Chevrolet Camaro: A Revolution in Speed and Style

The American muscle car No. 2 is simple in design, contributing to its successful career. If the iconic pony car Ford Mustang, not just one, has been part of Kurbads classic car “garage,” we cannot overlook its main rival - the Chevrolet Camaro.

The Tuxedo Black 1967 Camaro Super Sport perfectly illustrates General Motors' efforts to claim a significant piece of the muscle car market - or, if not, at least prevent Ford from having the entire pie to itself. And the pie was substantial. In its first year, Chevrolet sold 220,000 Camaros - a decent result, but Ford outpaced GM in 1967, selling 480,000 Mustangs. Not to mention that during the two years, GM pondered its strategy, Ford managed to sell 1.3 million Mustangs.

General Motors launched an unprecedentedly innovative PR campaign to draw as much attention to the new model as possible. First, something akin to modern fake news was spread, suggesting the new model would be called the Panther. Then, the press in Detroit was invited to a conference call linked to 14 other cities via telephone lines - a precursor to modern remote video presentations, but without visuals. Finally, it was announced that the new model, following the tradition of naming cars starting with "C," would be called Camaro. When journalists asked what Camaro meant, they were told it was "a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs."

The name Camaro was originally drawn from a French-English slang dictionary, meaning friend, comrade, or reliable associate. While the magazine Car And Driver sarcastically noted in its first car test that none of their French friends had ever heard of such a word (it sounded more Spanish), the public liked the phonetic resemblance to the French "Camarade" and English "Comrade." Chevrolet Camaro was born and remained so for sixty years and six generations. Don’t bother looking for the word Camaro in Spanish - it only means shrimp.

The first-generation Camaro design followed the best traditions of the 1960s - long hood, short rear end, pronounced arch-shaped rear fenders, two doors, arched wheel extensions, and two pairs of headlights of uneven size. Unlike the Mustang team led by Lee Iacocca, General Motors didn’t overthink a specific style, resulting in the first Camaro looking very similar to the Plymouth Barracuda, a sports car released before the Mustang but eclipsed by it.

The mysterious hidden headlights debuted as part of the RS (Rally Sport) factory option and were also available in the SS (Super Sport) package. There were about 80 different factory variations of the Camaro, with an additional 40 from dealers, making it hard to find two identical cars among the 220,000 produced.

Top-tier Camaro SS models were only produced with V8 engines, with the smallest being a 350-cubic-inch (5.7-liter) engine delivering nearly 300 horsepower. Options included a 6.5-liter big-block V8 producing up to 375 horsepower. One of the most notable chapters in Camaro SS history is the specially built convertible pace car for the Indianapolis 500. Although the internet often claims that Chevrolet produced 100 replicas for sale, this is untrue. Chevrolet only made 100 such cars for Indianapolis Motor Speedway, later sold as used cars.

Chevrolet Camaro’s straightforward construction left little to discuss compared to its engines and numerous options. After the Corvair disappointment, General Motors opted for a primitive chassis with a front subframe and front disc brakes, prioritizing raw power over sophisticated handling or advanced engineering.

In 1967, a Chevrolet Camaro with an inline-six engine cost $2,466. Over time, its value has changed significantly, and today, depending on the model year, condition, and options, a well-preserved example can be purchased for $25,000 - $35,000. Such a car can become a unique treasure in any collection. If a Camaro or any other exclusive, retro, sports, or collectible car comes into Kurbads hands, we ensure accurate and reliable vehicle transport across the Baltics and the European Union.