Evolution vs Revolution: A Look Back At Five Generations of Camaro

camarogensleadWith the unveiling of the all-new sixth generation Camaro at a special event at Belle Isle in Detroit on May 16th, we’re as excited as anyone to see exactly what the all-new muscle car will bring to the table. While the new Camaro and the outgoing generation might share a similar thread with their retro-turned-contemporary approach to design aesthetic, the truth is that most of the commonalities end there.

2016-Chevrolet-Camaro-SS-005GRThe incoming car ditches Holden’s Zeta architecture and instead rides on a new lightweight platform that’s shared with the Cadillac ATS, part of a new Camaro diet plan that will will help the car shed some 200 pounds versus 2015 models. On the powertrain front, the new model will borrow its V8 power from the C7 Stingray Corvette, a direct-injected 6.2-liter LT1 that makes 455 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque in the 6th gen Camaro. On the whole, the overall theme of the latest Camaro is one of a car that’s more bespoke and sophisticated than ever before, with more than 70 percent of its components completely unique to the new model.

Six generations in, this isn’t the first time Chevrolet has taken a clean sheet approach to creating a new Camaro. On the other hand, we’ve also seen generational transitions in which the visual design changed dramatically, but many of the mechanical bits carried over from the previous era. Let’s take a look back at the first five generational leaps of the Camaro and get a better sense of its evolution from GM’s pony car contender to the 21st century performance car that it is today.

Gen 1 (1967 – 1969): A Cure For Mustang Fever

When Ford took the world by storm with the introduction of the Mustang in 1964, the automotive industry took notice. By the middle of 1965, it was well known that Chevrolet was burning the midnight oil to launch a vehicle to compete with Ford’s pony car. On June 28th, 1966, General Motors held a live press conference in Detroit’s Statler-Hilton Hotel to announce their newest coupe. When journalists asked what Camaro meant, they were told “it’s a small vicious animal that eats Mustangs.

1967-Chevrolet-CamaroZ28-001-mediumMuch the way the Mustang took its underpinnings from the Falcon, the Camaro pulled much of its architecture from the Nova. But rather than using the current Nova’s platform, it cribbed the engineering from the upcoming redesigned 1968 model instead, giving the inaugural Camaro and its new F-body platform the benefits of Chevrolet’s latest engineering efforts.

Featuring a steel subframe up front and a unibody structure from the firewall back, the Camaro utilized an independent front suspension with double A-arms and a solid rear axle with leaf springs.

Part of the strategy of the first generation Camaro’s design was to make the car as modular as possible in order to accommodate a wide array of drivetrains and accessory packages so the car could appeal to a broad audience of buyers. Accordingly, when the car debuted for the 1967 model year, it could be had with no less than six different engines – several of which offered optional variants with bolstered output – as well as a several different three- and four-speed manual gearboxes to go along with the two-speed Powerglide and three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmissions also on offer.

The Camaro coupe, Z/28 and RS/SS convertible, respectively. Images: GM

The 1967 Camaro would also establish three popular trim levels which would become hallmarks of the Camaro lineup, despite some absences in some subsequent years:

  • Rally Sport (RS): This appearance package brought with it hideaway headlights, deluxe interior trim, badging, and a few exterior trinkets. Crucial to its success, the RS package could be had on any model.
  • Super Sport (SS): Along with the added visual aggression of a domed hood, SS stripes and badging, Super Sport models also included uprated suspension, wheels, tires, and a choice of either a 350ci V8 (Chevy’s first 350 offering) or a big-block 396ci V8.
  • Z/28: To homologate the Camaro to compete in the SCCA’s Trans Am racing series, Chevrolet needed to make a road-going version of their would-be racer. As a result, the Z/28 was created. Since the Trans Am series had a displacement limit of five liters, Chevrolet offered the Z/28 with a special 302ci V8 that was built for road course duty and notoriously underrated at 290 horsepower, mated exclusively to a close-ratio four-speed manual gearbox. Keeping with the road racing theme, the Z/28 also came equipped with power disc brakes and more aggressive suspension tuning.

