LAS VEGAS, NV — The fifth-generation Camaro may be history, but the limited-edition COPO Camaro lives on!
With help from NHRA Funny Car driver Courtney Force, Chevrolet introduced the sixth-gen. COPO Camaro today at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Once again, Chevrolet will offer just 69 of the limited-edition, race-oriented Camaros, extending the production legacy that began in 2012 with the fifth-generation Camaro. The sixth-gen. version benefits from the lighter and stronger body structure of the new Camaro.
Force worked with Chevrolet designers to create a custom appearance for the 2016 COPO Camaro SEMA show car, which will be auctioned at a Barrett-Jackson sale in 2016, with the proceeds going to United Way. Force was on hand at the press conference to show off her one-of-a-kind car, which features a Red Hot exterior color with Courtney Force-signature graphics and red-accented grille trim. Under its carbon fiber high-rise hood, the Force-designed Camaro has a concept 350 racing engine with a Whipple 2.9L supercharger. The car’s exterior includes wheelie bars and a parachute, along with Goodyear racing tires mounted on Weld lightweight racing wheels. Inside, the COPO show car features an NHRA-certified chrome-moly roll cage, lightweight racing bucket seats personalized with the COPO logo and Courtney Force’s signature, five-point safety harnesses and a floor-mounted shifter. The instrument panel contains racing gauges and a competition switch panel.
As for the production COPO race cars, each will be fitted with a racing chassis and suspension components, including a unique solid rear axle system in place of a regular-production Camaro’s independent rear axle. Other details include:
- Lightweight, adjustable strut-type front suspension
- Four-link rear suspension with adjustable coil-overs, Panhard bar and stabilizer bar
- Rear axle with an aluminum center section featuring a spool-type differential and 40-spline gun-drilled axle shafts
- Lightweight, racing-type four-wheel disc brakes (un-assisted)
- Un-assisted rack-and-pinion steering system
- Fuel cell with built-in high-pressure fuel pump
- Unique racing wire harness.
When it comes to horsepower, racers can select from a variety of supercharged and naturally aspirated LS- and LT-family engines based on their intended NHRA Stock and Super Stock classes. Options include the supercharged 350 (5.7L), a naturally aspirated 427 (7.0L) engine and an all-new LT-based 376 (6.2L) engine. The engines are backed by a racing-prepped Turbo 400 three-speed automatic transmission.
Each COPO Camaro race car is built by hand starting with production hardware, including the same body in white used for production models.
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