The third-generation Chevrolet Camaro is an American pony car which was introduced for the 1982 model year by Chevrolet. It continued to use General Motors' F-body platform and produced a "20th Anniversary Commemorative Edition" for 1987 and "25th Anniversary Heritage Edition" for 1992. These were also the first Camaros with factory fuel injection, four-speed automatic transmissions, five-speed manual transmissions, four-cylinder engines, 16-inch wheels, and hatchback bodies. For 1987 a convertible Camaro was reintroduced, converted by ASC in relatively small numbers. The third-generation Camaro continued through the 1992 model year.

Design The Camaro's design was dissimilar to previous generations. The large and complex rear window reflected recent advances in car glass design. The front windshield reclined at 62 degrees, thus breaking an internal GM rule limiting such angles to sixty degrees. The rear seat folded down to expand the luggage compartment, which was accessed through a large rear hatch.

1982 The third-generation Camaro was released for sale in December 1981, beginning production on October 12, 1981. The 1982 model introduced the first Camaros with a hatchback body style, and such options as factory fuel injection, and a four-cylinder engine. The Camaro Z28 was Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for 1982. Three models were available: Sport Coupe, Berlinetta, and Z28. 173,000 Camaros were sold in the United States in 1982.Renaux, p. 32 12 percent of buyers took the four-cylinder, 37 percent the V6, while 51 percent opted for the V8.Renaux, p. 33

The Sport Coupe came standard with the LQ9 four-cylinder engine. The LC1 V6 and the LG4 V8 were optional. Dog dish-style hubcaps were standard; full wheel covers were optional as were steel, five-spoke 14x7-inch body-colored rally wheels.

The Berlinetta came with the standard 2.8 LC1 V6 or the optional 5.0 LG4 V8. This package also sported unique 14x7-inch finned aluminum wheel with gold accenting and a 'Berlinetta' center cap. Its own lower-body pinstriping, gold 'Berlinetta' badging, and headlamp pockets were painted in an accent color. The taillights got a gold and black horizontal divider bar. The interior came standard with custom cloth interior, a rear storage well cover, and additional carpeting on rear wheelhouses. It also came standard with additional body insulation and full instrumentation.

The Z28 came standard with the 5.0 L LG4 4-bbl V8 rated at and was available with either a four-speed manual or three-speed TH200 lockup automatic transmission. The optional LU5 twin TBI 'Cross Fire Injection' with functioning hood scoops was rated at and was only available with an automatic transmission. The new Camaro received positive reviews for its styling and handling, but was also criticized for the low power ratings for the Camaro Z28.

The Z28s included lightweight fiberglass SMC hoods with functional hood air induction flaps on RPO LU5 cars. The Z28 had a different nose, a three-piece rear spoiler and front, side, as well as rear lower body valances in silver or gold. Just above the valance was a three-color lower body stripe that encircled the car. Headlamp pockets on the Z28 were black. Standard were new 15x7-inch cast-aluminum five-spoke wheels accented with silver or gold. Z28 badges appeared on the right rear bumper and on the side valances. On early models, if the "Conteur" sport seats were selected as an option, the passenger seat was purposefully a mismatched high-back bucket seat design, due to production shortages of the passenger seat.

The Camaro Z28 was the pace car for the 1982 Indianapolis 500 race, and over 6,000 appearance replicas were sold through Chevrolet dealers. The edition featured special two-tone silver/blue paint and special striping, red pin-striping on Z28 wheels, and a silver/blue interior with six-way Lear-Seigler manually adjustable seating. Engine choices in the pace cars were the same as the regular production Z28. The car that actually paced the event was equipped with a highly-modified, all-aluminum 5.7 L V8 that was not available on the replica cars.

At the 1982 Geneva Motor Show, a special European specification version was shown, the Camaro Z28-E. The "E" was a limited-edition version that stood for "Export" and it received British National Type Approval in 1982. The Z28E received the DIN carburetted 5-liter V8, while the 2.8-liter V6 was soon added to the lineup.

The Camaro Z28-E (RPO code ZK3 on the body tag) included a very specific and complete option package as standard, many items of which were optional on the regular Z28 Camaro, such as rear disc brakes and other appearance and handling improvements. The original sales brochure shows the long list of standard equipment, while some of the standard items clearly emphasize the high performance aspect associated with export markets such as Switzerland and Japan, where even a limited slip differential were standard on the Z28-E. Pre-production press articles show that this specific export model was first to be called GT-Z Chevrolet Camaro pictures Even though the article only focuses on outside specifics such as the headlamp covers and the unique taillamps, the images clearly show the similarity with the standard production Z28 cars - the Z28 wheels and ground-effect spoilers are present already on this prototype - which is why the decision was made for the Z28-E name instead of the GT-Z proposal. Though its performance figures are similar to those of the US production Z28 cars, the export models, in view of the difference in markets (often not yet having fully adopted unleaded fuel, for instance) did not have any of the usual emissions gear in place, with no EGR and open exhausts instead of catalytic convertors affecting performance somewhat to the positive. None of the production data for the Z28-E was included in total Chevrolet production, not even in the production of the Z28 numbers for those years. Research with GM and GM Heritage has yielded very little information, mention of the RPO code ZK3 is limited to a few hundred cars in the early years of Camaro production (1982-1983), going down to a few dozen cars for the years 1984-85.

