Inspiring Concept Cars: 1980 Camaro Ultra Z

Concept cars allow designers and engineers to flex their automotive muscles.  Many times, they are merely a styling exercise on a non-drivable platform.  Those are meant to gauge the appetite of company executives, with more refined versions used to determine consumer interest.  When the engineers take over from the designers, things can get very interesting.

It’s no secret that I am a big fan of the second generation Camaro–especially 1977 and later model years.  I bought every car magazine that featured those cars and eventually bought a 1979 Z28 in April, 1979.  

Related article: 40 Year Obsession:  A Z28 Story

While cleaning out my basement recently, I found a box of my old magazines.  In that box was the May 1980 edition of CARS Hi-Performance magazine.  It featured an early test of the 1980 Camaro Z28, and a special Z28 concept.  

Ultra Z Concept Camaro

Shortly after I got the Z28, Chevrolet created a unique Camaro concept–the Ultra Z.  It was essentially a 1979 Z28 with special styling touches and a lot more performance under the hood.  The Ultra Z had an aluminum V8 with fuel injection and a turbocharger.

Engine size was still 5.7 liters, but with an aluminum block, experimental TRW pistons and L82 bottom end components.  More detail can be found in the picture below:

The Ultra Z was painted in a light blue metallic with multi-blue graphics, dual hood vents and a whale tail spoiler.  I’ll let the pictures scanned from the magazine speak for themself.  This was one special car that sadly did not make it into production.

Inspired by Ultra Z

I had a friend in high school, Gill Wong, who owned a 1978 Camaro at the same time I owned my Z28.  He did some fun things to his car, like wider wheels and tires and a gutted catalytic converter. Back then, you could empty the contents of a GM catalytic converter by removing a pressed in plug from the bottom of the cat.  

The catalyst material spilled out, and running the engine sprayed the remnants on the ground.  GM sold a replacement plug, which helped reseal the cat.  Whether this improved exhaust flow or not is debatable, but we felt it was a secret performance mod.

Gill wanted to turn his regular Camaro into something unique, so he turned to me for ideas.  Having just read the CARS magazine, I had something in mind.

Hood Vents

I previously painted a 1978 Z28 hood scoop in auto shop class for Gill.  I was going to help him mount it to his Camaro hood when the CARS magazine came out.  Instead of the Z28 scoop, I suggested we take the Z28 fender vents and place them on the hood. 

Gill already had the fender vents, so was raring to go!  Surprisingly, he trusted me to cut the holes in his hood.  Once those were cut, the vents slipped in and he had an Ultra Z inspired Camaro. This was my first significant modification to a car, and a bit of a risk to do to a friend’s car.  Years later, my dad told me he was shocked that I did that mod.  Evidently, he never cut holes in his buddy’s hood as a kid!

I reached out to Gill last week to see if he had any pictures of the modified hood.  Unfortunately, they were destroyed in a flood about thirty years ago.  If anyone reading this article owns Gill’s old Camaro, please send me some pictures!

Final Thoughts & Questions

It was fun to find this old magazine, as it let me relive a cool memory.  I’m still friends with Gill to this day, so my modification to his car must not have been too traumatic.  In fact, it set the stage for all of my car projects over the years.

Please let me know if you have any added thoughts or questions.