The Ford Mustang can be credited with forcing other
US car manufacturers to design and manufacture cars with
personality and design flair.
The AMC Javelin, Plymouth
Barracuda and the now infamous Chevy Camaro were all created
in response to the incredible popularity of the Mustang!
The first Camaros started rolling off the assembly
line and into dealerships in late 1966, and more than
220,000 were sold in this introductory year, including
over 25,000 convertibles.
These"First Generation" Camaros
lasted from 1967 to 1969 and introduced the Z28 to
the automotive world.
Performance options initially were the "SS",
"RS" and "
Z-28" models. The "SS"
Super Sport model came with special stripes around the
nose cone, chrome hood simulated air-intakes, a blacked-out
grill with the "SS 350" logo and a 350 cu. in. engine
developed exclusively for the Camaro.
Modified from
the popular 327 cu. in., it offered 295 bhp and came
with dual resonator exhaust. Later in the year the
screamer 396 cu.in. with 375 bhp was made available.
The "RS" Rally Sport option could be ordered
with the SS, and was basically a trim package that
included the great looking hide-away headlamps in a
blackened grill with special black-striped tail lamps.
The "
Z-28" also made its debut, though it wasn't
offered as a seperate model. You had to order several
different options individually to get it and many Chevy
sales people were not even aware of it.
The "Z"
was fitted with a special 302 cu.in. engine, and although
it was advertised as developing 290 bhp, legend has
it that the engine actually produced something like
360 bhp.
64,842 "RS" and 34,411 "SS" cars
were manufactured, however the fact that only 602 Z-28s
were built makes this model the most desired by collectors
today.