1983

The Z28 engines were changed for 1983: the LU5 Crossfire 305 V8 was rated at 175 hp and was supplemented in April 1983 by an all-new 5.0 L L69 4 bbl High-Output (HO) V8. This engine was only available with a manual transmission in 1983. Due to its late introduction, 3,223 L69 V8s were sold for the 1983 model year.

Transmissions were upgraded for 1983. A Borg-Warner 5-speed manual transmission replaced the previous 4-speed. A 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive replaced the 3-speed automatic transmission in the Z28. The TH700-R4 automatic overdrive was also available on the base coupe and Berlinetta, but was not available with the L69 H.O. engine in the Z28 for 1983. Aside from the new transmissions, base coupe and Berlinetta carried on as in 1982 with very little change other than newly available colors.

Again, the limited edition Z28-E returned for overseas markets only. It was clearly also available in the Japanese markets, as this psychedelic commercial shows Even the casual observer will notice a standard production Z28 was used, note standard hood, taillight section and side markers, which were all different for the Z28-E.

1984

The dashboard pad on all models received a revised shape and finish. In the Berlinetta, the standard instrument cluster was replaced by electronic readouts, including a bar-graph tachometer and digital speedometer. The new dash came with an overhead console and pod-mounted controls for turn signals, cruise-control, HVAC, windshield wiper, and headlights. The radio was mounted inside a pod on the console that could swivel toward the driver or passenger.

Drivetrain changes included the discontinuation of the LU5 305 Cross Fire V8, and the addition of a hydraulic clutch linkage on manual transmission cars. The L69 H.O. Z28 became available with an automatic transmission for the first time.

The Z28's body and features remained mostly unchanged, except the fiberglass SMC hood was replaced with a steel version.

Road & Track selected the 1984 Camaro/Firebird as one of twelve best cars in the world and in the Best Sports GT category in the $11,000 to $14,000 range. Car and Driver picked the 1984 Camaro Z28 as the best handling car built in the United States.

1985

For 1985, Chevrolet introduced the IROC-Z version that was named after the International Race of Champions. Offered as an option package on the Z28, the Camaro IROC-Z featured an upgraded suspension, lowered ride height, specially valved Delco-Bilstein shocks, larger diameter sway bars, a steering/frame brace known as the "wonder bar", a special decal package, and an optional Tuned Port Injection system taken from the Chevrolet Corvette. It also shared the Corvette's Goodyear "Gatorback" unidirectional tires in a 245/50/VR16 size vs. the Corvette's 255/50/VR16 size, and received unique new aluminum 5-spoke 16-by-8-inch wheels. The new wheels were designed with different offsets front and rear, resulting in the words "Front" or "Rear" cast into the wheels to distinguish which wheel went where.

The Camaro IROC-Z was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1985. The 305 c.i. 5.0-liter TPI LB9 was rated at , with the 4-bbl 305 LG4 at 155 hp, and the 4-bbl High Output 305 L69 at . A total of 2,497 L69 IROC-Z models were made for 1985. The LB9 was available only on the Z28 and the IROC-Z model with the TH700-R4 automatic transmission. A total of 205 IROC-Zs equipped with the LB9 305 with the G92 (Performance Axle Ratio) option were made in 1985. The G92 option upgraded the rear axle gear ratio from 3.23 to 3.42.

Also new for 1985, all Camaros featured refreshed noses, and new deeper valances and front spoiler for the Z28 and the newly introduced IROC-Z. The speedometers no longer had the unique double-pointed needle that simultaneously read mph and km/h: they were replaced by conventional single-pointer units.

For 1985 a (1C5) RPO California IROC-Z was also made, Chevrolet's California Marketing Group came up with the idea and it was for sale in California only. A total of 250 black and 250 red examples were produced. They were all equipped with the 5.0 TPI LB9 engine and TH700-R4 automatic transmission. All came equipped with the IROC-Z fog lights, wheels and ground effects, but with the base Camaro's hood (no louvers), rear decklid (no spoiler), and no exterior decals.

In its final iteration, the Z28-E was released in very limited quantities for 1984 and 1985. T-Tops were not available to emphasize its sporty image, and more comfort and handling options than ever were standard. As per the sales brochure for the Z28-E, you had disc brakes, shorter steering, shorter rear axle, even limited slip all as standard. Again the Z28-E carried the 'No Cat' specification for export markets, indicating open exhausts without catalytic convertors or other smog equipment. This Japanese commercial places again a standard US Z28 on the screen (no actual Z28-E available) and mentions similar footage related to the IROC-Z: Specially modified for I.R.O.C.

1986