Camaro Z28 powered by HSV W427

The spirit of the mighty Holden Special Vehicles W427 sedan lives on in a race-tuned version of the Chevrolet Camaro unveiled at the New York motor show overnight.

The iconic Z28 badge has been revived with the same high-performance 7.0-litre V8 (427 cubic inches) used in the limited edition, handbuilt HSV W427 released in 2008.

The Camaro Z28 project -- which coincided with a facelift for the Camaro range -- was personally overseen by former Holden boss Mark Reuss, who describes the coupe as a “street-legal track car”.

“I have the best job on the planet,” Reuss, the boss of General Motors in North America, told reporters. “This is for all of us who want a Camaro that's absolutely built for the track. And I don't mean just built for speed.”

Chevrolet is yet to announce whether the Z28 is faster than the supercharged 6.2-litre V8 version of the Camaro called the ZL1. But Reuss says the Z28 would probably be faster around a track and the ZL1 faster in a straight line.

“This is not simply a straight-line … drag strip car, although you can use it for that as well,” Reuss said. “This car is set up for track perfection, just like the original Z28.”

The front bumper has a larger lower opening for improved cooling and GM says the rear has also been redesigned for improved aerodynamic balance.

The air vents on the bonnet are functional to reduce lift for increased stability at high speeds, and to provide an escape for hot air in the engine bay.

Inside, the new Camaro has race-bred Recaro seats. Underneath, it has a differential cooler, transmission cooler, and brake coolers as standard. Big news: it gets carbon-ceramic brakes, as first seen on the Corvette ZR1.

Meanwhile, Chevrolet has ripped out 90kg of equipment, by removing the carpet in the boot, fitting thinner glass in the rear window, and removing all audio speakers except one. In fact, the only reason one speaker remained was so that the seat-belt chime still worked, Reuss said. The finishing touch: air-conditioning is optional on the most expensive Camaro ever built.

The Camaro Z28 will be a standard part of the Camaro line-up rather than a limited edition model. “We’re building these cars to order. We will make as many as people want.”

Last year the Camaro was the best-selling performance car in the United States for the third year in a row. But it's still not available in Australia even though it was developed by Holden on behalf of Chevrolet, because it would be too expensive to convert to right-hand-drive for such a small market.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling

Price: TBA
Engine: 7.0-litre V8 (427 cubic inches)
Bore & stroke (in / mm): 4.125 x 4 / 104.8 x 101.6
Block material: cast aluminium
Cylinder head material: cast aluminium
Valvetrain: overhead valve, two valves per cylinder
Fuel delivery: SFI (sequential fuel injection)
Compression ratio: 11.0:1
Power (kW @ rpm): 373 @ 6300 (estimated)
Torque (Nm @ rpm): 637 @ 4800 (estimated)
Redline: 7100rpm (estimated)