2014 COPO Camaro Program Debuts a New Look and New Engines at SEMA

Leading up to the launch of the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, General Motors has offered up information on the 2014 COPO Camaro drag racing program – marking the third year of the limited edition super-powerful Camaro with a new exterior design and some new engine options for racers around the country.

The modern COPO Camaro drag racing program was introduced for the 2012 model year and since then, this limited edition, purpose built drag car has set records at tracks around the country. The 2014 COPO Camaro follows along the same basic lines of the first two model years but thanks to the facelift introduced across the entire 2014 Camaro lineup that include revised front and rear fascias with new headlights and taillights – the 2014 COPO has a look all its own. Adding to that new exterior design is a new graphics package for the 2014 model year and a new available wheel package from Weld wheels that wear the COPO name. It is hard to tell in the image above but these new COPO Weld wheels look awesome in person and I suspect that they will be a popular option. Finally, the exterior of the COPO Camaro shown above features a new Ice Blue Metallic paint scheme that will only be offered on 2014 COPO Camaro #1 – which will be auctioned off for charity next January.

While the striking looks of the 2014 COPO Camaro will help it stand out from the first 138 purpose built Chevy drag cars from 2012 and 2013, the bigger news for the 2014 COPO cars is the revised engine lineup. Building on the popularity of the naturally aspirated 350 cubic inch engine from 2013, the 2014 COPO Camaro is offered with a new supercharged 350 cubic inch mill topped by a 2.9L Whipple supercharger that will likely power the quickest of the modern COPO cars. There is also a new (revised) naturally aspirated 427 cubic inch engine available for 2014 along with the naturally aspirated 350 and 396 cubic inch engines from the previous model year. Buyer’s can select any or all of these four engines with serial numbers on each to match the Camaro to bolster the long term collectability of the car. GM racers can also still purchase the “old” 327 cubic inch supercharged engines with either a 2.9L of 4.0L Whipple supercharger but those motors are not included in the current NHRA Stock Eliminator classes.

“The COPO is helping sportsman racers around the country put the Chevrolet bowtie in the winner’s circle and the 2014 cars will be even more competitive with the new engines,” said Jim Campbell, GM U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports. “But the only way to get one of the new race cars is get your name on the COPO mailing list at chevroletperformance.com.”

The bad news is that in addition to costing upwards of $100,000, the 2014 COPO Camaro package is limited to a production run of just 69 units – paying homage to the original COPO Camaro back in 1969. The good news is that the GM Performance Parts division offers the COPO Camaro Build Book which included all of the part numbers needed to either transform a normal production Camaro into the NHRA legal race car or they can purchase a Camaro “body in white” and build their own COPO from the ground up. The only downfall to building your own COPO is that it doesn’t carry the same collectable value but that doesn’t stop it from roaring down the quarter mile in the 8 second range.