1991 Chevrolet Camaro RS Convertible

For the 1991 model year the third generation of the Camaro was nearly a decade old, but its replacement was still a couple years off, so it was treated to a mild styling upgrade.

With the Camaro having lost its spot as the car of the International Race of Champions, the old Z28 moniker was brought back for the top-of-the-line sporty model, while the entry level version remained the RS.

The Z28 got a prominent wing-type decklid spoiler and aggro... albeit non-functional ...hood bulges. The RS got the IROC's old ducktail spoiler. Both versions got new, more prominent ground effects packages.

The '91 Camaro RS coupe came with a standard 3.1L LH0 pushrod V-6 with multiport fuel injection rated at 140 SAE net horsepower, or an optional throttle body injected 5.0L L03 V-8 that put out 170 horses. The V-8 was standard on RS convertibles, like the Ultra Blue Metallic one in the pictures.

The V-8 could be backed with either a three-speed auto or five-speed manual gearbox. The lackluster output of the TBI small block and extra weight of the convertible structure made for zero-to-sixty times in the high eight second range. But, hey, people bought RS Camaros for the looks; if they wanted to go fast they'd have ponied up for the Z28, right?

Even with the added gingerbread, the basic shape of the 3rd Generation F-bodies was still great looking. If they’d come out of Italy instead of Detroit you wouldn’t be able to get the Professional Car Likers at R&T and C/D to shut up about how perfect their lines are.

The domed hood and chrome wheels on this one are aftermarket. The top photo was made using a Nikon D3 and 24-120mm f/4 VR zoom lens in May of 2023, while the lower one was with a Nikon D3 and 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G zoom lens in July of 2022.

1996 Chevrolet Camaro RS

When the fourth generation of Chevrolet's Camaro pony car debuted for the 1993 model year, it was pared down to just two models: the base Camaro with the 3.4L L32 V-6 and the performance Z28 boasting a 5.7L LT1 V-8, both in coupe and convertible form.

In 1996 the range was expanded to include the Camaro RS, slotted in between the base car and the Z28. While it had the same engine as the base Camaro, now GM's corporate 3800 V-6, making 200 SAE Net horsepower at 5200 RPM, it came with ground effects and an aggro-looking rear wing. Air conditioning and 16" alloy wheels were also standard on the RS.

In Motor Trend's testing, the car managed a 7.4 second 0-60 time... which would have been pretty typical of a 5.0L V-8 powered Third Generation IROC-Z, showing how quickly performance was returning to Detroit.

The Bright Red 1996 Chevrolet Camaro RS coupe in the photos was snapped in August of 2026 using an Olympus OM-D E-M1X and an M. Zuiko Digital 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens.

2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible Indy 500 Official Car

For 2016 the actual pace car for the Indianapolis 500 was a white Camaro SS coupe, and Chevrolet sold a few thousand replicas of those. Even more desirable would be one of the 54 Indy 500 Festival Official Cars, used in the pre race parades and other official activities.

These were Chevrolet Camaro SS convertibles, specifically with the 2SS option package, with white stripes on a Hyper Blue Metallic paint job.

Powered by a 455 horsepower 6.2L LT1 pushrod V-8 driving the rear wheels through an eight-speed 8L90 automatic transmission, the 2016 Camaro 2SS was the quickest convertible pony car that Car and Driver had tested to date. Their sample ripped to sixty from a standstill in 4.1 seconds and nailed the quarter in 12.6 seconds at a buck thirteen through the traps. It circled the skidpad at 0.96g and topped out at a (governed) 155mph.

The one in the photo was snapped in April of 2016 using a Nikon Coolpix P7000.

1968 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible

Chevrolet's entry in the pony car class received a few mild styling changes for its second model year. FMVSS-compliant side marker lights were added and the vent windows were deleted and the v-shape of the grille became more pronounced.

The fender badges on this Sequoia Green droptop say 327 but the hood has the chrome fake velocity stack looking dinguses from the SS350 and SS396 models. This one has the snappy-looking optional Rally wheels, too.

The LF7 327 cubic inch Turbo-Fire small block was the standard motor. With a two-barrel carb and an 8.75:1 compression ratio, it was advertised as thrifty but still reasonably powerful, making 210 gross horsepower. The other 327 in the catalog was the L30, which had a 10.0:1 squeeze and a four-barrel carb and put out 275 horses.

A three-speed manual was standard, and a buyer could opt for a four-on-the-floor, a two-speed Powerglide, or a three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic.  

This one was photographed with a Nikon D2X and an 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR II zoom lens in November of 2022.

1992 Chevrolet Camaro RS

The whole concept behind the Pony Cars from Detroit was that they could be optioned across a wide spread of price and performance.

