Number 69 2023 Chevrolet COPO Camaro is also the final one. Even though it rolled off the production line in 2023, the model has just surfaced online. If you are head over heels with it, you must know that it is not for sale. GM is just showing it off before putting it on display in its Heritage Collection.
The model comes with a one-off all-aluminum 427-cubic-inch Mark IV Big-Block V8 engine. The story of the 427dates back in the late 1960s, when a few smart dealers used the Central office Production Order (COPO) program to bring engines to cars that were not offered with those power plants.
That is how 69 Camaros from the 1969 model year got the 427 ZL-1. The vehicles were originally manufactured under Order Number 9560 for Super Stock Racing. Special and rare, those are subject to racing nowadays as well. But it is the collectors of Americana, racing to have one.
Chevrolet Performance brought back the COPO Camaro program over four decades later, with the fifth-generation model, planting naturally aspirated and supercharged engines under their hoods.
Those were the cars that made the rules at the race track and on the drag strip, collecting awards weekend after weekend.
Photo: Chevrolet Performance
Only 69 COPO Camaros saw the light of day. Why 69? Because they came as a tribute to the 1969 COPOs. In order to buy one, customers had to join a lottery. Every single car that rolled off the production line was meticulously built by the COPO Build Center in Oxford, Michigan.
Mike Lawrence, operations director at COPO Parts Direct and COPO Build Center, says that each one of these cars contributed to history. “From the first to the last, every single COPO we’ve built has truly been a labor of love.”
Number 69 COPO is the last to ever roll out. The model features a new, all-aluminum 427 cubic-inch Mark IV Big-Block engine, a homage to the very first 1969 COPO Camaro.
Russ O’Blenes, Director of Performance & Racing Propulsion Team of General Motors has been involved with the modern COPO program right from the start. He is also the owner of the trailer that sheltered Mr. Chevrolet Dick Harrell's ZL1-powered race car. The 2023 COPO No. 69 also salutes the racing driver, wearing the same paint and dual4500-style throttle bodies protruding through a cutout in the aluminum hood as his race car.
Photo: Chevrolet Performance
Forged internals, a billet-steel mechanical roller camshaft, a billet-aluminum tunnel-ram intake manifold, and a dry-sump oiling system are on the menu. The COPO 427 lettering shows up on the billet-aluminum valve covers. Engine builder and drag racer Mike Lyons was the one who built the 427 that pumps out a mind-blowing 971 horsepower and 597 pound-feet of torque.
A TH400 three-speed automatic transmission puts the power down through the rear wheels. The car is painted in the exclusive Radiant Red tint-coat paint, an aluminum hood and a purpose-built cockpit.
The final COPO Camaro is not for sale but will join the GM Heritage Collection. It is also one of the final ICE-powered Camaros. General Motors killed the model with no successor in sight. There are just a few examples left on dealers' lots. Rumors have it that the nameplate might return in the shape of an EV, be it a coupe or an SUV, but none of those have ever been confirmed by the auto giant.
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