This 1969 Chevrolet Camaro COPO 427 was designed to flip the bird to Ford with 425-horsepower to back it up
Once Pete Estes had stopped rubbing it into everyone’s face that the Camaro was going to eat Mustangs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, GM had to then set about ensuring that this would actually happen. The Mustang, much like the iPad did to the mobile world, made its own market segment which we all know as the Pony Car. A small compact that packs the punch of a full-size, is probably the easiest way to summarise the Mustang. That iPad analogy is actually quite good…
Chevrolet began this fight with its hands tied to its back, so getting the car made and receiving praise from the public and the press was no mean feat, but it hadn’t quite beaten the Mustang yet. What it needed was even more power, but sadly Ford overheard their plans to put even more power in the Camaro, which evidently really upset Chevrolet. Like, really upset them as evidenced by this COPO Camaro.
In 1968, Chevrolet secretly decided to steal their truck derived engine, and crowbar it into the engine bay of a Camaro. Better still this absolute Hadron Collider of power screamed out 425-horsepower, this was in the sixties. What the…
With the red mists clearly taking control, Chevrolet then spread the word of their wickardry around their dealer network, and made sure that this engine configuration wasn’t widely acknowledged, or even readily available for the average customer. Think of it like a game of Chinese Whispers but rigged.
They called this the Chevrolet Camaro COPO. COPO standing for Central Office Production Order. Chevrolet didn’t want to put this engine in as it would have stolen sales from the Corvette, but for those in the know, a few carefully placed letters and numbers on an order form would create what we have here.
The vehicle featured here has the correctly stamped engine block labelled 512, having undergone a complete nut and bolt restoration with just 95 test miles since its completion. As new, if not better, than when it left the factory, this COPO Camaro has its place set firmly in automotive history.
To find out more, visit the Motorious classifieds where this COPO Camaro is listed for $69,990.
