Some people believe that Chevy is building a track competitor for the Boss, to be called the Z28. Why do the Camaro/GM faithful consider the Z28 such a "hallowed" and "storied" nameplate all the sudden when all the previous generations used the moniker on the top performing model? I mean GM has a tendency to wear the crap out of certain "performance" names. i.e. every GM model had it's own 'SS' version, and a Z this and Z that model.

So now all the sudden the Z28 has to be an all out track star?

 

It's my understanding from my old ties to the F-body community that the Z28 will not be reintroduced on the current 5th Gen but may show up on the new smaller platform.
The Z28 is a hallowed name because it was the original Camaro Track car from 1967-1969. The package was meant to homologate the new 302 engine for use in the SCCA Trans Am series. In 1970 the Z28 was no longer an option but became it's own model and some believe this began the deterioration of the moniker.

 

So my question is why all the sudden are the GM faithful pretending like the Z28 name hasn't existed since 1969? To me it's just a watered down moniker that only ceased to be used when the Camaro went out of production in '02. Now that there's talk about bringing it back it seems to have such rich history attached to it.

So what if GM had used the Z28 instead of SS to denote its top perfomer when it brought back the Camaro? "Man, I can't wait to order me a new Gold Dust Berlinetta Camaro".

 

I think the Z is and has been played out for some time now, and SS. I couldn't agree more with the OP.
But let's all remember that Chevy runs deep. Lol. Just not in my family

 

Yeah I think it's overused...it's just a model. It would be like if I freaked out because next year there was a new Mustang GT released.

 

Because the Car in it's original form `67-69 was more of a purpose built race car. And in 1970 when it became it's own model it lost the DZ302 specific engine and got a Corvette 350 (LT1). Unlike the Boss 302 which only was produced for 2 years the Z28 continued and over time got watered down and lost much of it's real meaning and heritage.
Look at it this way the new Boss 302 Mustangs pay tribute to the originals. The Chevy guys are just looking for the same thing from a new Z28

 

Yet the 70 Z/28 (not to mention drop dead georgous with its european inspired appearence) was a much better performing car in every aspect much like the Boss 351 was a much better performing car over the Boss 302 but your right both of these cars lacked the pure racer image that is such a draw for the early cars.

 

I remember the HUGE debate when the latest gen was being announced.

People were loosing their ****ing mullets over what the top dog would be....
V6/Z28/SS or V6/SS/Z28

 

Yep and what a Z/28 should be. Alot of camaro guys wanted the LS7 in a lightened platform with a "race" tuned suspension.

 

Z designations used to be premium designations until gm decided to use them as a common package starting with regular production of z28 then all the z24/34/71 etc. z06, zl1,z28,zr1,z16 etc were all low production niche cars. SS started as an appearance package (there were many ss 6cylinder cars) that morphed into the bigger engined bruisers of the 70's. I'm more disappointed in the bastardization of z codes rather than ss because even an ss cobalt was true the origins, an appearance package with more powerful drive lines. Z cars were alot more rare and I hope that's what they go to. So far the only thing up the alley of the boss that I know of is the 1le camaro. It's going to have the hash marks ( not an original 1LE item) magnetic shocks and electric steering. But no weight loss, power train, or gearing options which is what 1LE's actually had. Guess we'll see what's next.

 

I strongly suspect that the reason you aren't seeing a LS7-powered anything in the current generation Camaro is that it would almost certainly cost every bit as much to build as the ZL1 does. I say this because the LS7 is every bit as 'bespoke' a piece as the LSA is and, in reality, likely just a bit moreso. Given the equipment the ZL1 is getting it seems unlikely that there would be a drastic amount of difference between a theoretical LS7 powered Z28 and the ZL1 outside of the engine itself, so ultimately you end up with the problem of where do you put the Z28 price wise if you shove the LS7 in it?

With the Z06 and ZR1 this isn't a problem because, pretty obviously, GM just jacked the price on the ZR1 up high enough to make room for both in the lineup. The Camaro is in a situation where you don't have that kind of freedom with ZL1 pricing, which changes the whole outlook. Just my two cents.

 

I suspect as much as well J, plus the LS7 in production form is capped at 505hp, not good when it comes to trying to claim the crown even if GM is able to keep the weight below 4000 pounds.