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1982 Camaro Z28 Indy 500 Pace Car
A Brief History:
1982 Camaro Z28 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car
Chevrolet Camaro Z28
66th Indy 500
May 30, 1982
The unveiling of the all-new third generation Camaro was highlighted by the car being chosen as the Indy Pace Car for the third time. Chevrolet provided two specially outfitted Camaros for pace car duties powered by a fuel-injected, 250-hp aluminum block version of the 5.7L V-8 engine instead of the 165-hp Z28 engine. Chevy also provided about 50 additional pace car replicas for speedway use. 6360 pace car replicas were sold to the public.
The '82 Camaro was the first pace car to be equipped with yellow lights, as Indianapolis began discontinued the use of rear-mounted yellow flags the following year. The car was driven by 1960 Indy 500 winner Jim Rathmann, marking his sixth time as pace car driver.
A Camaro paced the Indianapolis 500 again in 1982, and the silver and blue replicas of that car are probably the most attractive of the '82s. However, the T-top Z28 that actually paced the Memorial Day classic that year used a highly modified 350 (5.7-liter) V8 for motivation that wasn't available to the general public.
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