By the third generation of Chevrolet's Camaro, they no longer shared much in the way of mechanicals with any sedans, rear-wheel drive cars being seen as atavistic throwbacks by then, and the number of trim levels had dwindled, but they still could be had in flavors from mild to wild.

While the sportier Z28 got all the ink, the base RS version was the bread and butter of the lineup.

For '91 the Camaro got a light styling refresh, despite its successor already waiting in the wings. The RS got new ground effects and standard 15" alloy rims from the now-extinct IROC-Z.

Base motor was the port fuel injected corporate 3.1L pushrod V-6 making 140 SAE net horsepower, and it could be backed with a standard 5-speed manual or an optional 4-speed slushbox.

This Arctic White example is pretty well optioned. It has t-tops and the red cloth buckets with height-adjustable headrests were an extra cost option. Moreover, those five-spoke 16" alloy wheels were only available with the optional LO3 throttle-body injected 5.0L V-8, rated at 170 horsepower.

This one was photographed in September of 2021 using a Nikon D7000 and a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E zoom lens.

1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS Convertible

There have been a couple first generation Camaro Rally Sport convertibles on the blog already, but they were both 1967 models.

The FMVSS-compliant side marker lights and the lack of vent windows on this Chevrolet Camaro RS ragtop in Palomino Ivory mark it as a 1968 model.

According to the fender badges, this one's got a 327 Turbo-Fire small block under the hood. That could either be the base two-barrel motor with an 8.75:1 compression ratio and 210 gross horsepower, or the four-barrel version with a 10.0:1 squeeze and 275 ponies. Both versions had a single exhaust from the factory, so there's no real external clues.

Both photos were snapped in September of 2023, the top one with a Nikon D800 and a 24-120mm f/4 VR zoom lens and the lower one with a Nikon 1 V1 and a 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 lens.

1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS Convertible

1967 was the debut model year for the once and future arch rival of Ford's Mustang, the Camaro from Chevrolet.

We've actually seen a '67 Camaro convertible on these pages before, but it had the 155 horsepower 250 cubic inch Turbo-Thrift inline six.

Like that one, this droptop has the Rally Sport trim package, with its hidden headlights, special taillights, and other highlights, like chrome trim edging the wheel openings in the fenders. Unlike that one, this Ermine White example has the "V" fender badges indicating that under the hood is a 327 cubic inch Turbo-Fire V-8.

This could have taken one of two forms. The lesser one was a two-barrel motor with an 8.75:1 compression ratio and single exhaust outlet, making 210 horsepower. The sportier of the two had a 10.0:1 compression ratio, dual exhausts, and a four-barrel carburetor and was rated at 275 SAE gross horsepower.

This one was photographed in August of 2020 using a Nikon D7000 and a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E zoom lens.

1998 Chevrolet Camaro SS

The fourth generation of Chevrolet's Camaro debuted for the 1994 model year on a heavily-evolved version of the third gen F-body platform. The driveline tunnel was big enough to accommodate a proper Borg-Warner T56 six-speed manual, so the 5.7L V-8 was no longer limited to an automatic transmission. The repackaging involved relocating the catalytic converter, which now lurked under a large lump in the front passenger footwell.

Unlike the previous generations where a certain amount of fiddling with the option sheet could get you an extra fun version of the Sport Coupe or RS, the new Camaros came as the base model with only the V6 available (there was an RS appearance package, still), or the 5.7L-only Z28, with the 302 small block having exited the lineup.

For 1998 the Camaro got a mid-cycle refresh. The new snout was less pointy, had a more prominent grille, and swapped the deeply inset quad rectangular headlamps with more flush ovoid composite assemblies.

The base Camaro coupe or convertible had the GM corporate 3800 V-6, rated at 200 SAE net horsepower. The RS badge was gone. The '98 Z28 replaced the previous year's 285hp 5.7L LT1 V-8, a direct lineal descendant of the small blocks that had powered the first Camaros thirty years earlier, with the new all-aluminum 5.7L LS1, which was a whole new OHV V-8 that was rated at 305hp.

For the gnarliest Camaro in '98, Z28 buyers could opt for the SS performance/appearance package. It came with 17" wheels and tires, suspension upgrades, and an LS1 whose output was bumped to 320 horsepower by, among other things, a functional cold-air induction hood, like on the Navy Blue Metallic car in the photo.

When Car and Driver included a six-speed '98 SS in a group 0-150-0 test, it managed that feat in 43.7 seconds, actually edging out a contemporary 911 Carrera. It ran zero-to-sixty in 4.9 seconds and put away the quarter in 13.5 seconds at 107mph. Not bad for a car that was under thirty grand; C/D's as-tested price was $27,141, or just short of $53k in today's money.

The one in the photo was caught with a Nikon D800 and 24-120mm f/4 VR zoom lens in October of 2022.

