Chevrolet worked extremely hard to hone the performance edge of the new 2014 Camaro Z/28. We know this from our brief bit of seat time in the vehicle at the Milford Proving Grounds, and by taking in all of the technical tidbits the engineers could lay on us before our brains grew dizzy.
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There's bits about the spool valve dampers, measures to get the car lighter, and the use of massive 305-series tires at all four corners. There's one thing we didn't know about, however, and that is in regards to a special feature of the Performance Traction Management system.
It's called Flying Car Mode. It's clear the marketing team got wind of this because we assume the engineering team would've just called it something boring like Upforce Traction Loss Avoidance Management. Hearing Flying Car Mode, instead, gives way to intrigue.
The system works as follows. When the Z/28 is being hammered on a road course such as the Nüburgring, it can occasionally leave the ground. When the wheels touch back down, traction control steps in because it's confused, and the car loses some of its power. To combat this, the engineers have programmed the system to understand when it's left the ground, put the car into a traction control completely off state, and then the driver will have all of the power at his or her disposal when the rubber again meets the road.
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Over the course of a lengthy circuit or a race, this could shave valuable seconds off of lap times. Since the Z/28 is insanely focused on achieving spectacular times, it makes sense to have an insanely focused traction system. Thus the Chevy team has given birth to Flying Car Mode.
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