Musclecars You Should Know: Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

News and video which illustrates the capability of the upcoming 2017 Camaro ZL1 hit the web recently, showing the upcoming supercharged coupe knocking out a 7:29.60 lap at the Nurburgring. That makes the 650 horsepower Gen Six ZL1 more than eleven seconds faster around the ring than the previous generation ZL1, and over seven seconds quicker than the fifth generation Camaro Z28.

This is staggering road course performance – on par with stripped-out supercars like the Ferrari 458 Speciale and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. In the Camaro portfolio, the ZL1 has been positioned as something of an all-around athlete, capable of hauling the mail down the quarter mile, cruising comfortably during the daily grind, and tearing up the race track with aplomb. And Chevy considers it to be pedestrian enough that anyone can simply waltz into a dealership and drive away with one.

But the origin of the ZL1 moniker is a very different story. The first generation Camaro ZL1’s history is filled with secret code words, incredibly limited production, and a singular engineering focus on drag strip supremacy. Due to its scarcity and king-of-the-hill performance, the original Camaro ZL1 has become something a legend, and one of the most coveted Camaro models in history.

Going COPO

Back in the late 1960s, General Motors had a corporate rule which stated that no model aside from the Corvette would be equipped with a motor larger than 400 cubic inches. While this rule prevented Chevrolet from offering the Camaro with anything more potent than a 396 as a standard package, dealerships like Yenko and Gibb that specialized in high performance had been tuning the Camaro for additional performance ever since it debuted for the 1967 model year.

Dealerships had been skirting around GM’s engine policy by using the Central Office Production Order system, also known as COPO. This ordering process was typically reserved for special fleet orders (think taxis, commercial trucks, etc), but with the right four-digit code, dealerships could order Camaros with a big block 427 installed.

For the 1969 model year, this resulted in two COPO numbers being offered for the Camaro. COPO 9561 specified a Camaro equipped with the solid-lifter L72 big block 427ci V8 motor. Underrated at 425 horsepower, these 427 equipped COPO Camaros were an instant hit with dealerships looking to offer a more potent Camaro to take on top dog muscle cars like the Boss 429 Mustang and Chrysler’s Hemi-equipped models, and approximately 1,000 examples of the COPO 9561 Camaro were produced and shipped out to dealerships that year.

But an even more potent package was available for dealers that used COPO 9560. This specified a new big block V8 dubbed the ZL1. Developed primarily for motorsport use in Can Am racing with the Corvette, these motors were hand built in a process that required 16 hours per motor at GM’s Tonawanda assembly plant and consisted of an aluminum block 427 that used the aluminum cylinder heads from the L88 427, a potent power plant in its own right.

This gave the ZL1-equipped Camaros the performance of Chevrolet’s most powerful big block coupled with the weight of a small block 327. Officially rated at 435 horsepower, the ZL1 motor was rumored to make in excess of 500 hp right out of the box, with even more performance easily unlocked through basic exhaust work and tuning.

Packing ZL1 power, the no frills COPO Camaro could blast down the quarter mile in the low 13 second range, and minor modification could get these cars into the 11s – essentially unheard of performance for the time.

But ZL1 performance didn’t come cheap – the engine alone cost more than $4000, or more than the cost of a base model V8 Camaro, and the Camaro ZL1 stickered for $7200 in total. Despite its incredible performance, the price tag made the Camaro ZL1 a bit of a tough sell.

Eager to make a name for themselves as one of the premier high performance Chevrolet dealerships, Gibb Chevrolet of  La Harpe, Illinois, ordered 50 of the first 52 Camaro ZL1s produced. But due to sticker shock and the race-bred motor’s temperamental behavior they would end only selling 13 of them, with the rest either being sent back to Chevrolet or exchanged with other dealerships for models they figured would be easier to move.

All in, a total of 69 Camaro ZL1s were built over a single production year. And while they didn’t sell particularly well back in the day, their rarity and performance has made them one of the most sought-after collector muscle cars in the world.

ZL1 Legacy

Back in 2011, the enthusiast community watched closely as Chevrolet conducted the not-so-secretive development of a new high performance iteration of the Camaro. While many assumed it would take on the familiar Z28 moniker, Chevrolet instead chose to dig deeper into their performance heritage when they revived the ZL1 name. But unlike the original cars, the new Camaro ZL1 wasn’t a limited production model that had to be special ordered through a dealership that knew the secret handshake.

Packing a supercharged 6.2-liter LSA V8 derived from the Cadillac CTS-V, the Camaro ZL1 dished out 580 horsepower and delivered both straight-line and road course performance never before seen from a factory-produced Camaro. Moreover, it delivered this performance while also providing no shortage of creature comforts, including standard adaptive Magnetic Ride suspension and the availability of both an automatic transmission and a convertible top to go along with the Brembo brakes, additional cooling capacity and other high performance hardware.

And as mentioned earlier, a new Camaro ZL1 based on the sixth generation Camaro is due to hit showrooms late this year, packing even more performance than fifth generation ZL1. Motivating the 2017 Camaro ZL1 is the same 6.2-liter supercharged and direct injected LT4 V8 found in the seventh generation Corvette Z06. Dishing out 650 horsepower and 650 pound feet of torque, the new ZL1 is expected to sprint to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds on its way to a mid-11 second quarter mile right out of the showroom.

But as the Nurburgring video illustrates, the modern Camaro ZL1 looks beyond straight line performance now, going toe to toe on international road courses with exotics that cost multitudes more. It offers 1.02 g of lateral grip to go along with that supercharged thrust, and can bring everything to a stop from 60 mph in just 107 feet.

This new Camaro ZL1 also brings renewed interest to the original cars, and although the two are significantly different beasts, there’s no doubt that Chevrolet’s modern interpretation does the legend justice.