The COPO Camaro, limited to 69 units this year, is a hand-built race car designed exclusively for drag racing – the first purpose-built Camaro race car from Chevy and the quickest Camaro ever from the factory
Legendary Performance For The 21st Century
You’re serious about drag racing. The COPO is just as serious as you are. The COPO was never designed for everyday roads, so there’s little sound deadening, no underbody sealant, and no back seat. Because in a sport where shaving time is everything, there’s nothing better than a head start. COPO is a true racing machine. It is specifically offered for off-highway, competitive NHRA use only. It cannot be registered, titled, licensed, or driven on public roads or highways. The COPO Camaro is designed to NHRA racing specifications, including a solid axle and a full chrome-moly roll cage. Inside, most of the standard sound-deadening and power accessories have been deleted in order to optimize weight for NHRA racing. Also included: a pair of racing bucket seats (no rear seat), a safety harness for the driver, a competition floor shifter, and Chevrolet Performance gauges.
When the COPO concept was first shown at the 2011 SEMA Show, the overwhelming response inspired the decision for a limited, special-edition production run. Engines were assembled in Wixom, Mich., at the Performance Build Center, where the buyer could opt to participate in the engine assembly. When the COPO was reintroduced in 2011, it was so successful the program was continued in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Now for 2015, 69 additional COPO Camaros will be headed to the drag strip to carry on the tradition.
A 69-car production was selected to commemorate the original number of ZL-1 COPO Camaros made in 1969. COPO — which stands for Central Office Production Order — was Chevrolet's special-order system, notoriously used by dealers in the 1960s to build high-performance models that couldn't be found anywhere else. The second-coming of the COPO name is an extension of the legacy started in 1969, when the first purpose-built Camaro drag-racing specialty car was designed to compete with the quickest in NHRA's Stock Eliminator and Super Stock classes. National records for quarter-mile times in these contests are in the 9-second range.
The latest COPO Camaros are designed for NHRA’s Stock Eliminator and Super Stock classes, and buyers can select from a variety of supercharged and naturally aspirated LS-family engines (350, 396 and 427) depending on what class they intend to compete in. Chevy offers a special COPO Camaro Build Book that provides details on the assembly of competition-spec cars as well as information on NHRA classification and compliant aftermarket parts.
