Photo: Garage Kept Motors
The first-generation Chevrolet Camaro, just like its Ford Mustang archnemesis, has ample value for collectors – it's the original, brings a lot of heritage, has great styling (especially compared to its successor), and from time to time can become a timeless investment. Especially if next to its name comes attached the COPO moniker.
Fans of the General Motors vehicles from the era know very well the history of the COPOs – the corporate brass didn’t allow for Chevrolet to use very large engines in its smaller and medium-sized models. As such, the vehicles were fitted to powertrains with a capacity smaller than 400 cu. in.
But that did not bode well with both consumers and some of the Chevy dealers (the legendary Yenko Camaro ring any bells?!), so the company found a workaround by using the Central Office Production Orders (COPO) that were customary issued for fleet and specialized versions (aka taxi, trucks, and others).
The 1969 model year Camaro famously received two Central Office Production Orders (COPO), numbers 9560 and 9561, and seeing Don Yenko order a couple hundred examples with the L72 427 cu. in. (7.0-liter) other dealers soon followed in acquiring the high-performance version.
This 1969 Chevrolet Camaro COPO is part of the 9561 order - the other was using the aluminum ZL-1 427 and its units were dedicated to drag racing, just 69 made as opposed to around 1,000 with the L72. As such, it sported a (grossly underrated, according to lore) 425 pony count under the hood at the time of conception.
Today the horsepower count pales in comparison to the pristine looks – the Fathom Green exterior paint and green interior look as if the Camaro spent time locked away in a vacuum chamber. Thus, it sports a price listing to match, at $204,900. Well worth it, if you ask us...
Everything looks immaculate, and we especially love the vintage touches of the Rosewood steering wheel – a great contrast to the car’s high-performance commitment brought about by the 7.0-liter 425-hp engine and its associated four-speed manual transmission. Clearly, that Classic Chevy International (CCI) Platinum Certificate is well worth the incredible scoring (997 out of 1,000).
But that did not bode well with both consumers and some of the Chevy dealers (the legendary Yenko Camaro ring any bells?!), so the company found a workaround by using the Central Office Production Orders (COPO) that were customary issued for fleet and specialized versions (aka taxi, trucks, and others).
The 1969 model year Camaro famously received two Central Office Production Orders (COPO), numbers 9560 and 9561, and seeing Don Yenko order a couple hundred examples with the L72 427 cu. in. (7.0-liter) other dealers soon followed in acquiring the high-performance version.
This 1969 Chevrolet Camaro COPO is part of the 9561 order - the other was using the aluminum ZL-1 427 and its units were dedicated to drag racing, just 69 made as opposed to around 1,000 with the L72. As such, it sported a (grossly underrated, according to lore) 425 pony count under the hood at the time of conception.
Today the horsepower count pales in comparison to the pristine looks – the Fathom Green exterior paint and green interior look as if the Camaro spent time locked away in a vacuum chamber. Thus, it sports a price listing to match, at $204,900. Well worth it, if you ask us...
Everything looks immaculate, and we especially love the vintage touches of the Rosewood steering wheel – a great contrast to the car’s high-performance commitment brought about by the 7.0-liter 425-hp engine and its associated four-speed manual transmission. Clearly, that Classic Chevy International (CCI) Platinum Certificate is well worth the incredible scoring (997 out of 1,000).
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