There are not many cars that can lay claim to being included as one of the top ten on anyone’s list. But, in the automotive world, it’s hard to have one of those top ten lists, and not include Chevrolet’s ’69 COPO Camaro. In 1969, General Motors had a policy that didn’t allow the installation of engines with more than 400 cubic inches in anything except full-size cars and Corvettes. Chevrolet was not interested in building “musclecars” at the time. It was Chevrolet’s Product Promotions manager Vince Piggins that worked the system to get around this corporate directive.

He offered dealers the opportunity to use the Central Office Processing Order, or COPO, program. This program was traditionally reserved for for fleet operations, but COPO 9561 was initiated to get Camaros built and powered by the 425 horsepower L72-coded 427ci high-performance big block conveniently on the assembly line.

Although not original to the car, there is a 1969 date-coded engine under the hood.

And as one would expect, this ’69 COPO Camaro did happen to end up on someone’s top ten list. When the hammer dropped at the June, 2015 Mecum auction in Seattle, the new owner shelled out a whopping $155,000. That selling price landed this car firmly in the number five spot on Mecum’s Top Ten sellers list.

This COPO Camaro spent the last several years of its life as part of the John Wickey Collection, and it is known that this car was originally purchased from Roger Dean Chevrolet in Charleston, West Virginia. What’s amazing, is that the car only shows 17,000 miles on the odometer. We’re fairly certain that the fact that this car spend some of its early life as a race car, and then spent the latter portion of its life placed in storage, makes the mileage sound plausible.

Unfortunately for the car, it was way back in 1978 when the storage doors closed, keeping the car under wraps. The car didn’t see the light of day again until 2002.

The COPO Camaros came with your basic black interior.

This highly sought after gem has been repainted in the original Rallye Green, and features the racer’s friend, steel wheels with “dog dish” hub caps. Any COPO is a performance car, but this one also features a grab-your-own four-speed shifter handle poking through the floor. While the engine is not original to the car, it has been rebuilt using an engine block that has a 1969 date code. Possibly destroyed while racing, the original engine was removed in 1971. This replacement engine features an 11.0:1-compression ratio, and has been detailed to some very high-quality restoration standards. Unlike many cars though, this one is no show pony. The engine belts out a more than respectable 477 horsepower on the dyno. Follow that with the four speed, and the 12-bolt rear, and she is worthy of the COPO moniker.

Four Speed. There’s nothing more to say.

Just like most other COPO cars, the interior is basic black, and this Camaro came with all paperwork and vintage photos to document its heritage. This Camaro is truly “Hi-performance certified”.

We’re quite certain that this car has definitely ended up in the caring hands of a truly worthy caretaker, but we can only hope that he or she will do the COPO a favor, and not keep it under wraps for another 24 years. Note to the new owner; if you decide that you need to locate a driver for the car, feel free to contact us here at Chevy Hardcore. We would be more than happy to oblige.