Driving the 1969 Chevy Camaro Z/28 and its 2014 successor, for history

“If this storm hits, we’re screwed. I don’t mind the raindrops,” he said, “but what concerns me is getting the underside all messed up with dirt.”

A Carolina Blue, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, the only one of its kind in existence, shone under the bright lights at Mecum Auctions in Indianapolis. It was rolling onto the auction block in just 48 hours – expected to fetch around $400,000 – so I could appreciate Mecum’s concerns. I looked at my watch. It read 8 a.m.: “When is this storm due to hit?” I asked.

“Now, so you should probably get out there,” I was told. “By the way, where’s this brand-new Z/28 at?”

Few cars drew as much excitement as when Chevrolet announced the rebirth of its iconic moniker. That was over a year ago now, and yet production is only just beginning. Engineers have treated their new baby like a fine wine – requiring a seasoned mouthful of fillet and a slow decant to remove unwanted sediment. And this unhurried, methodical process worked, as I discovered for myself a handful of weeks ago at the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. From behind the wheel, the 2014 Camaro Z/28 astonishes.

The ’69 Z/28, however, remains a machine many deem to be one of the greatest muscle cars of them all – a roaming billboard of red, white and blue; Hendrix embodied in metal. The fine folks at Mecum Auctions allowed me to test-drive the legendary car, while I brought along its modern-day counterpart for comparison. It was set to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but it would all be for nothing if I didn’t beat this blasted rain.

I trailed Mecum’s chief mechanic aboard a black golf cart – all the while inhaling the 69’s pungent fumes and humming “Lay Lady Lay” uncontrollably. We pulled over on a quiet road, and while I got myself settled behind the wheel, I was offered words of wisdom from the man that had tuned her up ready for auction: “Just baby the throttle, but keep the revs up,” he said. “Like any old car, she’s temperamental, but she runs real sweet.”

There’s something about an old V-8 that transports you back in time. It was Woodstock, Aug. 15, 1969. 500,000 unkempt youths, high on life, rocking to the likes of Jimi, Joplin, and The Who. The 302 cubic-inch motor roared, and I imagined Neil Armstrong’s giant leap, military jackets festooned in peace signs, and headbands shielding wild, unruly hair. Those that lived that glorious era were blissfully unaware that just a few years later – after skyrocketing fuel prices, insurance hikes and stifling EPA mandates – that era was about to end.

When the Z/28 returned in 1977, long gone was the 350 hp V-8, replaced by a lump maxing out at just 185 hp. Times had changed, and car culture has never been the same since.

For 2014, Chevrolet promised to do justice to the original Z/28. A suitable 7.0-liter V-8 found its way under the hood, pushing 505 hp. Air conditioning and a stereo became a $1,500 option; carbon ceramic brakes arrived standard, as did special Multimatic dampers. The tires were near-slick race rubber, because the Z/28 was always intended to be a racecar for the street.

Named not after a wild horse or toothy fish, the Z/28 moniker was merely a production order number (RPO Z28, following the Camaro SS which was Z27). Vincent Piggins, a veteran Chevy engineer and the man behind the Hudson Hornet’s NASCAR championships from the ‘50s, was responsible for convincing company execs of the need for such a performance car.