LS3-Swapped 1988 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z Coupe Would Make Any Trans Am Look Like a Toy Car

In Z28 spec, the 1982 Camaro became an award-winning car, at a time when America’s auto industry was in dire need of sporty new models, although horsepower outputs weren’t necessarily a strong suit for any of these vehicles.

Then came the IROC-Z specification in 1985, named after the International Race of Champions and offered as an option package on the Z28. These Camaros had upgraded suspension, a lowered ride height, upgraded shocks, special decals, and even the Tuned Port Injection system from the Corvette (available as an option).

Fast-forward to 1988, and the IROC-Z was the only Camaro you could buy alongside the base-spec Coupe version. Also, all the engines were fuel-injected by this point, although performance figures were still underwhelming.

With that in mind, check out this red 1988 Camaro IROC-Z coupe with its multitude of visual and performance-enhancing modifications. The car is currently up for grabs to the highest bidder and based on everything we’ve seen in the ad, this should be quite a fun thing to drive.

Exterior-wise, the likes of the rear spoiler, sport mirrors, faux hood louvers and body-color fascias stand out in a good way, as do the custom 18” MRR Design wheels with 275/35 Nitto NT555 G2 tires. Look even closer and you’ll spot the Wilwood six-piston calipers with cross-drilled and slotted rotors.

Speaking of the chassis, the car also comes with power steering, QA1 adjustable coilovers, tubular rear suspension arms, adjustable torque arms and more. It’s not heavily modified, but enough has been done to it in order to boost your driving experience (and we haven’t even discussed the engine yet).

Meanwhile, interior amenities include brown cloth seats, air conditioning, cruise control, power windows, CD stereo and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with aftermarket instrumentation.

As for the engine, get a load of this: It’s a 6.2-liter LS3 V8, fitted with an aftermarket cold air intake (among other things) and mated to a six-speed Tremec manual gearbox with a Ram dual disc clutch and flywheel. According to the seller, the engine was taken from a 2010 Camaro SS with just 46,000 miles on the clock.

They also claim roughly 465 horsepower at the wheel conservatively, but more realistically, we might be looking at over 500 whp, which comes up to nearly 600 horsepower at the crank, which is amazing for a car that only weighs 3,000 lbs.

As for the transmission, it could take 800 horsepower if this car’s next owner chooses to boost the output even more. Although let’s face it, 600 horses (or nearly 600) is more than enough for a third-gen Camaro.