There’s a reason I’m a writer and not an engineer. Were I making a track-focused car, I would concentrate on things such as power, brakes, weight reduction and cooling, but I would never consider what Chevrolet has incorporated into the new Camaro Z/28. They call it “flying car” logic.
Normally, when a car soars over the crest of a hill and loses contact with the road surface, its engine computer cuts torque in an effort to maintain traction. That reduced power, once applied to the track upon touch-down, can cost the driver precious seconds in lap time.
Chevy realized this and integrated the Z/28’s chassis mode selection, Traction Control and Active Handling System into its creative new algorithm, which is then applied to the car’s standard Performance Traction Management.
“The unique logic in the system uses the ride-height sensors to determine the reduction in force on the tires that’s unique to track driving and allows the car to continue with uninterrupted momentum and, ultimately, a better lap time,” Bill Wise, the Z/28’s vehicle performance engineer, says.
General Motors’s Milford Proving Ground, Virginia International Raceway, Road Atlanta and the Flugplatz section of the Nürburgring served as development venues for the PTM and the new air-time tech.
The former system has five settings. Mode 5, set up for the fastest laps, makes the best use of the “flying car” logic. It’s that software that helps the $75,000 Camaro knock off a 7:37 pass at the Nürburgring—that’s a four-second improvement on the ZL1’s time and a better score than those of the Porsche 911 Carrera S and the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640.
“The new Camaro Z/28 was bred on and for the track,” Wise says. “From the hardware bolted to the chassis to the software such as the ‘flying car’ logic, every element built into it was designed to help deliver faster lap times, with consistency, control and dependability.”
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
