Chevy knew they needed to pull out all the stops in order to go up against a car as well-established and loved as the Ford Mustang. Thus, the brand introduced their ’67 pony car amidst a media blitz that they created. This included many steps that the brand did, including a half-hour movie they produced about the development of the car.
Chevy even hired Milton Caniff, a popular cartoonist from the time, to narrate the movie, which they titled ‘The Camaro’. The movie was shown on TV as well as in movie theaters. Safe to say, the tactic worked.
5 There Was Also A Touring Stage Play To Generate Hype For The First Chevy Camaros
A short movie playing on television and in theaters wasn’t all General Motors did to promote the Chevy Camaro. Another event that they orchestrated in order to generate hype for the new Camaro was to commission a stage play called ‘Camaro!’. This was a musical stage play, and debuted in September 1966.
The Camaro! musical stage play toured 25 cities in the USA and Canada, featuring dancers, a chorus, an orchestra, and of course, a ’67 Camaro in both coupe and convertible forms. Four different acting troupes were involved in the play, showing just how much GM had riding on the success of the Camaro.
If you thought a play and a short movie were enough promotion to guarantee the success of the Camaro, you thought wrong. GM certainly didn’t think so, as they had another promotional tie-in to promote the launch of the Chevy Camaro. The manufacturer teamed up with New York fashion designer David Crystal to bring forth a line of women’s fashions.
This clothing line was inspired by the Camaro, and dubbed ‘The Camaro Collection’. The tagline that these six dresses had was ‘Fashion Goes Motoring’, and anyone who bought from this collection in any of the 450 stores across the country automatically registered for a lucky draw to take home a free Camaro. Talk about marketing!
3 A Particular Sequence Of Selected Options Unlocked The Chance To Buy The Secret ’67 Z28 Chevy Camaro
Now one of the most famous models of the Camaro, the 1967 Z28 Camaro was actually a ‘secret’ optional package. The RPO Z28 Special Performance Package could be had as a factory-built race car, but only if you somehow knew exactly what sequence of options to request.
This sequence included power disc brakes and the Muncie 4-speed close-ratio manual transmission, thus triggering the construction of the ’67 Z28 Camaro. GM built this car to compete in Trans Am Series racing with a few race modifications. Only 602 1967 Z28 models were built, making it quite the collector’s dream today.
2 The 1969 Chevy Camaro Was The First Camaro To Cross The 400 Horsepower Threshold
In the last year of its first generation, the Chevy Camaro finally crossed the 400 horsepower threshold. The RPO L78 model of the Camaro gave the standard 375 horsepower. However, those with the need for speed could select the ZL-1 COPO 9560, which churned out 430 horsepower, or the L72 427 model, which made 425 horsepower.
In fact, these ’69 models were all the more special because they would be the last Camaros to ever come with 400+ hp for 41 years, until the LS3-powered 2010 Camaro came with its 426 horses
1 Chevy Built The Camaro’s First All-Aluminum Engine in 1969 Itself
Sure, every V8 Camaro today coming with an all-aluminum engine might not sound like anything special to anyone today. However, back in 1969, this was a purely exotic option. Dubbed the COPO (Central Office Production Order) 9560, the all-aluminum engine of the ’69 Camaro almost doubled the price of the base Camaro.
At $4,160, the all-aluminum ZL1 427 big-block V8 made a fantastic 430 horsepower, making it one of the first two Camaro models to make north of 400hp. Understandably, Chevy only made 69 units of COPO 9560, which makes the value of one of these babies nearly $200,000 today