Pony car Camaro is celebrating its 50th anniversary this fall. Manufactured by Chevrolet, Camaro went officially on sale on September 29, 1966. In the five decades since its introduction, there have been six unique Camaro generations:
- First generation (1967–1969)
- Second generation (1970–1981)
- Third generation (1982–1992)
- Fourth generation (1993–2002)
- Fifth generation (2010–2015)
- and the latest generation that went into production this year
Often classified as a muscle car, the first production Camaro was available as a two-door coupé or convertible. The car experienced a boom in sales in the US with 220.906 units sold in 1967, 235,147 in 1968, and 243,085 in 1969.
And while you may have heard about the never-ending ‘war’ between Camaro and Mustang here are
The Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Camaro
1- Camaro cost only $2,572 in 1967
Compared to Camaro’s value today which is over $26,000, the very first Camaro was selling at a base price of $2,572 in 1967.
2- Panther before Camaro
Believe it or not, around 2000 options were considered for the car’s name. While the car was still being developed, its creators seemed to have settled on the name Panther.
But! Did you notice how Corvette, Corvair, and Chevelle all start with a C? It must be quite evident why Camaro ended up being the ‘winning’ name out of all the possible options. And let’s be real, Chevrolet Camaro sounds way better than Chevrolet Panther, doesn’t it?
3- The name Camaro has a special meaning
When the name Camaro was first introduced no one knew its exact meaning. It has now become widely known that Camaro means companion or a friend in Old French.
4- Camaro has paced Indianapolis 500 since 1967
Since it was first introduced in 1967, Camaro has paced the Indianapolis 500 in 1967, 1969, 1982, 1993, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2014.
IMSA GT Series, Mosport in Canada, Daytona, and Charlotte Motor Speedway are just some of the sports car races Camaro has been a part of.
For the record, Ford Mustang paced the Indianapolis 500 in 1964. Shortly after, Chevrolet Camaro was introduced. Therefore, it is safe to say Camaro has been purposely developed to rival Mustang and eventually “beat” it.
5- Chevrolet organized world’s first mass teleconference for Camaro’s announcement
Skype call meetings anywhere in the world are a common thing today. Not in 1966, obviously. When Camaro’s official announcement was about to happen, Chevrolet gathered media in 14 different cities in the United States. That became the very first large-scale mass teleconference in the world.
6- The weight of Chevy’s fifth generation Camaro Z/28 has been reduced in the most unusual ways
One of the weight-saving tactics was to decrease the car’s center of gravity by 33mm as well as use light tires and rear seats. But that was not all. Chevrolet engineers went even further by making the rear window 0.3 mm thinner. They also used only one speaker, trimmed the trunk, removed any unnecessary cables, among other adjustments. As you can see, they used any opportunity they got to make the weight of Z/28 as light as possible.
7- Camaros are fast enough to be used as patrol cars in Dubai
Dubai Police used Camaro SS coupes in 2013. What else do you need to believe that Camaro is fast- fast enough to participate in a police car chasing. Coolness overload!
I am sure there are plenty other things about Camaro that most of us haven’t heard of. Do you know any interesting facts besides the ones mentioned above? Share them with us in the comment section below. We’ll be happy to read them.
Thank you!
