GM Authority reported recently that General Motors has applied to the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a trademark of the “Z28” moniker. This surprised many Chevrolet Camero enthusiasts since the automaker did not use the moniker for its supercharged ZL1 Camero.
However, rumors were flying that Chevrolet may still use the Z28 name at some time or another. But those rumors quieted when an option pack between the SS and ZL1 debuted wearing the 1LE designation. There is still some speculation that was fueled by an April blurb from Camero5, when a forum member posted that his Camero ZL1 diffuser bracket boasted the “Z28” designation.
But you have to take the filing for the trademark with a grain of salt. They are quite often a brand trying to protect a lapsed or dormant trademark or just one more way to fuel the rumor mill.
It has been shown that the ZL1 is at the top of the Camero line, so there is a question as to where a Z28 would fit in. But GM Authority suggests that a production Z28 could “even out-muscle the ZL1.” Of course, that is the speculation they offer in response to the rumors. Another piece of speculation they offer is that the Z28 could replace the Camero SS designation, since Chevy has the Zeta-based SS sedan range due to debut in the coming year. It could be that General Motors is worried that they will confuse the marketplace.
When the first Camero rolled off the assembly line in 1967, Z28 was the option designation for a race-ready package. At the time, the SS models were given the option code Z27. That wasn’t mentioned in any literature and a lot of customers were not aware of that fact. But since then the Z/28 has become an icon in the muscle car arena.