After a childhood spent doing absolutely nothing but watching Back to the Future Part II, you were prepared to be disappointed. 2015 is next year and still there are no hoverboards, no plastic ties, and no flying cars. But that's about to change. The Camaro Z/28 comes with something called "Flying Car Mode."
Really.
Getting airborne in any regular car, let alone a sports car or one built for the track, is normally not a very good idea. It's bad for the suspension, it's bad for the chassis, it's bad for your back, and that last one can cause a lot of very real physical pain.
If you ever see a sagging Toyota Camry, there are only two real possibilities. Either the owner was like "oh let's put some ridiculous camber on my beigemobile, that will be a great idea," or they accidentally managed to re-create their best Kenny Powers "Superjump" impression when they hit a new pot hole.
Clearly, unless you're in a rally car or a Rally Fighter, your daily racer is not made to be taking jumps.
Which is why it is so, so wonderful that Chevrolet has seen it fit to include the aforementioned "Flying Car Mode" into the Camaro Z/28's computer brain.
The system works by basically just acknowledging and remedying an overlooked problem in existing traction control theory, if that's a Thing. Basically, most traction control systems are designed to cut the power whenever the tires are detected to be spinning. That is a good thing for when you are just trying to come back from 7-Eleven with some milk and there is black ice on the road and isn't it damn near March already, shouldn't it be warm by now, what the hell is this?
But when you are on a twisty, undulating track that has more hills and mountains than Colorado, like the Nurburgring, that is a bad thing. Under normal traction control conditions, once airborne your wheels would begin to spin, because they have no road surface to maintain friction on anymore.
The computer brain in your car would go "BWAAAHHHH WHAT IS THIS" and would then cut the power to the wheels, leading you to have a weird hiccup right after landing, which is not exactly the thing you could best do for speed.
Cutting the power to the wheels at any point does not lead to better lap times, contrary to unpopular belief.
So Chevy engineers taught the Camaro how to fly.
The ride-height sensors now take into account when the car is not actually on the ground anymore, and adjusts the traction control system accordingly, keeping the power flowing.
Chevy claims that the loss of loss-of-power will give them back five seconds a lap on the Nurburgring, which you are supposed to find very amazing, but which also helped them destroy the Porsche 911 Carrera S on the lap board.
I'm just more impressed that Chevy has finally given in to the hooning dreams of silly racers all across the world, who only want to fly planes when they could be driving cars.
And that's what makes it one of the best features I've ever seen in a car. Because the best features aren't the ones you use every day. No, they're the ones you end up never actually using.
But they're great, because you know they're there. Just in case.
The Chevy Camaro Z/28 Is The First Car That Wants You To Fly