In a true tale of new vs. old, we catch a glimpse of what it’s like when a modern Camaro squares off against its eldest ancestor. Today’s COPO Camaro is no joke; available with a wide variety of LS powerplants, both carbureted and fuel-injected, and displacing everything from a tiny 327 cubic inches to the big daddy 427, it leaves no wonder as to why it’s the king of the dragstrip.
That’s not to take away from the originals, though, of without which, we wouldn’t have nearly fifty years of pony car dominance in all categories of motorsport and street presence. From the classic 302 small-block Z/28 to the 427Â COPOs of yesteryear, you can’t argue the heritage of Camaro in any of its forms.
In a recent video that we dug up on YouTube, someone paired up a 2013 COPO against a built ’67 Camaro in a 1320′ grudge match. What resulted was nothing short of impressive, from both vehicles. While the specs on the classic Camaro remain unknown at the moment, the COPO is said to be 2013 car #41, powered by 456 hp 427 ci. LSX and backed by a 3-speed automatic gearbox.
As you can clearly see in the video, every one of those supposed 456 horsepowers are put to the pavement effectively, as it pulls a best ET of 9.39 at 142.12 mph in the BB/SA CLASS. The very efficient COPO was piloted by James Akter on that particular night, and is owned by Scott Libersher.
However, that’s not to take away from what the vintage Camaro pulled; a 9.90 at 131.45 mph. With the 2015 racing gearing up very soon, we would love to see a rematch between these two!
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isnât tuning, testing, or competing with the brandâs current crop of project vehicles, heâs busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.