This weekend marks the unofficial beginning of the American racing season, as drivers from a variety of countries, representing a smorgasbord of manufacturers, descended on Daytona Beach, Florida for a 24 hour endurance race. Joining the fearsome field of competitors for the first time will be the Camaro Z/28.R, which GM unveiled this week ahead of the big race.

Proving just how much race tech GM crammed into the street-legal version of the Camaro Z/28, the just-revealed, race-ready Z/28.R uses many of the same production car pieces. The real proof will come this weekend though, as the Z/28.R takes on a cutthroat field of vicious veterans.

The car the Z/28.R replaces is the Camaro GS, and the new platform will be pushed to the limit by the Stevenson Motorsports and CKS Autosport teams, which might as well practice on a production car. Not only is the chassis the same, but the 505 horsepower LS7 engine, limited-slip differential, and aerodynamic bodykit are all the same as the production Z/28.

The same goes for the front splitter, rear spoiler, hood heat extractors, and drag-reducing belly pan, also borrowed from the street model. No wonder GM is charging $75,000 for the Camaro Z/28, and after hearing how much it has in common with its racing cousin, we understand why. They weren’t kidding when they said it was a road-going race car, and we finally get a chance to see it in action this weekend at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.