Attention to all of those internet know-it-alls who insisted that General Motors would never be able to sell the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 for $75,000 – the new Z/28 is officially sold out for the 2014 model year.
When General Motors introduced the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, we knew that it was going to be expensive. The 500+ horsepower LS7 V8 from the previous Corvette Z06, a high end suspension system, massive Brembo carbon ceramic brakes and unique body bits make the 2014 Camaro Z/28 the most track capable American muscle car of all time – but we knew that it would also likely make it the most expensive. That was confirmed when General Motors announced that the 2014 Camaro Z/28 carried a base price of $75,000.
On the same day that GM announced the $75,000 price of the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, the smartest people on the internet were quick to insist that there was no way that the company would be able to sell these cars with any success. After all, the Z/28 has quite a bit less power than the 2014 Camaro ZL1 that starts a touch over $55,000 – plus the Z/28 comes with a stripped out interior while the ZL1 comes fully loaded. The skeptics asked “why would anyone pay $75,000 for a Camaro Z/28 with a bare bones interior and only 505 horsepower when they can buy the loaded up, 580 horsepower ZL1 for under $60,000?”
The reply to that question for those who saw the value in the 2014 Camaro Z/28 was simple; pointing out that the Z/28 laid down a much better time around the famed Nürburgring than the ZL1 – and the Z/28 did so in the rain. The ZL1 might be the most powerful Camaro of all time, but the Z/28 has proven itself to be the most track capable by a fair margin so for those who want a muscle car that will keep up with supercars on some of the world’s most demanding road courses, the justification of the price becomes a little clearer.
The 2014 Z/28 will comfortably go head to head with European supercars that cost 4 times as much and when considering the price, it is those supercars that should be used for a basis of comparison rather than the rest of the Camaro lineup.
Some of you might be wondering how many 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 units were sold to be “sold out” and honestly, the number is fairly low. GM slated just 500 units for production for the 2014 model year, but another 2,000 are expected to be built before the 5th generation of the Camaro ends within the next 18 months. Even if that 2,000 unit figure doesn’t become a reality, the 2015 Camaro Z/28 will become available sometime this summer and at that point, those folks with $75,000+ to spend on a new muscle car will be able to place their orders for the most track capable Camaro of all time.
Once the 2015 models do arrive, it will be interesting to see if the modern Camaro Z/28 continues to sell so well. There is no question that among those 500 people who will buy the 2014 Z/28, some of them are collectors who are simply going to tuck the car away and never drive it. There will most certainly be some Z/28 buyers who spend more time on the track than on the street, but there is the obvious level of collectability that helped drive 2014 model year sales. The 2015 Z/28 will still be collectable, but not as much so as the 2014 models so there will be less collectors looking to tuck the cars away for the future – leaving more available units for those who will race the car…but also possibly impacting the sales of this $75,000 muscle car.