Why Is This Rad ’80s Camaro Mule Testing at GM’s Milford Proving Grounds? Jalopnik
Patrick George
Jul 15, 2019
But this is no ordinary Camaro as witnessed by the Manufacturer plate and a sticker on the windshield that allows it access to the Milford proving grounds.
We followed the Camaro closely for some time, counted the shift pattern and noticed that it was shifting using a six-speed manual transmission. The engine, meanwhile, sounds like a GM’s current Small Block V8. This Camaro prototype also has a roll cage, twin dual exhaust tips, a raised hood hood, and GM Performance Parts badges on the sides and back.
This would not be the first time GM used a third-gen Camaro for testing purposes. Back in 2014, it tested a third-generation Camaro alongside a camouflaged sixth-generation Camaro as a sort of ultra-camouflage.
95% chance it's just a test mule for a Chevrolet Performance Parts crate engine. I remember going to the GM Desert Proving Grounds around 2003, I think it was the 50th anniversary of the Corvette, but I knew the head of V8 powertrain development at the time and I saw the test cars where they were developing the ZZ572 crate engine. One was a teal C4 Vette convertible, and there was another truck, I believe it was a 454SS pickup, where they were testing transmission durability by doing neutral drops, and slapping it from R to D, etc. They had a ton of used up drag radials in stacks as a result of a lot of this "testing".
Good days back then. If only they'd have left the Proving Grounds up here in Mesa, and I used my connection to get in there which was my plan up until they moved it to Yuma. My life would probably be very different from what it is today.
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