CAMAROFACTS Field guide · 1967–2024

Model year · Third Generation

1985 Camaro

The IROC-Z arrives

Chevrolet licenses the IROC name and puts Tuned Port Injection in the showroom.

White 1987 Camaro IROC-Z
1987 Camaro IROC-Z Photo: Nick Ares, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

For 1985 Chevrolet paid the International Race of Champions series to put the “IROC-Z” name on a new top-tier Z28 option — a rare case of a production car borrowing its name from the very race series its predecessors had defined since 1975. The IROC-Z became the billboard for Tuned Port Injection, the L98 version of which came straight from the Corvette.

The powertrain and identification notes below preserve configuration and model-year boundaries rather than treating every 1985 Camaro alike. Ratings use the measurement convention of their period, and visual cues are only a starting point: the VIN, factory labels, drivetrain identifiers, and surviving documentation should agree.

Why it matters

Chevrolet licenses the IROC name and puts Tuned Port Injection in the showroom.

Engines

  • 2.8 L V6
  • 5.0 L LB9 TPI V8
  • 5.0 L carbureted / TBI V8

Identification

  • IROC-Z rocker graphics and specific wheels

Open questions

Still unresolved:
  • 1985 IROC-Z-specific count (vs the 180,822 total) not located

Research basis

Sources are linked at the page level so the model-year claims can be checked against their research foundation.