Creative ad turns 1986 Cavalier into a 'performance' Z24

(April 16, 2015) One of the great advertising lines of the mid-80s has to be the one describing the new 1986 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 — "The quick little fox raised by wolves."

If that didn't raise your automotive excitement level 30 years ago then nothing would. Like a Corvette or a Camaro, the ad proclaimed. A Cavalier? Perhaps heard across the country after viewing the ad was the plea, "Honey, please, we need to head to the Chevy store and take a look."

The Cavalier had the looks with rally wheels and full-body ground effects. And it was outfitted with a F41 sport suspension. Considerably more potent for the time than it is today, the front-driven Z24 was outfitted with a 120-horsepower 2.8-liter V-6 mated to a four-speed manual transmission. Zero to 60 time was published at 8.9 seconds with a top speed of 116 mph. Slow by 2015 standards, but considerably more performance than was available from the standard Cavalier that came with a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder making 88 horsepower.

The Z24 had an attraction and enjoyed robust sales making General Motors' decision to create a performance version of the Cavalier — influenced by the macho Camaro Z/28 a good one.

It appears that the film crew shooting the ad for the '86 Cavalier coupe got a big surprise when it morphed into the Z24 before their eyes.

Enjoy the short video.