Let’s call this Camaro COCO for now, because it’s still a concept. We’d be surprised, though, if the COPO name isn’t revived soon to do battle in the NHRA Stock Eliminator classes with Dodge’s Challenger Drag Pak and the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet.
For the uninitiated, COPO stands for Central Office Production Order. The acronym was most famously applied to special-order first-gen Camaros that came with a 427-cubic-inch V-8 installed from the factory, but it also described any non-standard GM vehicle order that required management approval. These extra-powerful Camaros were basically set up for racing and included things like upgraded brakes, heavy-duty differentials and radiators, cowl induction, and a complete lack of frills.
This modern-day COPO Camaro has similar modifications. The steering and braking systems are both manual, there’s a live rear axle, the cowl-induction hood is made of fiberglass, and race gas is supplied by a trunk-mounted fuel cell. Most of the interior remains, although the rear seat is removed altogether, the front chairs are swapped for race buckets, there are a few more gauges in the dash (including a tach with shift light), and an NHRA-compliant roll cage has been installed. And, of course, it carries the requisite skinny tires up front with drag slicks in the rear.
GM used the SEMA show to announce a pair of COPO-branded engines alongside the car. A naturally aspirated 427 displaces the historically appropriate number of cubes, and would put a Camaro so equipped in the A Stock class. It’s based on the Z06 Corvette’s LS7 and uses forged internals and a Holley high-rise intake.
The engine in the show car is a 327 with a 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger on top. Its aluminum block is from the Corvette ZR1’s LS9, and it uses LS7 heads. A two-speed Powerglide automatic is installed in the COPO concept. GM isn’t providing output ratings for either engine yet, but we’re guessing they’re high—like the probability of a full-on COPO Camaro revival.