1968 was largely a carry-over year, with minor aesthetic tweaks, though the rear suspension did get some attention. High performance models received multi-leaf springs to replace the single-leaf units used the year prior, and to mitigate wheel hop issues, the shock absorbers were now mounted in a staggered configuration.

1969-Chevrolet-CamaroZ28.-medium1969 would usher in a significant refresh of the Camaro from an aesthetic standpoint. With the exception of the hood and trunk lid, every body panel on the coupe was revised, resulting in a substantially more aggressive look for the Camaro, one which many enthusiasts would consider to be the archetype for the model. GM seemed to agree, as the fifth generation Camaro unapologetically pulls its design inspiration from this particular model year.

The road cars continued to benefit from Chevrolet’s involvement in Trans Am racing, as four piston disc brakes at all four corners that were borrowed from the Corvette became an option on the Camaro to help increase its competitiveness in the racing series, resulting in their availability on the road car as well.

Along with the minor shuffling of available low performance engines, which included the debut of 307 V8 to replace the low compression 327, a pair of incredibly rare, almost completely off-the-radar option packages became available, known as the COPO (Central Office Production Order) cars.

In what was one of the most overt “sleeper” packages ever made available on factory cars, the COPO Camaros took the base Camaro, dog dish hub caps and all, and shoehorned a big-block 427ci V8 good for 425 horsepower into the engine bay, creating instant legends in the process.

Barrett-Jackson-COPO-162163_Front_3-4_Web

A 1969 COPO Camaro. Image: Barrett-Jackson

Just over a thousand examples of the COPO 9561 Camaro would be built, which utilized an all-iron version of the 427 V8, with the majority of these cars being delivered to Yenko Chevrolet in Pennsylvania for use in the high performance Yenko conversions that Don Yenko’s dealership was known for.

A grand total of only 69 COPO 9560 cars would be built, which utilized the all-aluminum ZL-1 427 V8, conservatively rated at 430 horsepower, which had been designed specifically for drag racing duty. As a result of their rarity and incredible performance, the original ZL-1 Camaros remain some of the most sought-after collector cars on the market today.

Gen 2 (1970 – 1981): Shifting Trends Spell Big Changes

1970-Chevrolet-Camaro1-mediumConsidered by many to be a 1970½ model year car because of its late introduction in February of 1970 due to design delays, the second generation Camaro carried over much of the mechanical underpinnings of the outgoing car but featured an all-new body that was wider and longer than the first generation Camaro, featuring a fastback roofline and a more sculpted design that yielded a longer, more curvaceous hood and a shorter rear deck.

Focusing on refining the F-body architecture to improve both ride quality and handling the Camaro, the 1970 model featured redesigned A-arms for the front suspension and the steering gear was relocated from the back of the front axle to the front.

While many of the engines would carry over from the 1969 model, a few notable changes were to be had, including a new high compression 350ci V8 dubbed the LT-1 which made 360 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque that found use in the new Z28 (which had lost its slash). As a result of the new motor’s better road manners than those of the 302 it replaced, the Z28 could now be had with an automatic transmission if so desired.

1971 Camaro SS

1971 Camaro SS

Subsequent years for the second generation Camaro would not be particularly kind to enthusiasts, as a combination of tighter emission controls, insurance regulations, and the Arab oil embargo all conspired to reduce performance across the industry while simultaneously also forcing auto manufacturers to hastily update their vehicles to conform to new standards. For the Camaro, this would result in a refresh for the 1974 model in which the car grew seven inches in length due to new federally mandated 5 MPH bumpers.

cq5dam.web.1280.1280(38)GRAlthough the mid-1970s are almost universally considered a dark time in performance car history, when Ford replaced the Mustang with the Pinto-based Mustang II and Chrysler phased out the Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Challenger entirely, by 1975 the Camaro and its Pontiac Firebird stable mate had the pony car market all to themselves. As a result, the Camaro enjoyed a significant bump in sales despite the discontinuation of the Z28 model that year and the overall decline in performance across the board. The trend would continue largely through the 1970s, and in 1977, Chevrolet would end up selling more Camaros than Ford did Mustangs for the first time in history.

