Born in the latter days of the Malaise Era, the Third Generation of the Chevy Camaro was initially all bark and no bite. While the styling was an absolute knockout, with sleek lines that promised big speed, there wasn't anything to back it up in the engine compartment.
The base motor in a loss-leader $7,925 1982 Camaro Sport Coupe with roll-up windows and manual door locks was the 2.5L LQ9 "Iron Duke" four cylinder wheezing out 90 SAE net horsepower and backed with an archaic 4-speed manual. Shell out another two thousand dollars and you got a Z28 with an LU5 305 V-8 with CrossFire Fuel Injection and 165 horses. All those decals and spoilers and ground effects and the poor Z28 could only manage an 8.6 second zero-to-sixty run.
Fast forward just three model years and the performance renaissance was well underway. Chevy celebrated their International Race of Champions sponsorship with an IROC-Z package for the Z28. Featuring special 16-inch wheels and a host of suspension upgrades, the IROC packed more serious hardware under the hood, too.
The least potent powerplant under the louvered hood was the 155 horsepower LG4 four-barrel 305 small block V-8, and it could be had with a Borg Warner T5 five speed. Moving up from there was the carbureted L69 305 H.O. rated at 190 horsepower. The top of the line was the 215 horsepower LB9 305 with a Tuned Port Injection setup adapted from the one on the Corvette's 350. It was only available with the 4-speed auto because its peak torque of 275 lb/ft was more than the Borg Warner manual could reliably handle without experiencing durability issues.
Car and Driver tested both the carbureted H.O. motor with the 5-speed manual and the TPI 305 with the automatic, and recorded 7.5 and 7.0 zero-to-sixty sprints, respectively. The TPI car managed a 15.2 quarter mile at 91 mph through the traps and a top speed of 140 miles per hour, with the carbureted car only a tick or two slower. This was the best performance from a Camaro for probably more than a decade, and now it was accompanied by competent handling and brakes that worked, too.
Cars were now once again pretty much as quick as they'd been in the early Seventies, and performance was only going to keep getting better from here.
This one was photographed in May of 2024 using a Nikon D300S and 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II zoom lens.
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