As a dedicated Chevy Hardcore reader, chances are you’ve been around your fair share of classic Camaros. Chances are you’ve also heard someone mention the term split bumper Camaro. As happens with every ardent fandom, Camaro lovers have built a lot of terminology around their favorite classics. However, today, over 50 years after the final set of Camaro split bumpers rolled off the assembly line, many enthusiasts still have a hard time pinpointing exactly what qualifies as a split bumper Camaro.

The Rise Of Rally Sport

Since the Camaro’s debut, Chevrolet has offered the Rally Sport appearance package to add a bit of visual sizzle to virtually any model in the Camaro lineup. Still popular in Chevrolet showrooms today, RS kitted out first-generation Camaros with a nicer grille, hidden headlights, nicer taillights, and fancier trim. As the years progressed, the Rally Sport package became more storied and unique, and today, RS is such a popular option on Camaro restorations that, like Super Sport, it is often retrofitted to cars that did not include it from the factory.

Bring On The Bumperettes

With the second-generation Camaro, Chevrolet wanted to push the envelope even further. Notably, from 1970 to 1973, Rally Sport cars were distinguished by a pair of small bumperettes, while non-RS cars maintained a traditional, full-width bumper. Eventually, hot rodders realized that, despite full bumper cars having a completely different front clip, the hard points for the Rally Sport bumperettes remained in place. That meant full bumper cars were just a few bolts away from rocking the same basic look as their hotter Rally Sport brethren.

It’s safe to assume that split bumper, as a term, originated sometime after the second-generation Camaro debuted. Over time, split bumper has become a sort of catch-all phrase for any Camaro that’s rocking two bumperettes instead of a full-width bumper. Have a true Rally Sport Camaro? That’s a split bumper car. Got a regular Camaro, Z28, SS, or Type LT with bumperettes instead of a full-width bumper? That’s a split bumper car. But calling everything with two bumpers a split bumper car isn’t exactly how second-generation Camaro purists categorize things.

Variety Is The Spice Of Life

As many hardcore enthusiasts will point out, three aesthetic variations of the 70-73 Camaro exist: full bumper, split bumper, and true Rally Sport. Naturally, full bumper cars are easy to spot, and it’s fairly easy to tell the difference between a true Rally Sport and a split bumper Camaro. The biggest visual cue is the location of the car’s parking lamps. The Rally Sport has ornate, European-style parking lamps incorporated into its header valence right next to its headlights. Split bumper Camaros, since they still feature the full bumper header valance, have parking lamps integrated beneath each bumperette.

The differences between building a full bumper Camaro and a Rally Sport Camaro are substantial despite the fact that they can be made to look fairly similar. True Rally Sports incorporate unique lighting, a unique grille, and unique components into an RS-exclusive front clip. That means restorations and conversions can be complicated and costly. Want to learn more about the intricacies of second-generation Camaro Rally Sports? Let us know!