1970 LT-1 Corvette vs Z/28 Camaro: Road Test Shootout

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The 1970-1/2 Z-28 Camaro was often called "the poor man's Corvette" and "a Corvette with a back seat". Both the 1970 LT-1 C3 Corvette and the 1970 Z-28 both had the same 350 LT-1 engine, so their performance was very close.

Fifty-five years ago the 1970 LT-1 C3 Corvette and 1970 second generation Z-28 Camaro were considered two of the best handling cars available at the time. A snapshot look back at what was the pinnacle of the Detroit 1960s muscle car era.

To open the PDF version of the Sports Car Graphic June 1970 article, CLICK HERE.

The cover story of the June 1970 issue of Sports Car Graphic Magazine was ”Camaro Z/28 vs Corvette LT-1”. The Camaro came out as a 1967 model, and very quickly, the Z/28 and SS-396 Camaro delivered Corvette-level performance for less cash.

Some magazines referred to the Z/28 as “the poor man’s Vette”. Not that the Z/28 was “cheap”. The base price of the 1970 Camaro was $2,839, with a price-as-tested of $4,690. The Corvette price as tested at $6,367. That’s $1,677 more than the Z/28.

The 1970 LT-1 C3 Corvette and 1970 second generation Z-28 Camaro tested on the skid pad at 0.78 G for the C3 350 LT-1 Corvette and 0.77 G for the 350 LT-1 Z-28 Camaro, essentially identical. I just love the statistics box in the story. We pored through every line so we’d sound “smart” the next time we were Bench Racing with our pals. The LT-1’s lateral G-force was 0.73 with the 4.0-degree angle of tilt. The Z/28 Camaro’s numbers were 0.77-G with 2.8 degrees of tilt.

There are all kinds of interesting comparative information. The 1970 LT-1 Corvette‘s performance figures “should” have been better than the Z/28’s, but they weren’t. Hmmm.

The magazine came out in June 1970, meaning that the shock wave of the 1971 models was not yet anticipated. 1971 began the long, slow decline of serious performance cars. With few exceptions.

To open the PDF version of the Sports Car Graphic June 1970 article, CLICK HERE.

You are invited to visit Corvette Report’s FREE Corvette PDF Public Library

CorvetteReport.com’s FREE Corvette PDF Public Library currently has 24 vintage magazine articles that have been scanned, cleaned up, and formatted as downloadable PDF documents. The stories are fascinating because they are mini Corvette time capsules that take you back to the early days of Corvette history. We have a very large collection of old car magazines and will be adding many new PDF articles. It’s a BLAST FROM THE PAST, Man!

Our 1968–1982 C3 Corvette Review: Engineering, Styling, Sales, and Legacy is now available.

And, for some more comparison reading, check out the Car Life Magazine mega 1969 Corvette feature road test, CLICK HERE!

Enjoy the article. – Scott

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Our 1968–1982 C3 Corvette Review: Engineering, Styling, Sales, and Legacy is now available.

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Scott

Automotive Writer and Illustrator. Owner of www.CorvetteReport.com.