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Old 10-31-2011, 05:00 PM
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Camaro Copo

Not sure if these would be here, or in the SEMA section...ah well. Still 5th Gen related. Chris just posted these on facebook.

Camaro Copo. (THIS MAY JUST BE A CONCEPT) I am sure we will know more details soon.

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Old 10-31-2011, 06:24 PM
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Re: Camaro Copo

Old news?

http://www.gmperformanceparts.com/Parts/copo-camaro.jsp
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Old 10-31-2011, 06:31 PM
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Re: Camaro Copo

Thanks for posting my pics for me! I was at the unveil this afternoon. The car sounds mean as hell! Here is the press release:


For Release: Monday, Oct. 31, 2011, 4 p.m. EDT

Chevrolet Introduces New ‘COPO’ Camaro

Concept evokes the spirit of special-order models for Stock Eliminator competition

LAS VEGAS – The COPO Camaro is back at Chevrolet, as a concept designed to the specifications for NHRA Stock Eliminator drag racing competition.

“The COPO Camaro is a proof of concept for what a Chevrolet Stock Eliminator entry could look like,” said Jim Campbell, GM U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “And it is a clear indication that Chevrolet intends to homologate the Camaro for sportsman drag racing.”

The COPO concept vehicle is designed to accommodate more than one engine option, including a naturally aspirated 427 engine (7.0L) – the same displacement as the original COPO Camaros from 1969 – and a supercharged 327 (5.3L) engine. Among the many racing-specific features and equipment is a conversion from the Camaro’s standard independent rear axle to a solid axle, as well as a full chrome moly roll cage.

The basic content for the COPO Camaro Concept includes:
Provisions for two engine configurations (see below for details)
Provisions for a Powerglide two-speed automatic transmission, a three-speed automatic or a five-speed manual
High-rise cowl-induction hood
Custom Aeromotive fuel system, with a fuel cell and integral high-pressure fuel pump
Full, chrome moly roll cage
Coil-over front suspension with Strange Engineering adjustable struts
Custom rear suspension, based on NHRA requirements, with Strange Engineering shocks, Panhard bar and stabilizer bar
Strange Engineering S-9 solid rear axle with aluminum third member, 35-spline spool, 35-spline axles and 4.10 gear set
Lightweight, COPO-specific racing wheels
29x9-inch rear radial racing slicks and 4.5x28x15-inch front tires
Manual steering system
Strange Engineering lightweight racing brakes system with standard line lock.

The interior is all business, with most sound deadening and power accessories deleted. Instead, there is pair of racing bucket seats (and no rear seat), a safety harness for the driver, a competition floor shifter and Chevrolet Performance gauges by Auto Meter.

The engines
Intended for NHRA’s various Stock Eliminator classes, the COPO Camaro concept has provisions for two distinct engine packages – each built to conform to class guidelines. The details below outline the core specifications of each engine and their intended classes.

427 327/2.9
Suggested class A Stock AA Stock
Cubic inches 427(7.0L) 327 (5.3L)
Block LS7 LS9
Block material aluminum aluminum
Crank forged steel forged steel
Rods H-beam H-beam
Pistons forged dome forged dome
Compression ratio TBD 10.2:1
Heads LS7 LS7
Rocker arms LS7 1.8-ratio LS7 1.8-ratio
Induction natural aspiration boosted
Intake Holley supercharger
Camshaft type hydraulic roller hydraulic roller
Cam duration (deg.) 233/276 @ .50-in. 244/255 @ .50-in.
Cam lift (inch) .595 .650

The concept vehicle is powered by a prototype version of the supercharged 327 engine, featuring an LSX cylinder block.

The COPO legacy
Since 1955, NHRA Stock Eliminator has been a straight-line proving ground for the quickest cars to come out of Detroit. Within Stock Eliminator, there are many classes, all defined by the ratio of vehicle shipping weight and the assigned horsepower factor. Because of this tightly monitored set of rules and historically brutal competition, Stock Eliminator is the ultimate test for factory muscle cars.

From the “Fuelie” ’57 Bel Air to the ’62 409 Impala and countless muscle cars that came later, Chevrolet has enjoyed a long, dominant position in this sportsman drag racing category. None of the cars, however, have dominated both the track and muscle car folklore like the legendary COPO Camaros produced in 1969.

In the Sixties, COPO was the acronym for Central Office Production Order, within Chevrolet’s vehicle special-order program. Although normally used for fleet orders of trucks and company-owned cars, it was manipulated by a few performance-minded dealers to order vehicles with larger engines than were available in regular-production models – mostly with the intent of getting them to Stock Eliminator racers.

By pushing Chevrolet’s Central Office Production Order special-order program to its limit, a number of dealers were able to get 427-cubic-inch big-block engines installed in a handful of Camaros, when the largest official engine available was a 396. Two versions of the 427 engine were wrangled out of the factory: COPO 9561 was the Corvette-based L-72 edition with an iron cylinder block and COPO 9560 was the racing-designed ZL1 engine with a lighter aluminum cylinder block.

The COPO Camaros opened up the NHRA rulebook to some exciting combinations for Camaro, helping keep Chevrolet at the top of the ultra-competitive form of motorsports. In fact, they were not only competitive in NHRA Stock Eliminator when new, but still hold the national ET and MPH records in several classes.


