With a price tag of $75,000 and a whole list of things you won’t get when you buy it, the Camaro Z/28 seems like a car of questionable motives, at least at first. With just 505 horsepower compared to the supercharged ZL1’s 556 ponies, you’d think the Z/28 would suffer a distinct advantage around a long and fast circuit like the North Loop of the Nurburgring. So how did the Z/28 manage to clock a time that was 4-seconds faster than the ZL1?

GM has put together a list of 28 reasons why the Camaro Z/28 was faster around the Nordschleife, covering every aspect of the track-ready racer, from the brakes and air intake, to subtle differences in the rear differential. Rather than listen to us prattle on though, here’s the list, in full, for your consumption.

1. Rear spoiler with ‘wickerbill’: to meet downforce requirements for the Z/28, the spoiler was modified with a “wickerbill” – a small, vertical tab at the edge of the spoiler. This minor change alone helped improve rear lift performance by 70 counts. [Editor’s note – we have no idea what this means, but it sounds cool…]

2. Unique front fascia: although the Z/28’s fascia is based on the Camaro SS, the fog lamps, air dam and the upper-base grille are replaced with covers, reducing weight.

3. Front splitter: designed to withstand 250 pounds (113kg) of downforce at its tip, it is matched with an aero closeout panel under the front of the engine compartment that also enhances aero characteristics.

4. Hood extractor: made of carbon fiber, it provides increased engine cooling by allowing hot air an exit route.

5. Rocker moldings and wheel flare moldings: help increase the car’s downforce.

6. Front wheelhouse liners: work with the vehicle underbody to make the most of airflow.

7. Belly pan: helps reduce front lift and contributes to drivetrain cooling.

8. Thinner rear window glass: Chevrolet saved 400 grams by reducing the thickness of the rear window glass from 3.5 mm to 3.2 mm.

9. Lightweight rear seat: 4.7 kg (10.3 lbs) lighter due to reduced seat foam and a fixed seatback design.

10. Lightweight wheels and tires: 13.2 kg (29.1 lbs) lighter wheels and tires than on the Camaro SS.

11. Carbon ceramic brake rotors: 9.6 kg (21.16 lbs) lighter than steel brake rotors.

12. No air conditioning: 12.9 kg (28.4lbs) were saved.

13. LS7 engine with dry-sump oiling: features a durable forged-steel crankshaft, lightweight titanium connecting rods and high-flow cylinder heads with lightweight titanium intake valves, as well as racing-style dry-sump oiling system.

14. Air intake system: the LS7 uses a unique open air box intake system to make the most of high-RPM airflow into the engine.

15. Track capable fuel system: the road course-ready fuel system is designed to keep the primary fuel pump reservoir full even under hard cornering.

16. Active dual-mode exhaust system and high-flow converter assembly: engineered to provide high-flow and muscular sound character under aggressive acceleration, while attenuating noise levels in cruising conditions.

17. TREMEC TR6060 six-speed manual transmission: with short throws, smooth gear synchronization and shift feel, the gearbox has the capability to stand up to high-performance engines.

18. 5.1-ratio short-throw shifter: provides quicker, more precise-feeling gear changes.

19. Strut tower brace: the same as on the Camaro SS 1LE, provides extra chassis stiffness by tying the towers together.

20. Zero-preload limited-slip differential: features a concentric helical gear set that generates friction proportional to the input torque.

21. Differential cooler: incorporates an integral heat exchanger, eliminating the need for an external pump, wiring, relays, temperature sensors and fan.

22. Uprated lower control arm ride link “travel limiter” bushing: offers 50-percent greater stiffness at high load than the SS.

23. Uprated rear upper control arm bushing and lower trailing link bushings: 400 percent and 25 percent stiffer, respectively, compared with the SS.

24. Higher-rate coil springs and smaller-diameter stabilizer bars: the stiffness rate of the Z/28’s coil springs was increased by 85 percent in the front and 65 percent in the rear.

25. DSSV damper technology: the Z/28 is the first high-volume production road car to use Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve damper technology from Multimatic.

26. Performance Traction Management: integrates the chassis mode selection, Traction Control and Active Handling Systems.

27. 19-inch wheels and Pirelli PZero Trofeo R tires: the widest front wheels/tires of any comparable sports coupe: 19×11-inch wheels with P305/30/ZR19 tires.

28. Brembo carbon ceramic brakes: 60-0 MPH in less than 120 feet (36.6m).

After reading all that, we have just one question; why wasn’t the Z/28 even faster?