Flying Camaro: How Chevy Engineers Designed the Z/28 for Liftoff

The Chevy Camaro Z/28 is easily one of the most track-capable cars available.

Powerful engines and enhanced driving dynamics have made it a favorite for racing and sports car enthusiasts. But as impressive as the Z/28 is, the engineers noticed a small issue: when the vehicle leaves the ground during track tests, the vehicle starts to slow.

So whats causing the slow-down, and how did they fix it? Introducing “flying car” logic.

Flying Car Mode: The Camaro Z/28’s Track Solution

Camaro Z28 Fying Car — “Flying car” logic – as engineers call it – is part of the 2014 Camaro Z/28’s Performance Traction Management system. It helps maintain the car’s full power and momentum for faster lap times, even if the tires briefly lose their contact with the ground, in certain track conditions.

The principle issue works like this: When the car’s tires loose contact with the ground, the vehicle’s system senses a loss in traction and reacts by reducing torque. This intervention, intended to reestablish grip, ends up slowing the car at a time when the vehicle needs to maintain momentum. While the drop in speed may seem minimal, it can have a major impact on race results, where success is measured in 100ths of a second.

However, the engineers at Chevy have created the solution: “flying car” logic.

With “flying car” logic, the Z/28 is programmed to read the ride height sensors and interpret when the vehicle leaves the ground. Traction control is then temporarily disabled, letting the Camaro maintain speed and momentum upon landing.

Created for track use only, this system helps improve lap performance and has assisted the Camaro Z/28 to achieve a 7:37 lap time at the Nürburgring track in Germany – four seconds faster than the Camaro ZL1 and better than published times from comparable vehicles by Porsche and Lamborghini.

“Flying car” logic is available in all five Performance Track Management modes, which allow the driver to select appropriate track settings. According to a press release from General Motors, the system is most effective in Mode 5, which is calibrated for the fastest lap times.

“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.”

– Bill Wise, Camaro Z/28 vehicle performance engineer

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