The Story Behind The Rarest Camaro Z/28 Ever Built

Historically, the Chevrolet Camaro has been a people's car. The brand has seen highs and lows, but it retains a proud place in American motor history as an example of impressive performance at achievable prices. Chevy has always priced the Camaro reasonably (via Certainly Cars), generally slotting in right alongside its arch-rival, the Ford Mustang, and avoiding competition with higher-priced, full-sized GM siblings like the Impala and the Oldsmobile 88.

Cheap and cheerful has never stopped gearheads from lavishing love on a car, however. In the case of the Camaro, the magic formula is Z/28. Originally no more than a General Motors catalog header meaning "Special Performance Package," Z/28 would come to refer to a whole dynasty of tuned Camaros, road-legal but race-ready, in the same bracket as — and with a decades-long rivalry with — the Mustang Cobra (via Car and Driver).

Z/28s, especially 60s and 70s classics, are unsurprisingly beloved by Camaro collectors. One such model, however, has the ultimate collector's cachet — there is exactly one, and only one 1968 Camaro Z/28 that boasts this unique feature. Care to guess what it might be?

It had a drop top. The Camaro Holy Grail is the one and only member of the '68 model year to ship as a convertible.

Well, we say "ship." The '68 drop-top only traveled from the GM factory in Norwood, Ohio to the executive parking lot in Detroit. The first, last, and only convertible 1968 Camaro was a custom job built from the wheels up for Chevrolet's then-general manager, Pete Estes, as a means to slip performance parts into routine production (via Speedville).

The 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 was already a masterpiece. Everyone from MotorTrend to Ron Howard in "Eat My Dust" (via Hagerty) has rated the '68 racer among the best Camaros ever built. As MotorTrend reports, the Z/28 conquered Trans Am racing in 1968 and 1969, remaining competitive as late as a podium finish at the 1971 British Saloon Car Challenge.

This special one, done up in dark Fathom Green with racing stripes and a light interior, included multiple enhancements that didn't stop at the retractable roof. The one-of-a-kind Z/28 sported racing flourishes like a performance suspension, racing shocks, and a prototype fiberglass hood, plus daily-driver touches like a backlit radio face and a rear window defogger.

The late Mr. Estes's '68 Camaro currently belongs to Dana Mecum, head of Mecum Auctions (via RPM Canada). Mr. Mecum has never released what he paid for his Camaro, but per KPC News, previous owner Al Maynard turned down an offer of more than $1 million at open auction in 2006. That's quite an upgrade for America's favorite cheap and cheerful muscle car!