(Nutjob is a semi-regular item that Dave Nutting writes whenever he feels the need to rant about something. It often doesn’t make sense, but his doctors told us that it’s in our best interests to let him vent once in a while)

Originally this was going to be a very different blog item. In a parallel universe, I was going to start off by writing that “The 2014 Camaro Z/28 is a tour de force of engineering and is worth every penny that GM is asking for it”.

As proof, I was then going to first show you this video of the Z/28’s “Flying car mode”, which uses ride height sensors to detect when the car is airborne and keep the traction control algorithm from cutting power to the wheels. It’s still worth the watch, so check it out below:

Next, I was going to gush about the obsessive need by the engineers to decrease lap times by removing all but one speaker, using thinner glass for the rear window, shodding lightweight wheels with 60-treadwear tires, equipping an aero package seemingly aggressive enough to make an F1 team find the nearest official and cry foul, and installing carbon fiber brakes big enough to stop a jumbo-jet on a dime. They even took a hacksaw to the bowtie in the center of the grille for crying out loud, all for the sake of an extra three cubic feet of air per minute:

All of the above, plus a brand new suspension, Torsen limited-slip differential, and the almighty LS7 result in a car that is so mind-numbingly fast around a track, at speed it catches stray rainbows, devours them, and spits them out the hood scoop (At least that’s what I think this picture illustrates…Maybe it shows airflow, I’m not a scientist.)

I was going to write all of the above and then spend the rest of this blog item defending it, with the overall message being, “Yeah, it’s a freaking Camaro, but for $75k you’re paying for a dedicated track car with a factory warrantee, and for the money you just can’t touch that kind of performance.”

See, I was going to write all of that, but then I started looking at a few other domestic performance cars in that price range and my plans went out the window.

Let’s start with the C7 Corvette:

Sure, the looks are a bit polarizing (To put it mildly) and you could argue that the Corvette and the Camaro attract different consumers, but trust me, that doesn’t hold true once you get over the $50,000 mark for a domestic performance car, as at that point your market becomes “rich old guy”. For all of the hoopla about the engineering work that went into producing a Nurburgring lap time faster than a Porsche Carrera S (In the rain, no less), it’s still a relatively heavy pony car riding on an aging chassis. Meanwhile, the C7 with the Z51 handling package weighs roughly four hundred pounds less, posts better skidpad numbers, and retails for $15k less than the Z/28.

There’s a big difference between skidpad numbers in isolated testing and reliable lap times, but let’s be realistic: The majority of Z/28s are going to be preserved in a climate-controlled bubble waiting for the 2034 Barrett-Jackson auctions, so armchair racing is the most action that most of these cars will actually see. I’d be curious to see what kind of lap times someone with a $60k Vette and $15k in modifications could produce.

So that’s strike one against the Z/28.

Next up, the Ford Mustang GT500.

It’s bigger, it’s heavier, and it doesn’t handle as well as either the Corvette or the Z/28, but it still manages to pull 1.0 G on a skidpad and has a fire-breathing 5.8L supercharged V8 that produces over 650 horsepower and sounds like mechanized death as you first hear the whine of the supercharger coming upon you followed by the guttural exhaust note as the snake passes by and blows your doors off. All of this can be yours for $55k retail.

Again, it’ll get murdered stock for stock by a Z/28 on a road course, but you’ll be having a tire-roasting good time trying to keep up. Plus, you can toss on some sticky tires and throw down a mid-eleven second pass at the drag strip before cruising home with the A/C on.

Strike two.

Thus far I’ve managed to compare the Z/28 to a car technically outside of its core buyers market (The Corvette) and against a car built for drag racing, not handling (The GT500). Great journalism, right?

Listen, I agree that the last two weren’t exactly apples-to-apples comparisons, but there’s one car that is, and it’s a whopping $35k less than the Z/28: The 2014 Camaro 1LE.

For under $40k, you can spec out a brand new 1LE Camaro with Recaro seats, and this is the Camaro that you should be buying if you’re serious about road racing a new F-body.

Sure, it weighs a whopping 60 pounds over the Z/28, has the more pedestrian LS3 with wet sump oiling system, and doesn’t come equipped with bubblegum-sticky-soft tires and space-age brakes. It also doesn’t know when it is flying and doesn’t have a grille that someone took a hacksaw to. But, it posts very similar skidpad numbers and was also built with road racing in mind. Need I again mention that it’s $35k less and you can order one now?

I still stand by my claim that the 1LE is a better base for a track car for the price, as who leaves their track car completely stock? The 1LE is cheaper, 90-95% as fast, and isn’t rarer than hen’s teeth.

End of the day, Mark Stielow and the rest of the engineering team produced one hell of a car and it’s a statement to their dedication and GM’s willingness that the Z/28 even saw the light of day as a production vehicle, but you’re a fool for buying one.

Just one thing: If you ARE one of the fools that buys one, care to take me for a lap or two before you wrap it up in that bubble?