The late 1960s was a great era to be alive and into performance cars. Not only Detroit was offering a long list of powerful muscle cars in flashy paint schemes, but they were also affordable. A Yenko Camaro, for instance, which came with the 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) V8 that Chevrolet didn’t offer from the factory, came in at around $3,750, or the equivalent of around $32,000 in 2023.
What a bargain, right?Well, come 2023 and some muscle cars are still affordable on the classic car market, but the Yenko Camaros are already fetching modern Ferrari and luxury car money. The Rallye Green 1969 Yenko COPO you’re looking at just changed hands for a whopping $363,000 (including the buyer premium), which makes it more expensive than a brand-new Ferrari 296 GTB and almost as pricey as a Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
A 201-unit run is enough to make a first-gen Camaro rare and desirable, but this green beauty is actually a bit more special than a COPO 427. That’s because it was also ordered with the Sports Car Conversion Package, known as COPO 9737, which makes it a double COPO car. There are no records as to how many were equipped just like this, but it’s safe to say we’re talking about “a few” examples if not a one-of-one.
If you’re not familiar with the COPO 9561 package that Chevrolet offered alongside the 9560 ZL-1 bundle it included the L72 V8 engine fitted with a solid-lifter camshaft, high-flow cylinder heads, a Holley 800-cfm carburetor, and a high-rise aluminum intake manifold. On top of the 425-horsepower V8, the COPO 427 also came with the ZL2 package, which added a ducted hood, an upgraded radiator, and a performance suspension setup.
What about the second COPO bundle known as the Sports Car Conversion Package? Well, this one features power brakes with front discs, a larger front sway bar, a heavy-duty Positraction differential with 4.10 gears, and a 140-mph (225 kph) speedometer. This specific example was also optioned up with the Muncie M21 close-ratio four-speed manual, which makes it the perfect quarter-mile toy.
