Chevrolet definitely got caught with their britches down in April 1964 when Ford unleashed the Mustang. It took over 2 years to modify a Nova chassis and drive train and create a unique shape for Chevy’s pony car. The Camaro was an instant sales success, not the cultural event the Mustang was, but a success just the same.

It just so happened that the Camaro was perfect for Trans-Am racing, so Chevrolet created the quasi-off-the-showroon-floor-racer, option code number Z-28. The car was not entirely unlike the Shelby Mustang in that it came with lots of go-fast, racer-type hardware. Roger Penske and Mark Donahue raced a Sunoco sponsored Z-28 in ‘68 and ‘69, dominating the class.

The Z-28 (and the Trans-Am Firebird) went on to outlive the entire muscle car field. The cars were consistently made from ‘69 up until ‘03, although there was one year that Chevy did not offer a Z-28 (they must have had brain-lock that year). Apparently GM decided to not put much development into the Camaro/Firebird cars over the last few years and actual “officially” dropped both cars after ‘03.

However, we are now learning that that decision had more to do with the assembly plant being rebuilt and moved. Rest assured, the Z-28 and Trans-Am will be back.