Photo: Chevrolet
In a move that’s sure to delight drag-racing enthusiasts, Chevrolet Performance is reviving a legendary engine option for the mighty COPO Camaro.
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For 2022, the COPO Camaro race car can be ordered with a 572-cubic-inch engine known as the COPO 572 or the Big Block V8. This fuel-injected engine features a cast-iron block, aluminum heads, forged aluminum pistons, and a forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods.
A little COPO Camaro history
This new engine reflects the heritage of the original COPO Camaro. According to Chevy New Roads, the COPO Camaro program came about as a way to equip normal Camaro models with massive, drag-strip-worthy engines.
Chevrolet’s Central Office Production Order system (COPO) was set up to help fleet customers order specialized vehicles. In the late 1960s, some dealers started taking advantage of loopholes in this system, ordering custom Camaro models equipped with huge engines designed for full-size sedans. These Camaros were prized as dominant drag-racing machines.
This all culminated in 1969 when one dealer ordered COPO Camaros with a NASCAR-level ZL1 427-cubic-inch engine. Models carrying this lightweight, highly tunable 430-horsepower engine quickly turned into drag-strip legends, as only 69 ever made it into production.
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Photo: Chevrolet
Starting in 2012, Chevrolet Performance brought back the COPO Camaro, producing 69 models annually and holding a lottery to determine who could buy them. However, for 2022, the program is changing to a first-come, first-served purchasing format without the 69-vehicle production limit.
In addition to the Big Block option, which doesn’t have a horsepower rating yet, 2022 COPO Camaro buyers can choose a supercharged 350-cubic-inch V8 that hits 580 horsepower or a 427-cubic-inch V8 that delivers 470 horsepower. Each car comes with race-specific parts like wheelie bars and a carbon fiber hood. Orders also include a private tour of the Michigan factory that builds COPO Camaros.
It’s important to note that — unlike the ‘60s originals — today’s COPO Camaro cars are designed for racing only and can’t be registered or driven on the street like regular vehicles.
The 2022 COPO Camaro is coming soon, and it’s available now to customize and pre-order on the Chevrolet Performance website.
A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.