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Written by Patrick Rall
After a year-long hiatus, the COPO Camaro will return on October 30th for the 2018 model year.In the modern world of drag racing, the Chevrolet Performance COPO Camaro is the most track-capable Camaro. It also managed to be one of the quickest of the American muscle cars ever. From 2012 through 2016, Chevrolet Performance made 69 examples of the race-only COPO Camaro. COPO cars were available with a number of naturally-aspirated and supercharged engines, many of which have proven to be 8- and 9-second cars right out of the box.There was no COPO Camaro for the 2017 model year, but Chevrolet Performance has announced that the drag strip dominating package will return for 2018, and it will make its grand debut on October 30th.So far, we only know that there will be a 2018 COPO Camaro, but it seems unlikely that Chevrolet Performance would take a year off only to release a similar car a year later. So there should be something new going on for 2018.Now, a great many features and aspects of the COPO Camaro are unlikely to change for the 2018 model year, simply because these features are still the best components for getting a Camaro down a drag strip. It will almost certainly be stripped of things that aren"t needed in a race car, such as airbags, sound deadening material, air conditioning and other on-road niceties. The new COPO is also likely to retain the ATI Racing TH400 automatic transmission, a lightweight braking system, a heavy duty rear differential with 40-spline axles, an adjustable suspension setup designed for optimal weight transfer, a lightweight manual steering system and an NHRA-approved fuel cell and fuel system. We can also expect that the 2018 COPO Camaro will physically look a great deal like the 2016 version, which introduced the 6th gen COPO package.SEE ALSO: 2015 COPO Camaro Mega Burnout The 2018 COPO Camaro could have new wheels, new tires and a new decal package, but it seems likely that we could see some sort of departure from the LS-heavy COPO engine lineup as Chevrolet Performance rolls out new racing engines based on the LT engine architecture.The 2016 COPO Camaro was available with a new naturally-aspirated 6.2L LT1-based racing engine which delivered 410 NHRA-rated horsepower. However, the other two engines a naturally-aspirated 427 cubic-inch mill and the 350 cubic-inch supercharged engine were both based on the LS engine platform. With the exception of the LS3 in the Chevrolet SS sport sedan, the LS performance engines haven"t been offered in the US since the 2015 Camaro Z28. So it would make sense for Chevrolet Performance to transition away from that platform for their future racing engines. The 2018 COPO Camaro seems like the perfect vehicle to introduce the net LT-based racing engine.With the 6.2L LT1-based engine already filling the "entry level" COPO Camaro engine slot, it seems most likely that Chevrolet Performance would roll out a bigger, more powerful LT-based, naturally-aspirated engine to replace the COPO 427. Or, there could be something similar to the LT4 with a supercharged and gobs more power expect with a smaller displacement to meet NHRA super stock requirements and to fill the slot of the supercharged LS-based 350.Right now, your guess is as good as ours when it comes to what new features will adorn the 2018 COPO Camaro, but it is a safe bet that this new COPO car will be better than the 2016 models in at least one way.All of the questions will be answered when the 2018 COPO Camaro makes its big debut on October 30th on the Chevrolet Performance Facebook page.Tags: 2018 COPO Camaro, 6th Gen Camaro, camaro, Chevrolet Performance, Copo, COPO Camaro
Date written: October 19, 2017
More of this article on the LS1 Tech website
ID: 9619
After a year-long hiatus, the COPO Camaro will return on October 30th for the 2018 model year.In the modern world of drag racing, the Chevrolet Performance COPO Camaro is the most track-capable Camaro. It also managed to be one of the quickest of the American muscle cars ever. From 2012 through 2016, Chevrolet Performance made 69 examples of the race-only COPO Camaro. COPO cars were available with a number of naturally-aspirated and supercharged engines, many of which have proven to be 8- and 9-second cars right out of the box.There was no COPO Camaro for the 2017 model year, but Chevrolet Performance has announced that the drag strip dominating package will return for 2018, and it will make its grand debut on October 30th.So far, we only know that there will be a 2018 COPO Camaro, but it seems unlikely that Chevrolet Performance would take a year off only to release a similar car a year later. So there should be something new going on for 2018.Now, a great many features and aspects of the COPO Camaro are unlikely to change for the 2018 model year, simply because these features are still the best components for getting a Camaro down a drag strip. It will almost certainly be stripped of things that aren"t needed in a race car, such as airbags, sound deadening material, air conditioning and other on-road niceties. The new COPO is also likely to retain the ATI Racing TH400 automatic transmission, a lightweight braking system, a heavy duty rear differential with 40-spline axles, an adjustable suspension setup designed for optimal weight transfer, a lightweight manual steering system and an NHRA-approved fuel cell and fuel system. We can also expect that the 2018 COPO Camaro will physically look a great deal like the 2016 version, which introduced the 6th gen COPO package.SEE ALSO: 2015 COPO Camaro Mega Burnout The 2018 COPO Camaro could have new wheels, new tires and a new decal package, but it seems likely that we could see some sort of departure from the LS-heavy COPO engine lineup as Chevrolet Performance rolls out new racing engines based on the LT engine architecture.The 2016 COPO Camaro was available with a new naturally-aspirated 6.2L LT1-based racing engine which delivered 410 NHRA-rated horsepower. However, the other two engines a naturally-aspirated 427 cubic-inch mill and the 350 cubic-inch supercharged engine were both based on the LS engine platform. With the exception of the LS3 in the Chevrolet SS sport sedan, the LS performance engines haven"t been offered in the US since the 2015 Camaro Z28. So it would make sense for Chevrolet Performance to transition away from that platform for their future racing engines. The 2018 COPO Camaro seems like the perfect vehicle to introduce the net LT-based racing engine.With the 6.2L LT1-based engine already filling the "entry level" COPO Camaro engine slot, it seems most likely that Chevrolet Performance would roll out a bigger, more powerful LT-based, naturally-aspirated engine to replace the COPO 427. Or, there could be something similar to the LT4 with a supercharged and gobs more power expect with a smaller displacement to meet NHRA super stock requirements and to fill the slot of the supercharged LS-based 350.Right now, your guess is as good as ours when it comes to what new features will adorn the 2018 COPO Camaro, but it is a safe bet that this new COPO car will be better than the 2016 models in at least one way.All of the questions will be answered when the 2018 COPO Camaro makes its big debut on October 30th on the Chevrolet Performance Facebook page.Tags: 2018 COPO Camaro, 6th Gen Camaro, camaro, Chevrolet Performance, Copo, COPO Camaro
Date written: October 19, 2017
More of this article on the LS1 Tech website
ID: 9619
