Last month when GM rolled the 2014 Camaro SS onto the stage, onlookers were impressed with the subtle changes that made a big difference the Chevy’s main muscle car. But then GM went ahead and unveiled the Camaro Z/28, a closely-guarded secret that caught event the most knowledgeable auto journalists by surprise. So how did GM manage to keep the Camaro Z/28 under wraps?

That is one of the five secrets revealed in a post over at the Camaro5 forums. It also explains why rumors of the Z/28 date back to 2010 and earlier.

The biggest secret revealed to us is that the Camaro ZL1 was very nearly called the Z/28, which explains the endless trains of rumors a couple years ago regarding that historic moniker. A last minute decision by the higher-ups replaced the Z/28 badge with the ZL1 badge, which in hindsight makes a lot of sense.

Another secret is that GM engineers had been looking to use the Corvette Z06’s 7.0 liter LS7 engine in a car other than the Corvette for years. So despite some industry professionals doubting that the LS7 would fit well into a Camaro engine bay, GM apparently had this planned all along. To keep the project under wraps though, GM engineers nicknamed the Camaro Z/28 “Steve”, as in “I’m taking Steve out to the track for a beating.”

To get the Camaro Z/28 project the greenlight, Dan Akerson brought the board of directors along for a test drive (presumably not all at once in the same car). That was apparently all it took to convince them this car needed to be built. Which leads up to the last secret; GM has been track testing the Z/28, and while we’re not sure what cars it has trounced in testing, GM is apparently thrilled with its performance. We’re sure they’ll start bragging about what cars they beat soon enough. We’re betting those Italian exotics don’t stand a chance.