1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

When I was younger, there was a sociocultural demarcating line between urban/suburban and exurban/rural America that I took to calling the "Camaro Line" after something that happened in my mid-twenties

In 1994 I was driving a 1979 Datsun 280ZX 2+2 and, though I'd grown up in the near-side 'burbs of Atlanta, Georgia, I'd gotten a job working at a pawn shop in the city of Cumming, in then-semi-rural Forsyth County. When a cool in-dash CD head unit came off pawn at the shop, I scarfed it up and called the local car stereo joint to get the bits I needed to put it in my car, which I told them was a "'79 Z-car."

I showed up and found a kit waiting for me..for a '79 Z28. Lesson learned: "Z-car" means different things in different places.

The regular production option code known as "RPO Z28", which defined performance Chevrolet Camaros in the early Seventies, had been discontinued for the 1975 model year in the wake of the first gas crisis.

After a two year hiatus, it returned as its own sub-model of the Camaro for 1977. The '77 Camaro Z28 was differentiated cosmetically from the base Camaro Sport Coupe by tape stripes and decals, but for 1978 the design got a thorough refresh, as seen on the Dark Camel Metallic example in the photo.

A sleek urethane nose cone of the type that its sister F-body, the Pontiac Firebird, had been using for years replaced the painted metal bumpers of the earlier car. The hood got a prominent NACA duct (fake) and the front fenders sprouted heat extraction gills (functional) and it all added up to a businesslike look.

Under the hood scoop was the trusty Chevrolet LM1 4-barrel 350 cubic inch small block V-8, which in various states of tune powered half everything in Chevy's '70s lineup. In the '78 Z28 is had a hotter cam and an 8.2:1 compression ratio and was rated at 185 SAE net horsepower.

In a period test of a 4-speed Z28 with a 3.73:1 Positraction rear end in the March '78 issue, Car and Driver extracted a respectable-for-the-Malaise-Era 7.3 second zero-to-sixty and a best quarter mile run of sixteen seconds flat at 91 mph. Top speed was measured at 123 miles per hour, and the power front discs and rear drums hauled the 3,560 pound Camaro to a halt from 70 in 181 feet.

Base price for a '78 Z28 was $5,604, and C/D's test car added optional 15" alloy wheels, the Posi rear, a heavy duty radiator, and some cosmetic and comfort stuff to bring the as-tested price to $6,819, which comes to about thirty-three grand in today's coin.

The one in the photo was snapped with a Nikon Coolpix S6500 in August of 2014.

1991 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

By 1990 the life cycle of the Chevy Camaro's third generation was drawing to a close. Work was already underway on its replacement. Meanwhile, Chevrolet's sponsorship of the International Race Of Champions had ended, and so the sportiest Camaro reverted to the old Z28 moniker.

In order to juice sales for the final couple model years, Chevy released the 1991 Camaros early, only about halfway through the normal run of the '90 model year.

The 1991s featured some minor styling changes to spice them up, especially for the Z28 model. There was a new, more aggro ground effects package, with a bigger chin spoiler and cosmetic "scoops" on the side skirts. The Z28 added a big elevated rear wing and non-functional "power blisters" on the hood. Since there was no longer room in the spoiler for the third brake light, it was moved to the top of the rear window, on the inside.

The base motor on the Z28 was the LB9 tuned-port 305 small block, rated at 205 horsepower, with either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic gearbox. Ticking the G92 Performance Enhancement Group option box got you a 5-speed manual with a 3.42 rear end and bumped the output of the LB9 TPI motor to 230hp.

The hot ticket for laying down the big numbers in the quarter with a '91 Z28 was selecting the L98 5.7L motor, which put out 245 horsepower, and getting the G92 3.42 rear end. This dropped quarter mile times to 14.3 seconds at 95 mph, according to Musclecar Review magazine, making it one of the few F-body configurations that could run with the 5.0L H.O. 'Stangs of the time at the drag strip.

This Ultra Blue Metallic '91 Z28, which would have had a base MSRP of $15,445 when new, was photographed using a Nikon D7000 and 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens in September of 2020.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/Z28

By my lights, this is the epitome of the first generation Camaro: A 1969 model with the Rally Sport appearance package to get those slick-looking hidden headlights, and the Z28 performance package to get one of the coolest Chevy small blocks ever.

The Z28 package was intended to be a "turnkey track car" for road racing and the 327 V-8 was too big for Trans Am sedan racing, which had a 5.0L displacement limit for the Over 2.0L class. By using a crankshaft with a shorter stroke... essentially a 283 crankshaft in a 327 block ...Chevrolet came up with a very oversquare, high-winding 302 cubic inch motor.

