New factory race car to debut at Daytona International Speedway — and hopefully convince people to buy the $75,000 road car.

Chevrolet unveiled its newest Camaro race car just in time for this Friday's IMSA Continental Tires SportsCar Challenge race at Daytona International Speedway.

The Camaro Z/28.R will compete in the 2.5-hour race in Daytona Beach, Fla. On Saturday the Corvette C7.R shown in Detroit last week will leave the starting grid in the grueling Rolex 24-hour endurance race. It's the kickoff for the newly merged United SportsCar Racing, which is combining the Grand-Am and American Le Mans Series events into one series.

The Camaro Z/28.R replaces the Camaro GS.R under the same Grand-Am banner, the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, while the C7.R replaces the C6.R and will field the GT Le Mans class in the new-for-2014 Tudor United SportsCar Championship. Both are factory-built race cars, although only the Corvettes race directly under Chevrolet's Corvette Racing factory team. The two Camaros are entered by private teams CKS Autosport and Stevenson Motorsports.
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The Z/28.R will fight a diverse crowd of cars on track this year, including the Ford Mustang Boss 302R, Dodge Challenger, BMW M3, Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Nissan 370Z Nismo RC, Subaru WRX STI and the Porsche 911 GT3.

It'll be a good test for Chevrolet, which finished second to Porsche last year among eight manufacturers in the Grand-Am GS class, to coax regular drivers into the new Z/28 road car, with which it shares the 7.0-liter 505-horsepower V8 engine, limited-slip differential and aggressive aerodynamics. The road car lists for $75,000
— without air conditioning — and is the most expensive, race-ready production Camaro ever sold.

http://t.autos.msn.com/features/cama...ace-car-debuts