It started in 1973…that’s the year that the Super Sport went on a long hiatus, one that it would not return from until 1996. In it’s place was a new name, Type LT (luxury touring), a package that was meant to focus on driver comfort, not to be yet another boulevard bruiser. That spot would remain the realm of the Z/28 until…oh, wait, they cancelled it? Ok, the Rally Sport. Oh, look, the Z28 is back…wait. IROC? What’s that? Following the top-dog Camaro is a bit of a juggle, but the Berlinetta isn’t as bad. The Type LT nameplate was retired in favor of the Berlinetta name in 1979, but the theme was still there: it was supposed to be the more luxurious, better-appointed, cushier Camaro. No boy-racer stuff here…or, at the very least, it would be well-hidden.
For the third-gen Berlinetta, a design for the dash came from a designer named Nelly Toledo. Originally whipped up in 1981, the “Starship” cluster layout, with it’s digital dashboard, pod-mounted controls and post-mounted audio gear, would appear in the 1984 model year. Compared to just about any car on the market at the time, the “Starship” cars were bonafide radical. In a standard third-gen, you got two large gauge pods and three small ones in a group at the top of the cluster. In a Starship, you had movable controls. You had no turn signal stalk…instead, you used a toggle switch on the left pod. It was trick in all of the right ways for 1984.
The name carried on through 1986. For 1987, the LT nameplate returned, and the comfort Camaro idea was dumped altogether in 1987. Take a gander at what a “Starship” car is all about by touring this well-optioned 1984 example:
I used to have a ’89 Ford Probe where the designers clearly subscribed to the same spaceship school of interior design. Ahead if its time, indeed. Now I want to find one and take it to a Radwood event.
I had one of those in the late 80’s right after I got in the car business. Neat car, Not sure if it was the multiport 2.8 six cylinder or the 305. No T-tops, bluish gray color. blue interior.
Is that 79 6+6 tow truck sold .what state it in ?