The first-generation Chevrolet Camaro has many achievements to brag about, but there’s no denying that the 1969 COPO is the main highlight of that era. Born as a way around GM’s ban on midsize and smaller cars with engines larger than 400 cubic inches (6.6 liters), the COPO Camaro spawned not one but two muscle cars.
The COPO 9560 is the rarest of the two and sports an all-aluminum 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) V8 engine. Called the ZL-1, this mill was created with racing in mind and found its way into the Camaro thanks to drag racer Dick Harrell. The ZL-1 was ordered through Fred Gibb Chevrolet in Illinois for NHRA Super Stock racing. Chevrolet built just 69 units.
The COPO 9561 doesn’t have an aluminum mill but also packs a massive 427-cubic-inch V8. It’s the iconic solid-lifter L72, which was available in the Impala and Corvette at the time. Rated at 425 horsepower, only five horses below the ZL-1, the L72 was fitted in the Camaro’s engine bay thanks to Yenko Chevrolet.
Don Yenko asked Chevrolet to equip 201 Camaros with the big-block V8. Chevrolet agreed and ended up making nearly 1,000 vehicles after other dealers, including Baldwin-Motion and Nickey, found out about the COPO option. Even though the L72 is not as rare and expensive as the ZL-1, it’s still a very desirable Camaro. The LeMans Blue example you see here is one of the finest in existence.
Certified by Camaro expert Jerry MacNeish, this 1969 COPO L72 has quite a few features to brag about. For starters, it looks like it just left the assembly line thanks to a meticulous nut-and-bolt restoration. The process was fully documented with photos, while the car’s ownership history is also available and includes interviews with the previous owners.
Speaking of which, it’s one of those COPOs that was purchased for racing. The Camaro was drag-raced extensively from 1970 until around 1977. Its quarter-mile career included runs in the Super Stock D class as “Rats Nest.” Once retired, the Camaro wasn’t driven much, either. The odometer shows only 15,883 original miles (25,561 km).
How original is this Camaro, you ask? That’s a legit question because many muscle cars that have been raced back in the day lost many of their original components. Well, this Camaro got lucky because it still features all of the original sheet metal except for the front fenders and trunk lid. The interior is also highly original, with only the headliner, dash pad, and carpeting having been replaced.
Moving over to one of the most important bits in a rare classic car, this Camaro no longer rocks its numbers-matching L72 engine. However, it relies on an authentic and correct L72 that has been rebuilt to factory specifications, which makes it the next best thing to a matching COPO. The same goes for the M22 four-speed manual transmission.
But this didn’t stop the Camaro from winning the Gold Certificate at MCACN (Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals) and from being featured in the Hemmings Muscle Machines and All Chevy Performance magazines in recent years. It also didn’t stop enthusiasts from placing a high bid of $199,427 on Bring a Trailer. The auction will go on for six more days, so this Camaro will definitely exceed the $200,000 mark.
If it goes past $250,000, this Camaro will be one of only four COPO L72s to do so. But I guess we’ll have to wait nearly a week to see what happens. Meanwhile, take a virtual ride in this muscle car by hitting the play button below.
