A few weeks back, we teamed up with Gearhead Flicks and stopped by Royal Purple Raceway for TX2K15 to catch a little drag racing action, mingle with some of the racers and to get up close and personal with some of our friends in the aftermarket. In particular, we had a chance to speak with Mike and Tony from FAST Performance about the vehicles that they had on display.
Based out of Cypress, Texas, FAST Performance specializes in late-model GM hardware, offering their customers complete performance packages that you can either order directly from them, or through select Houston-area Chevy dealers, such as Lonestar Chevrolet and Classic Chevrolet.
While FAST had an SS Camaro on display with an excellent recipe of modifications, including a Whipple blower, it was the pair of Z/28.Rs that were in attendance the caught our eye from afar. Already smitten with Z/28s to begin with, we just had to take a minute to interview the duo from FAST about just what goes into what they call their Camaro Z/28.R package.
Pop open the hood, and you’ll find a 2.9L Whipple supercharger strapped to the top of the 505 hp LS7 – generating 7-psi. of boost and taking the baseline 462 rwhp Camaro to an impressive 654 horsepower to the rear tires – which, as Mike claims, will be good for deep 10-second passes with a nice set of sticky tires. In addition, it features a larger and more efficient cold-air induction system, custom tuning and unique “Z/28.R Supercharged” badging.
The Z/28’s factory F1 suspension has been left alone, as General Motors had already done a magnificent job dialing in the setup, and with the extra power, this combination truly makes for one remarkable track car. The rest of the Camaro is standard-issue Z/28, however, he did reveal that there is a much more powerful version, dubbed, “Z/28.R1” in the works, as well as C7 and CTS-V(3) packages coming down the pike in the near future.
The out-the-door price of the Z/28.R is $89,995 – or about $12,000 over the sticker price of a “normal” Z/28. He also proudly shared that each of their packages come with a 3 year/36,000-mile warranty. Tony also added that they put the time and work into ensuring that each customer receives their car back within a 10-day turnaround. He also added, that they don’t start R&D onother vehicles until they feel that they’ve made their current offerings are “flawless and everything’s going in the right direction.”
After speaking with Mike and Tony, it became abundantly clear that these guys strive for perfection and value customer service in a high regard. In the meantime, we just might have to pay the gentlemen a visit and check out their operation.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
