GM Revives COPO Camaro as NHRA Stock Eliminator Dragster

[stand-al0ne]

I want a COPO Camaro for the street! This car is too cool!

I wasnt around for the original COPO's, but its awesome to learn the history and know they are remaking them for today.

Def a cool cool car!

[crateish]

Good placement for the gauges. The 2012 Turbo Beetle shows us even better where the gauges should be in our Camaros.

[Caliman93230]

this concept bull is for publicity. gm should man up and have some one race it and see how it does then people are going to decide if its worth it or not.

[blazzin1]

Originally Posted by nhra stocker

The way NHRA determines ones class is the horsepower given by the manufacturer in the NHRA classification guide divided by the cars shipping weight. The classes are based on half pound weight increments. The fastest being AA/S or AA/SA which is 7.5-7.99lbs then A/S or A/SA 8.0-8.49lbs and so on. So for the COPO to fit in AA with a 427 (505hp if thats what GM claims) its minimum weight would be 3790LBS!

Good info to know, thanks for sharing. Now we just need to get some more accurate numbers (i.e. hp/weight) from GMPP on this car. I'm anxious to hear more about this N/A 427 (LS7) engine too!?!?!?

[SJM]

Originally Posted by blazzin1

Did anyone else notice.....BOGART Wheels!?!?!?....Sweet!!! Love 'em!!!

Those are a special design created specifically for that car. It was to be sort of a throwback design. I think it came out rather nice as well :-).

The GM staff appeared to have really liked the concept. I think its a winner! I was glad to see it being presented with the car. We weren't sure if it was going to be on the car for the unveiling. I was trying to get down there for the unveiling and meeting up with a few other people who I wanted to see...I wish I could have been there with Rich Bogart when it was released from the cage.

[shank0668]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

At the GM Preview the night before SEMA and at the GM SEMA Unveil and Announcements the speakers mentioned there was a 427 in 'development' That was an interesting detail they left sort of hanging out there. 427 in development for the COPO. Hmmm

I even bet you would have some "insider" info you can't share.

[SJM]

I cannot share any information and the ongoing work which is being performed. Sorry. Details will come out shortly.

[navyblueSS]

Wow, very nice!

[1BADZL1]

..and yall thought I lost MY mind.. chevy has...

[calegarrison]

wow

[Q-ship]

Originally Posted by Hylton

:( Got to find a way to get this bad boy on the street legally.

No way, no how, it can't happen. It will fail crash testing due to the injuries the cage would cause to the unhelmeted driver, the fuel cell would be a big failure in crash testing. Remember that the crash test dummies (I am not talking about the street idiots) do not wear helmets, the force numbers would spike just a bit when the head contacts the cage in a crash. GM would be out of profits pretty quickly paying off the suits of the relatives that had loved ones left brain dead from a crashes if they were allowed on the street. Then there would be cost to sent it through crash testing (and emissions), are you ready for your 150k Camaro. The Cobra Jet and Race Challegers are just under 100k, so the crash and emission testing would send the cost well over them and the limited market would have to pay for itself (that means GM will not give you street race car and eat the cost).

If the crash testing did not finish off the idea of making it street legal, then emission will help that idea sink in. Both of those engines will have to go through all the same testing as any production engine to pass federal (and Cali) emissions. How well do you think the COPO will do compared to the Cobra Jet when it carries the weight and choking equipment like catalytic converters. How the heck would GM get the fuel cell to pass the emission part of the testing too? There still would be the EPA fuel mileage numbers to deal with too, Yikes a race car with 4.11's and a Powerglide trans....can you say GPM?

So are you ready to buy a 150K Street legal 2012 COPO Camaro that would not have the cage or the fuel cell, and that is only if GM sends it through crash testing (the new rear sub-frame with its solid axle will have to be tested too). That is if GM does the emission certification of the new engines, not to even say what the fuel mileage numbers would do to GM's CAFE averages. Besides GM does not sell vehicles through GMPP.

Street legal is not going to happen..........ever, sorry Charlie.

[Hylton]

Originally Posted by Q-ship

No way, no how, it can't happen. It will fail crash testing due to the injuries the cage would cause to the unhelmeted driver, the fuel cell would be a big failure in crash testing. Remember that the crash test dummies (I am not talking about the street idiots) do not wear helmets, the force numbers would spike just a bit when the head contacts the cage in a crash. GM would be out of profits pretty quickly paying off the suits of the relatives that had loved ones left brain dead from a crashes if they were allowed on the street. Then there would be cost to sent it through crash testing (and emissions), are you ready for your 150k Camaro. The Cobra Jet and Race Challegers are just under 100k, so the crash and emission testing would send the cost well over them and the limited market would have to pay for itself (that means GM will not give you street race car and eat the cost).

If the crash testing did not finish off the idea of making it street legal, then emission will help that idea sink in. Both of those engines will have to go through all the same testing as any production engine to pass federal (and Cali) emissions. How well do you think the COPO will do compared to the Cobra Jet when it carries the weight and choking equipment like catalytic converters. How the heck would GM get the fuel cell to pass the emission part of the testing too? There still would be the EPA fuel mileage numbers to deal with too, Yikes a race car with 4.11's and a Powerglide trans....can you say GPM?

So are you ready to buy a 150K Street legal 2012 COPO Camaro that would not have the cage or the fuel cell, and that is only if GM sends it through crash testing (the new rear sub-frame with its solid axle will have to be tested too). That is if GM does the emission certification of the new engines, not to even say what the fuel mileage numbers would do to GM's CAFE averages. Besides GM does not sell vehicles through GMPP.

Street legal is not going to happen..........ever, sorry Charlie.

GM has nothing to do with my point. Not sure what the laws are in California but we are able to built kit cars and homemade cars here in Ontario. Whatever you build must go through a safety and emmision inspections and once passed, Ontario will issue a VIN for the vehicle. Sounds pretty rediculous that some guy can build a car from scratch or build a fibreglass AC Cobra or '32 Ford with 800HP and legally put it on the road yet it's just "not going to happen" with this car.

[Q-ship]

Originally Posted by Hylton

GM has nothing to do with my point. Not sure what the laws are in California but we are able to built kit cars and homemade cars here in Ontario. Whatever you build must go through a safety and emmision inspections and once passed, Ontario will issue a VIN for the vehicle. Sounds pretty rediculous that some guy can build a car from scratch or build a fibreglass AC Cobra or '32 Ford with 800HP and legally put it on the road yet it's just "not going to happen" with this car.

There are plenty here who think that GM should make it street legal, which is the real point. I don't know about the laws in Canada, but the loop hole you think you can use will not fly here in the US. Emissions would kill it under trying to sneak it through, most states that I know would go by the body (a 2010-2012 Camaro) for the standards it would be required to pass for saftey and emissions. There maybe a state with a loop hole but that state still needs to get highway funds from the Feds and the COPO Camaro is not EPA or DOT legal, so any state that did it would get its hand slapped very hard very quickly.

[Hylton]

Originally Posted by Q-ship

There are plenty here who think that GM should make it street legal, which is the real point. I don't know about the laws in Canada, but the loop hole you think you can use will not fly here in the US. Emissions would kill it under trying to sneak it through, most states that I know would go by the body (a 2010-2012 Camaro) for the standards it would be required to pass for saftey and emissions. There maybe a state with a loop hole but that state still needs to get highway funds from the Feds and the COPO Camaro is not EPA or DOT legal, so any state that did it would get its hand slapped very hard very quickly.

If someone used the same set-up as in a Z06 Vette, how would that fail emmisions?