Chevrolet Camaro COPO Takes On Pontiac GTO Judge In Drag Race: Video
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The late ‘60s were an amazing time in the history of the muscle car. Horsepower was plentiful and the V8 ruled, with numerous brands going tit for tat in offering up the biggest and baddest performance machine on the street. Two examples are the 1969 COPO Chevrolet Camaro and 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge, and now, these two old-school General Motors superstars are going head-to-head on the drag strip in the following video.
Clocking in at seven minutes and 40 seconds, the video kicks off with a rundown on what both machines are bringing to the party, starting with the Chevrolet Camaro. As outlined in the video, the COPO Camaro is named after the Central Office Production Order, which was originally used by dealers to specify vehicle equipment combinations. Although primarily used for fleet orders, some dealers, most famously Yenko Chevrolet, leveraged the system to circumvent corporate performance limitations, thus creating some truly astounding vehicles.
This 1969 COPO Chevrolet Camaro 427 is a result of that production maneuvering, and sports the same L72 Big-Block as the contemporary Chevrolet Corvette. Output is rated at an impressive 425 horsepower.
Of course, the COPO Chevrolet Camaro’s opponent is certainly no slouch. Lining up opposite of the Chevy is a 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge, which comes equipped with the Ram Air IV performance option and lays down a conservative estimate of 370 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque.
It’s a good match in terms of performance, with the Chevrolet Camaro and the Pontiac GTO conforming to the rules set forth by the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag series. After running down the background and specs on both competitors, it’s go time on the drag strip.
We won’t spoil which of these machines walks away with the W, but either way, it’s worth a watch. In fact, just the sound of these two muscle cars flying the drag strip justifies hitting that play button.
Let us know in the comments if you’re cheering for the Chevrolet Camaro or the Pontiac GTO, and make sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet Camaro news, Pontiac GTO news, Chevrolet news, Pontiac news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
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Truly the good ol’ days. Great video. I’m a COPO Camaro fan and I think the outcome here was predictable but still respectively close. Nice to see a COPO with the Turbo 400 trans.
Couple expert drivers there too. Can’t imagine getting that Camaro to hook with those tires. Pretty impressive.
The thing I hate about C&Z vids is too much sexual innuendos, he can be reviewing PowerWheels and have some porn opera about it. And it wouldn’t be Challenger “What!” That’s 00s, probably be Challenger “Bazinga!” (Maybe for a muscle Prius)…
Total BS comparison.
1. Weight difference so use a Chevelle NOT a Camaro. Want a better show down? 1969 H/O Olds vs. 1969 yenko Chevelle but even then HP still favors Chevy while Torque favors the Olds so a better showdown.
2. Cubic inch difference. 427 chevy vs 400 pontiac. ” No replacement for displacement”
3. Factory lies regarding HP/trq rating. We all know the 427 was WAY more than 425hp, more like 450-500 and more than the 400 pontiac, STOCK.
4. Run the camaro against an L88/L89 Vette and watch what happens.
5. Availability. GTO Judge ram air 3/4 was an RPO, NOT a COPO.
6. Predictable outcome so watching video, reading article, and replying to this article is a waste of time but I did anyway so the less informed may know. Ignorance is NOT bliss.
Nice to see both cars were from my province of Ontario, Canada. Nice looking cars.
I haven’t watched video yet but I can already tell you what the outcome will be. Lighter car bigger motor, hmmm is it really hard to figure out? Plus COPO camaro compared to dealership bought loaded GTO not really a fair comparison. How about a Yenko Chevelle vs a Royal Bocat GTO that would make for a more level playing field.
Listening to that Judge idling I suspect that is not a factory stock machine there, and the ET also indicates that. Interesting video and sure neat to see those valuable classics performing.