The Last Chevrolet COPO Camaro Revealed As A 971 HP Monster

By Gary Gastelu |

Nov 19, 2024

The last COPO Camaro — Credit: Chevrolet

Chevrolet Camaro production ended on Dec. 14, 2023, but it was a few months more before the last of them was finished.

The final street legal car that rolled off of the line at the Lansing Grand River Assembly plant in Michigan that day was a 650 hp ZL1 with a manual transmission and the 1LE option package, but Chevy made a model that was even more badass.

The COPO Camaro was a drag racing version of the coupe that was based on the production body, but equipped for the strip at the COPO Build Center in Oxford, Mich.

Chevrolet built just 69 salute to the first COPOs from 1969 and offered it with several engine options for 2023. There was a 470 hp 427-cubic-inch V8, a 580 hp supercharged 350-cubic-inch V8 and a 632-cubic-inch V8 rated at an outrageous 1,004 hp plus one more that Chevrolet Performance recently showed off on Instagram. Literally one.

The final COPO is a unique build with a dry sump aluminum block 427 fitted with forged internals, a billet steel crankshaft, billet aluminum manifold, aluminum heads and 4500-style throttle bodies with huge trumpets sticking out of a custom aluminum hood.

The engine spins to 9,500 rpm and cranks out 971 hp and 597 lb-ft of torque that it sends it to the rear wheels through a TH400 three-speed automatic. Wheelie bars and a chute were deemed necessary.

Pricing for the COPOs ranged from around $126,000 to $141,000, but this one is priceless. Chevrolet won’t be selling it. Instead, it is a part of the GM Heritage Collection of historically important vehicles.

Whether or not it will be the last Camaro is yet to be known. Chevrolet hasn’t announced any plans for a follow-up, but the model name took a break between 2002 and 2010, so there is hope it will return someday.