If I was in marketing, here's how I'd seperate them:

I'd have the Z28 (without the slash please) be the 'racer' of the family. This would be what was included in the old 1LE, and then some. I'd purposely make these the low option cars, or 'readily ordered' cars.

The new Z28 to me would mirror what the old Mustang 5.0 and formula were, basic lighter weight versions of the top models. The Z28 would be targeted at autocrossers and raod racers, BUT still be very streetable (let's face it, there's a fair amount of posers out there that we should be very willing to take money from).

Coupe only? I could live with that. The covertable would them make much more sense on the V6 ans SS. I thik both V8 cars hould have the biggest brakes available, butthe differences should be the adjustable shocks, bigger bars, a strut tower barace, and stronger bushings in the Z28.

And seats that will accept a racing harness.

I wouldn't mind a ground effects option that's done right.

 

Exactly right.

Why pay 5x as much for high-temp brake fluid if you NEVER heat your brakes to the point of needing it?

Why pay 3x as much for exotic pads?

Why pay 5x as much for multi-piston calipers? Rotors? etc...

The whole brakes/suspension thing is DIRECTLY related to the use of the car. For everyday driving, the requirements are FAR less demanding, so "good" but economically priced equipment suffices. And as far as suspension goes, not even the most hardcore enthusiast will want a rock-hard ride on the pot-hole ridden roads of Anytown USA on a daily basis. It would be like the most inhumane kidneystone treatment imagineable. But that unforgiving suspension set-up is what you need to be aggressive on a road course.

But for a dedicated track car that sees occasional street duty, the circumstances are far different. That's where a Z/28 would set itself apart from the average street car - SS or otherwise. This car should be available for the guy who wants to do lots of track duty on the weekends, and maybe drive the car to/from the track - NOT as a daily work-ride/grocery-getter. Sure, you're going to pay the premium price for the rarity and low volume, but I really think the market is out here for justsuch a unit.

 

We always come to the same general conclusion on this topic. The SS being the "top dog" Camaro is evidently the way Chevrolet wants to go w/ most vehicles in their line, and thats fine. But the RPO Z28 we're talking about (all the over the top performance and handling stuff) as a limited production option package (ala Z06) is the way to go. I say limited because I think if they build the Z28 the way WE want it, they won't sell a whole lot to Joe Public, same as the 1LE's didn't. But thats fine, so long as GM can make it financially feasable considering the small build numbers.

So lets keep the lineup like has been posted, base, RS, SS...all in a nice 21st century package, SS can have niceties like DVD NAV, heated/cooled seats, ect if they deem a market is there for it, along w/ a pretty stout performance package. But RPO Z28 can have all the stuff thats basically aftermarket purchases now. Whether the RPO should include EVERTHING in one package, or have a set of upgrades along w/ other optional upgrades (like the SLP SS option list that you only could get if you were getting the SS, like the power package, Bilstein suspension, ect), I don't know.

So MY lineup would be base, RS, SS....w/ a Z28 option on the RS that would turn it into a ZL1 Camaro type car, hopefully for less than what the ZL1 cost .

 

I don't think you can build from the factory a car for occasional street duty. I think everything will have to be developed as a daily driver. But that doesn't mean performance will suffer.

I think the Z06 makes a great cse for ultimate performance and everyday driveability.

 

Z28 = the Camaro version of the Z06.

Price it like a full load convertible but provide real performance goodies instead.

and provide real lateral support.

 

I'd like to see the price below a fully loaded convertable.

 

Yeah, me too.

But if it were priced like a fully loaded convertible, I like to see some value there.

For that price I expect....

Brembo brakes
Strong yet super lightweight wheels
Specific aluminum and titanium bits for weight savings
Maybe a dry sump oil system


What else....?

 

I would like to point out that the C6 Z51 actually DOES have bigger front rotors...same calipers, but the rotors are 13.3" vs 12.8" on the standard car.

Its real simple here guys....I am all for the SS= powerful, stylish boulevard bruiser, a saturday night car....