Racing enthusiasts who are interested in more information can go to www.gmperformanceparts.com to sign up for COPO Camaro concept updates.
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Old 10-31-2011, 07:05 PM
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Re: Camaro Copo

Originally Posted by jg95z28
I hope you are being sarcastic... if by old you mean yesterday's unveil of the COPO concept drag car, not just a few of the previously available branded COPO parts? sure...

I do like how the part number is on the inside of the crate.

P/N20129562






Cool car. I like the graphics too. Id like to see this thing run..


Last edited by 5thgen69camaro; 10-31-2011 at 07:32 PM.
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Old 10-31-2011, 07:13 PM
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Re: Camaro Copo

[autostream]http://autostream.com/camaroz28/?page_type=firebirdplayerthumbnail&framepage=1979& transactionid=1320106433-712042351&posted_by=Chevycobb_www.camaroz28.com&yo utube_video_id=NGoeYq0pE6s[/autostream]
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Old 10-31-2011, 07:20 PM
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Arrow NEWS: Chevrolet COPO Camaro Concept lives life a quarter-mile at a time

Filed under: Aftermarket, Concept Cars, Motorsports, SEMA Show, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, GM, Racing



What's a COPO, you ask? Back in the heyday of American muscle cars, COPO was an acronym for Central Office Production Order, which was, for all intents and purposes, a way for Chevrolet and its enterprising dealer network to sneak high-performance option packages and oversize engines past the bigwigs at General Motors and into the waiting hands of automotive enthusiasts.

With ancient history out of the way, what's COPO mean in 2011? Well, it still means performance, but there's certainly no way Chevy is going to bypass the powers-that-be at GM HQ, especially not with a Camaro proof-of-concept that's destined to live out its life at the drag strip in NHRA Stock Eliminator drag racing competition.

According to Jim Campbell, GM U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, the COPO Camaro that is debuting this week at SEMA "is a clear indication that Chevrolet intends to homologate the Camaro for sportsman drag racing." Seems pretty clear to us, too - in lieu of the standard independent rear suspension setup is a straight axle that's perfectly suited to straight-line racing. Plus, there's a full roll cage for safety.

Buyers of the COPO Camaro, if and when it becomes available, will be able to fit one of two suggested engine packages: one 427-cubic-inch naturally aspirated V8 (7.9 liters for A Stock racing) and one 327-cubic-inch supercharged V8 (5.3 liters for for AA Stock racing). The car you see in our live images is powered by a prototype version of the supercharged 327.

Check out all the details in the press release after the break.Continue reading Chevrolet COPO Camaro Concept lives life a quarter-mile at a time

Chevrolet COPO Camaro Concept lives life a quarter-mile at a time originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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Old 10-31-2011, 07:22 PM
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Re: Camaro Copo

Sorry to get these posted before you Chris. But between this and the 1LE concept, I am really liking what Chevrolet is doing with this and got a little excited about it.

Anyone have any video of it without the music???
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Old 11-01-2011, 06:41 AM
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Re: Camaro Copo

is sema going on now?
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Old 11-01-2011, 08:30 AM
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Re: Camaro Copo

It sure is.
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Old 11-01-2011, 08:38 AM
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Re: Camaro Copo

wheres all the pictures?!
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Old 11-01-2011, 02:30 PM
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Re: Camaro Copo

This is going to be interesting! I wonder how light that thing can get ...
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Old 11-01-2011, 06:32 PM
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Re: Camaro Copo

Originally Posted by 5thgen69camaro
I hope you are being sarcastic...
Actually I wasn't. GM was previously referring to the body-in-white as a "COPO" Camaro. As we all know, COPO means Central Office Production Order and is followed by a number. They're all in fact "COPOs".

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Old 11-01-2011, 06:41 PM
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Re: Camaro Copo

Originally Posted by 2010_5thgen
wheres all the pictures?!
https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/live-sema-2011-las-vegas-132/

Originally Posted by jg95z28
Actually I wasn't. GM was previously referring to the body-in-white as a "COPO" Camaro. As we all know, COPO means Central Office Production Order and is followed by a number. They're all in fact "COPOs".

So in other words you were splitting hairs... We all know which 69 ZL1 COPO's made the names famous... Although you could order parts through COPO back in the day, that did not make your car an infamous COPO Camaro. It meant you had a SS, Z28 you modified. Also a Camaro ZL1 COPO camaro was not an SS, Z28, and was top of the line so it certainly wasnt a base model. The only thing missing was an "official" name and a badge. Aside from the motors, and stickers / Stripes, the cars were very similar including the transmissions and I believe hi po Radiators etc.
To that end, as Ive mentioned before, 2 COPO prototype cars were done up with their own stickers (I do not know the design) but never made production.


In my Opinion RPO Z28 means about as much as being a DZ 302 as COPO ZL1 means about as being simply a ZL1 427.
If that were the case there have been no Z28's since the late 60's



Aside from the ZL1 there is no other COPO car. This is a new unveil 180 deg from the ZL1. Certainly not old news...

Last edited by 5thgen69camaro; 11-01-2011 at 07:03 PM.
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Old 11-02-2011, 08:13 AM
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Re: Camaro Copo

I'd rather have a 1st Gen COPO Camaro...
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Old 11-02-2011, 10:42 AM
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Re: Camaro Copo

Originally Posted by OutsiderIROC-Z
I'd rather have a 1st Gen COPO Camaro...
You and me both!
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