Gen 3 (1982 – 1992): A Modern Car For A Modern Time

After spending twelve years on the market, Chevrolet decided it was time for the second generation Camaro to be put out to pasture and make some fairly dramatic changes.

1982-Chevrolet-Camaro-Z28-1-medium

Aside from the car’s radical aesthetic departure from the Camaros past, which now sported an angular, modern design with a hatchback body style, a wide array of new technologies also came to pass with the third generation car.

rear-torsion-3rd-gen-project-respectIMG_8106

A look at the rear suspension setup of our Project Respect third generation Camaro. The fact that these cars are so inexpensive to buy has led to huge aftermarket support, rivaling that for the ‘classic’ first and second gen cars.

One of the most fundamental changes came from a thorough reworking of the F-body chassis, which now featured a MacPherson strut system up front while the rear suspension tossed the leaf spring setup in favor of a torsion arm setup. Further, the car shrunk in size slightly for the first time since its introduction in 1967, which helped contribute to its loss of nearly 500 pounds versus the outgoing car.

Unfortunately, one area which had yet to see substantial improvement at the launch of the third generation Camaro was the selection of drivetrains. The top shelf offering for 1982 was a the 305ci V8 with an optional Cross-Fire Injection system which added throttle body fuel injection to mix, but ultimately only managed to yield a paltry 165 horsepower.

281255-mediumHowever, the performance story started to change in 1985 with the introduction of the IROC-Z model. Named after the International Race of Champions, a series which had seen a driver at the helm Chevrolet Camaro take the championship win every year since 1975 (a trend which would continue uninterrupted until 1990), the Camaro IROC-Z was offered as a package on top of the Z28 and featured a lowered and performance-tuned suspension system, Goodyear “Gatorback” unidirectional tires and an optional Tuned Port Injection system taken from the Corvette which brought the 305 V8’s output up to 215 horsepower.

Along with a visual refresh that spanned across the Camaro lineup for 1985, the IROC-Z also sported unique 16-inch alloy wheels, a unique graphics package, and a deeper front valance that was shared with the Z28.

By the end of the third generation Camaro’s run for the 1992 model year, the 350ci V8 had returned to the fold, making 245 horsepower in the Z28 (the IROC-Z name was phased out in 1990), while the model-wide adoption of the four-speed 700R4 automatic and five-speed manual transmissions contributed to an overall performance resurgence for the car.

Gen 4 (1993 – 2002): Good Gets Better

The introduction of the fourth generation Camaro saw another radical stylistic departure from its predecessor, eschewing the now somewhat dated design of the previous model. And while the rear suspension and much of the underlying F-body architecture of the new Camaro carried over from the previous model, the overhaul was far from merely aesthetic.

1993-Chevrolet-CamaroZ28-mediumThe new body design utilized a new composite material made from fiberglass and polyester resin which was used for the doors, roof, hatch and spoiler. A new rack and pinion steering system coupled with a new short-arm/long-arm front suspension improved handling significantly, and perhaps most importantly, the LT1 moniker returned to the Camaro in the form of a 350ci V8 that had been introduced the year prior in the Corvette.

Conservatively rated 275 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, the new engine could be paired with either a four speed automatic or a new optional Borg-Warner six-speed manual transmission. This, along with the Camaro’s now-standard four-wheel antilock disc brakes, meant that when it served as the pace car for the 1993 Indianapolis 500, no mechanical changes were deemed necessary.

cq5dam.web.1280.1280

1996 would see the reintroduction of the SS model, an options package which had last been available in 1972.  A joint project between Chevrolet and SLP Engineering, the V8’s output grew to 305 horsepower, breaking the 300 horsepower barrier for the first time ever since net horsepower ratings had gone into effect more than two decades prior.

2002-Chevrolet-CamaroSS-1-mediumDespite great strides in comfort, performance, and overall quality, slow sales would spell the end of both the Camaro and its stable mate, the Pontiac Firebird in the 2002 model year, after 35 years of continuous production.

