image credit: MuscleCarDrive.com

Chevy’s ’69 ZL1-optioned Camaro is said to be one of the fastest, if not definitely the fastest Camaro that GM ever pumped-out directly from the factory. The new 2012 Camaro ZL1 will take over that title. But the ’69 featured an all-aluminum version of Chev’s 427 big block, and it knew no mercy from one stoplight to the next.

This particular ZL1, however, is even more rare because of the “Fathom Green” paint that it wears, a GM-factory color that is one of the best-looking on the first-generation body style of Camaros. The Fathom Green ZL1 is an original 427 car documented through GM, Fred Gibb Chevrolet and COPO Connection. It features the blisteringly-fast, all-aluminum 427 that only came with the ZL1 package, along with heavy-duty springs and radiator, a specially-ducted hood and a heavy-duty, 4.10 posi rear.

Only 50 of the Camaros sold in 1969 are known to have the ZL1 package ordered specifically under COPO 9560 to qualify for NHRA; of these 50 cars built, this Fathom Green ZL1 is said to be 1 of the 10 that were ordered with that particular color. The ZL1 was a fast track-runner, especially for its time, and this Fathom Green specimen is evidence that these quarter-mile warriors could still be ordered with at least some premium options.

A classic is only as good as its documentation, and this Fathom Green ZL1 comes with plenty of it. Because it’s an original car, documented and in-tact, the ZL1 Camaro went for a sky-high price of $319k at the Barrett Jackson auctions in 2009. It seems like a bit of a stretch, but dare we remember that this is not your typical ’69 Camaro.