It had 11..0:1 compression ratio, a 780cfm Holley four-barrel carb, solid lifters, an aluminum dual-plane intake manifold, and could be ordered with cold-air Cowl Induction like the Tuxedo Black car in the photos. The resulting motor was very conservatively rated by Chevy at 290 SAE gross horsepower, although the actual number was almost certainly as much as twenty horsepower more, which would have caused vapor lock in insurance salesmen. (">1 horsepower per cubic inch" had become a negative bugbear, actuarially.)

Other race track goodies specific to the Z28 package were power front discs, 15" wheels, and a stiffer suspension. A cross-ram dual-quad intake setup was available as a dealer-installed option on the 302, too.

It wasn't intended as a drag car, but a road racer, nevertheless Popular Hot Rodding took one to the strip and uncorked the headers, getting a 14.6 @ 97mph best run on street tires. With the peaky small block (peak power came at 5200rpm) and a 3.73 rear end, that was pretty good. You could go quicker with 4.88 gears and slicks, but if you really wanted to drag race in a Camaro in '69, it'd be easier to just go ahead and order an SS396 or COPO 427 big block car.

The one in the pictures was photographed in June of 2020 using a Nikon D7000 and a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens.

1985 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z

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.

1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS Convertible

After allowing Ford a two and a half model year head start in the Pony Car Wars, Chevrolet finally provided the Mustang with its once and future arch rival in the form of the 1967 Camaro.

While its curvy coke bottle lines obviously came from the styling team responsible for the swoopy second generation rear-engined Corvair, the Camaro was a thoroughly conventional front-engined auto.

It featured a unit body aft of the firewall with a bolt-on subframe that carried the motor and front suspension (and which it shared with the Chevy II/Nova). This shared commonality with Chevy's compact, much like the Mustang's Falcon-derived genes, served to keep the costs down and the profit margins high for the new sporty coupe.

The Butternut Yellow convertible in the photos has the RS, for "Rally Sport", package. This was mostly a trim and accessory package, and got the buyer headlights hidden behind vacuum-operated doors, different taillights, and RS badges and extra chrome trim.

The fender badges say this one's got the 250 cubic inch inline six cylinder, which is a bump up from the base 230 cid six. The twenty extra cubic inches boosted power from 140 to 155 SAE gross bhp.

While the big-motored SS Camaros and GT Mustangs get all the ink, the bulk of pony car sales have always been what enthusiasts derisively term "secretarymobiles"; sporty-looking cars with thrifty drivetrains and reasonable MSRPs, bought by people who just want a cool looking car and aren't yet necessarily worried about hauling a family around. The '67 RS convertible here would have started at $2,914, with the bigger six only bumping the price a little.

Car Life tested a base coupe with the 250cid six and three-speed manual. It managed an 11.4 second 0-60 run and cleared the quarter in eighteen and a half seconds at 75mph. Top speed was recorded as 104 miles per hour.

The one in the photos was snapped with a Nikon Coolpix P7000 back in July of 2016.

1981 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

Here's a sinister-looking murdered-out 1980 or '81 Chevrolet Camaro Z28.

The factory motor would have been a 350cid LM1 V8, rated at 185bhp in 1980. The '81 model year introduced new emissions controls that dropped the horsepower rating to 175.

1981-1983 was probably the absolute low point of automotive performance in the US. The lardy 175-horse 3500-lb boulevardier 1981 Z28 would have squared off against its rival from Dearborn, the Mustang. For the '81 Model year, the top version of the Mustang was the Cobra, with lots of decals and aero doodads.

The Cobra was 900 pounds lighter than the Z28, since the latter was riding on an eleven-year-old platform* that had been designed when Sunoco high test was 35 cents a gallon and CAFE regs were half a decade in the future, while the Mustang was on its third model year of the then-new Fox body. However the top performance motor for the Mustang was the anemic 255cid V8 that sipped gas through a dinky Motorcraft 2bbl carb and only spit out 120 horsepower.

Basically even though the Camaro had been reduced to a plush-bottomed shell of its former wild-eyed glory, it'd still maul the dismally-underpowered Mustang. Those tables wouldn't turn again until Ford stuffed a Holley 4bbl 5.0 under the hood in '83.

Considering that they sold a blue million 2nd Generation Camaros over the eleven-year run of the body style, you don't see a ton of them on the street. I'd wager that rust got a bunch and telephone poles got a bunch more.

This one was snapped in March of '23 with a Nikon D2X & the versatile 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VRII zoom lens.

*This resulted in an odd situation on Chevy lots in the late-'70s/early-'80s in that the Chevy Malibu, their bread-and-butter midsize sedan, and the Monte Carlo "personal luxury coupe" had already gone through a round of downsizing and thus had the same length wheelbase and were actually a couple hundred pounds lighter than the "sporty 2+2" Camaro.