But while the end of F-body production was a lamentable moment in performance car history, it would not prove to be the last word from the Chevrolet Camaro.

Gen 5: A Muscle Car For The 21st Century

2006-Chevrolet-Camaro-Concept-medium

The 2006 Camaro Concept. Image: GM

After Ford caused a sensation with the retro-inspired design of the 2005 Mustang, and not long after Dodge created a stir of their own among muscle car enthusiasts when spy photos of a new Challenger concept surfaced, rumors began to circulate about a possible resurrection of the Camaro. By spring of 2009, an all-new Camaro hit the streets as a 2010 model, marking the first time each of the Big Three had a horse in the pony car race since 1974.

Based on the Holden-developed GM Zeta platform which underpinned the Australian company’s rear wheel drive models like the Commodore and Statesman, the fifth generation Camaro was a dramatic departure from its F-body predecessors.

Visually, the new Camaro pulled its design inspiration from the 1969 model, but underneath the sheet metal it was very much a modern performance car. For the first time ever the Camaro received a fully independent rear suspension while cross town rivals at Ford continued to soldier on with a solid rear axle in the Mustang.

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS. Images: GM

The RS and SS packages also returned to capitalize on the Camaro’s rich heritage, with the latter offering a 6.2-liter LS3 V8 making 426 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque when optioned with the six-speed manual gearbox (Camaro SS models equipped with the six-speed automatic received the L99 variant of the LS3, which made 400/410), as well as four-piston Brembo brakes, 20 inch alloys, launch control (on manual transmission cars) and a host of other technological improvements that helped establish fifth generation Camaro as a substantially more capable vehicle than its predecessor.

chevrolet-camaro-z28-2014

The 2014 Camaro Z/28. Image: GM

The Zeta platform proved a worthy successor to the F-body for the Camaro’s reintroduction. It would go on to underpin the universally-praised Camaro ZL1, which sports a supercharged 580 horsepower V8 and magnetic ride control suspension derived from the second generation Cadillac CTS-V, as well as the limited production 2014 Z/28 (once more with a slash), a track-focused performance model whose road course prowess put it within one tenth of a second of the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta’s lap time around Virginia International Raceway – a car whose price tag is more than four times higher than the Z/28’s.

Clearly, the sixth generation car has big shoes to fill, but Chevrolet engineers are confident the new car is up to the task. The new platform that the Camaro will share with the Cadillac ATS is a cutting edge lightweight architecture that GM designed not only to take on their rivals in Detroit, but to put the Europeans on notice as well, and if the Camaro both loses weight and gains the fantastic (yet confusingly named, at this point) GenV LT1 from the C7 Corvette, we have no doubt the sixth generation Camaro will deliver on GM’s promise.

cq5dam.web.1280.1280(40)GR

About the author

Bradley Iger

Lover of noisy cars, noisy music, and noisy bulldogs, Brad can often be found flogging something expensive along the twisting tarmac of the Angeles Forest.
Read My Articles

Hardcore Chevys in your Inbox.

Build your own custom newsletter with the content you love from Chevy Hardcore, directly to your inbox, absolutely FREE!

Free WordPress Themes
Chevy Hardcore NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Chevy Hardcore - The #1 Performance Bowtie Online Magazine

chevyhardcore

We'll send you the most interesting Chevy Hardcore articles, news, car features, and videos every week.

Chevy Hardcore - The #1 Performance Bowtie Online Magazine

Chevy Hardcore NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Chevy Hardcore - The #1 Performance Bowtie Online Magazine

chevyhardcore

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...


streetmusclemag
Hot Rods & Muscle Cars
dragzine
Drag Racing
enginelabs
Engine Tech

Chevy Hardcore - The #1 Performance Bowtie Online Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...

  • streetmusclemag Hot Rods & Muscle Cars
  • dragzine Drag Racing
  • enginelabs Engine Tech

Chevy Hardcore - The #1 Performance Bowtie Online Magazine

chevyhardcore

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Chevy Hardcore - The #1 Performance Bowtie Online Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Loading