a six-speed manual gearbox, racing-derived dampers, and carbon ceramic brakes. It was born to perform on the track.
In the following video, Matt Farah of The Smoking Tire takes a 2015 model out on the street and through the canyons. The Z/28 was a helluva machine when it was introduced at a starting price of $75,000, but oddly enough, the 2016 Camaro makes it even more of one. To make room for the sixth-generation cars, dealers started offering old inventory at 20 percent off, which is when the owner of the Z/28 in the clip below bought his.
He may have gotten it for 80 percent of its original price, but the Z/28 is still 100 percent badass. The LS7 is eager to rev and let out a soul-satisfying roar, the shifts are “crisp,” and the chassis is adept at quickly processing what it passes over.
If you had the chance to buy one of these track weapons at such a discount, would you put down the money for it?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