The Z28 should be the Camaro equivalent of the Z06. Nothing on the car that is not purposeful..no scoops if they don't work, no wings if they don't work, unique wheels, bigger rotors up front, more HP, Manual transmission ONLY and hardtop only.

Why no t's? If you want to look good go buy an SS. The Z06 is hard top only and they are running 25% of total Vette production. Nobody's out there complaining they can't get a targa on a Z06.

The SS needs to be a top of class car, but the Z28 needs to be at a whole new level. Just a mere switching places in their 4th gen roles isn't going to cut it.

 

I appreciate the comparison, but there are a lot of people who have clammored for the LS6 to be in the coupe, and even the vert Corvettes...

I don't see why, especially if the rooflines are the same, that the 'ultra performance' Camaro should not be offered with T-Tops...

 

Stiffness, chassis tuning, weight, safety.

 

I agree with Darth Xed. I personally am going to want the top performer, but would also like T-tops, atleast as an option. I can understand the argument against it but i dont know. If the engines are the same then maybe id just go with the SS, but if they are different (which i would rather them be) i would want the Z28... with T-Tops and power windows/locks (atleast as an option). I got to think about this some more

 

Ya, I see the points here.

I guess I'm not saying it is really wrong to do it that way... just that people want choices and like options, and are willing ot pay for them.

You could still offer the car in the "stripped, no nonsense" fashion you describe, but offer the options.

Fact of the matter is, when a performance car is offered with equal performance numbers, people will almost always take the one with more features/options.

The 4th Gen Z28 proves it, as did just about every other performance car.

Noone orders/buys the 'stripper' cars.

The 25% of production Z06 is an eyebrow raiser, but, I say if the LS6 were available in the Corvette Coupe as well as the Harttop, the Harttop sales would be in the tank........ just like they were when the Harttop debuted with the LS1 in 1999 and 2000. The Harttop was a failure, and GM "saved face" by only offering the LS6 in the hardtop, thereby making it unique and gave people a reason to buy that body style.... because they were forced into it if they wanted the hotter motor.

 

There was a Corvette SS. It was the 1957 racecar that competed at Sebring. This was the first time Chevrolet had ever applied the SS designation to anything.

Anyway, I think that most people think of drag racing and muscle cars when they hear the SS label. Therefore I believe, as many others on here do, that the best way to differentiate the Z28 and the SS is to make the SS the more expensive and possibly more powerful street cruiser, while the Z28 becomes more of a refined road racer that is focused more on a balance of handling and power.

 

I don't think this is exactly accurate. Back in 1997 there were rumors of a hardtop Vette that was to be realised in 99 or so with at least a 375HP motor. It wasn't that the hardtop didn't sell and htat is why they decided to turn it into a Z06. The motor wasn't ready when most of the chassis work was, and they thought they could make some extra bucks by offering the extra body style. Look at the 2001 Z06, why does it "only" have 385HP? I remember reading an article about the 2002 and some GM engineer said that they didn't have time to develop the right cam in time for the 2001 release.

 

By most accounts, the 1999 HardTop Corvette was to be the "poorman's Corvette".

It was to be the long rumored, no frills, cloth seats, roll up window stripper car that you had been hearing about before the C5 even came out. The base price was supposed to be as much at $6,000 to $10,000 cheaper than the standard coupe. In the end, they missed that mark by a mile, and the HardTop was only $1000 cheaper, and you couldn't get most of the optional goodies that people wanted that were available on the Coupe.

Once they were into the HardTop project, they realized that volume of sales would not justify building the unique parts needed for things like the cloth seats, and roll up windows, so the "stripper Corvette" ended up getting the very things it was supposed to save cost on by eliminating, because just producing the other parts would have actually cost GM more money in the long run, than to just leave the more 'upscale' standard pieces in place.

I stand by the notion that the LS6 was purposfully placed in the HardTop alone to "save face" on on of the biggest failure's in Corvette History: the LS1 HartTop from 1999 and 2000.