Meet the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro Indy 500 Festival Cars

For years, Chevrolet has been provided the “Festival Cars” for the Indianapolis 500 race and for the 2017 running of the fabled American race, the Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible has been chosen at the official festival car. Festival cars will be used in the weeks leading up to the race by race officials, track officials and event VIPs as they travel around the metro Indianapolis – providing free advertising for an event which really doesn’t need any advertising at all.

In the past, GM would make 51 Festival Cars for the Indy 500 and when the officials were done with them and the race had been run, the then-used cars would be shipped to dealerships around the Indianapolis area. This was an awesome chance for Indy and Camaro fans to grab a piece of racing history, but the downfall was that those cars had been used – so they were technically used cars with lower values.

In order to offer fans brand new Festival Cars, Chevrolet began providing 101 cars in 2015, with 51 being slated for normal festival use while the other 50 are immediately sent to dealerships for sale as brand new cars.

Earlier this week, those 101 Chevrolet Camaro Festival Cars were delivered to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with 51 being intended for official use and the other 50 heading for local dealerships – some of which could be on sale right now.

"Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is such a special part of Chevrolet's history, and we are extremely proud of our longstanding partnership with this iconic racetrack," said Jeff Chew, senior manager of strategic planning and operations for Chevrolet Racing. "It is a pleasure for Chevrolet to support the efforts of the 500 Festival board members with these special Camaros, as they serve as ambassadors for the Speedway and the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 in their communities and generate excitement ahead of the event."

The 2017 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible Indy 500 Festival Cars
The Indy 500 Festival Cars are based on the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible, fitted with the 455hp LT1 V8 and an automatic transmission, along with the normal features of the Camaro 2SS.

The Indianapolis 500 Festival Cars get the unique package designation of Z4Z, which signifies that it has a Summit White exterior with a body-length blue center stripe, red fender hashmarks, a black convertible top, a gloss black front splitter, red grille accents, black bowtie badges, an Adrenaline Red leather interior and the unmistakable Indy 500 logos on the doors.

Every one of the 101 2017 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible Festival Cars is the exact same, so every dealership which has one (or more) for sale will have the same car – and if you wait long enough, you can also score one of the actual Festival Cars used by Indy 500 race officials.

Image: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Facebook Page