Americans clamored for a muscular, powerful, sporty car for the street and for tire-smoking bragging rights in the early 1960s, and Ford answered the bell with Mustang in 1964, launching the Pony Car Wars. Chevrolet’s stable of competing vehicles at that time was limited to the rear-engine Corvair and the Chevy II Nova, with “Super Nova” on engineers’ drawing boards. GM answered the call, attacked the genre, and in two years, put out a vehicle to compete for the 1967 model year … the Camaro.

Camaro began as Project XP-836, code-named “Panther”, but the vehicle was always intended, by Chevy leaders to have a “C” letter name to perpetuate the legacy begun by Corvair, Chevelle, Chevy II and Corvette. Legend dictates that when marketing leaders discovered a slang French word meaning “pal, friend or comrade,” Camaro was born (though “Camaro” is not recognized in the French language). When Chevrolet product managers were asked what “Camaro” means, they responded with “a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs.” And The Pony Wars of American muscle was born.

Down the boulevards, across the highways and on the track, Camaro enjoyed a stellar reputation for being sexy, fast and reliable. Camaro was one of the prominent vehicles in the SCCA-sanctioned Trans-Am Series, as Chevrolet contracted with Roger Penske to operate their "unofficial" factory-backed Trans-Am team. The team won the title in 1968 and 1969 with Mark Donohue behind the wheel, and Jim Hall’s Chaparral team replaced Penske for the 1970 season. Beginning in 1975, Camaro was the official car of, and used in the International Race of Champions until 1989, making it the first American car of the series. Camaro has been an Indianapolis 500 Pace car eight times, and a NASCAR Xfiniti Series, stock car since 2017.

Through six generations, 5.5 million Camaros have been sold, with its first four generations produced from 1967 through 2002, and its most recent two generations built from 2010 through the present. From its inception, Camaro has been fast, exciting, popular with the public and a frequent star of the Silver Screen, from appearing in “The Gumball Rally” in 1976 to “2 Fast 2 Furious” in 2003 to “Transformers” as “Bumblebee” in 2007, and dozens more featured roles.

Each of Camaro's generations has had its own Camaroesque personality and its own following.

1967-1969
Hitting the streets in two-door coupé or convertible with 2+2 seating, and a choice of 230 ci., 250 ci. inline-6, or 302 ci., 307 ci., 327ci, 350 ci., and 396 ci. V-8s, on a new rear-wheel drive GM-F body that was eventually shared with the Pontiac Firebird. The First-Generation offered standard, Super Sport, and Rally Sport editions. Power during Gen-One ranged from 140hp for the 230 ci. Six-cylinder, to 425hp for a 427. The 427 could do a quarter-mile in 13 seconds, and the popular 327 was a 10.7 zero-to-60 mph car with an 18.2-second quarter-mile.

1970-1981
Restyled larger and wider for Gen-Two, the new Camaro had a similar frame, subframe and suspension, but later in the run in 1980 and ’81, Z28 models included an air induction hood scoop with an intake door that opened under full throttle. Engine size went from a 5.7-liter, 360-hp LT-1 engine to an emission-requirement drop in 1975 to only 155 horsepower. Track times were often disappointing at 11.0 seconds for a zero-to-60 run and a 17.4-second quarter mile. However, the Z28 could blast a 5.8-second sprint and a 14.2-second quarter.

1982-1992
Gen-Three was the first Camaro with modern fuel injection, four-speed automatics or five-speed sticks, 14-,15- or 16-inch wheels, and hatchback models. The cars were nearly 500 pounds lighter than the Second-Generation model.

Convertibles, discontinued in 1969, returned in 1987 and all base models were outfitted with a 2.8 L V6 (OHV). In 1985, the direct-injection 305 ci. small block V8 was available and in 1987, the L98 350 ci. V8 engine became a regular option on the IROC-Z. Top power models could track run at 8.6 seconds for the sprint and 16.4 for the quarter.

1993-2002
Gen-Four saw an updated F-Body platform and returned to 1967’s coupé body style with 2+2 seating (with an optional T-Top roof) or convertible (reintroduced in 1994). The standard powerplant from 1993 to 1995 was a 3.4 L V6, and a 3.8 L V6 was introduced in 1995. The Z28 trim utilized Corvette’s LT1 275-hp 350 ci. small-block V-8 engine and in 1996-’97, a limited number of Camaro SS models came with the 330-hp LT4 small block from the Corvette, although most were equipped with the 275 hp LT1. Again, Z28s were speed performers with track times as quick as a 5.4 sprint and 14.0 seconds for the quarter-mile.

2010-2015
Bumblebee was the “Transformers” star and Camaro came back after an eight-year hiatus with a complete redesign. Gen-Five saw LS and LT models powered by a 3.6 L V6 producing 312 hp mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic with manual shift. The SS had the 6.2 L LS3 V8 and 426 hp. Top stock Camaros could finish off a dash in 6.1 seconds and a quarter-mile in 14.5.

2016—present
The Sixth-Gen Camaro, built on the GM Alpha platform, comes with such engine choices as a 275-hp  2.0 L turbo-charged inline-four; a new 335-hp 3.6 L V6 and for the SS trim, a 455-hp 6.2 L LT1 V8. The super-powered ZL1 has a supercharged 650-hp LT4 based on the Corvette Z06. For 2021, the ZL1 can blaze a 3.5-second zero-to-60mph run and a 12.2-second quarter-mile, and outfitted for today’s high-tech capability, they come with a rear camera, navigation, 8-inch diagonal color screen and all the connectivity demanded by today’s drivers.

You can see all six generations of Camaro, as well as more than 1,000 GM cars that cross more than 100 years of GM history, at the Carlisle AGM Nationals, at the Carlisle, PA Fairgrounds, June 25-26.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

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