Imagine you had access to a car company’s most advanced race engine – Ford’s Supercars V8, for instance. And if you buttered up the right people, you could have it in the Mustang you just ordered, 480kW/650Nm and all.

Then you’d know what it was like to be Fred Gibb in 1969. First a Chevrolet salesman with a dealership in Illinois, he also ran a drag racing team. The Camaro’s popularity had exploded and although Pete Estes, Chevrolet general manager, promised it to be a small, vicious animal that ate Ford Mustangs, its drag racing results didn’t reflect this on the strip.

At the same time, Chevrolet had just perfected an all-aluminium 427 cubic-inch V8 for Can-Am, known as the ZL-1, which caught Gibb’s eye with not only its power but weight saving over the L88 iron-block 427.

With the help of Estes, Chevy Performance Director Vince Piggins, and dealer-owner Dick Harrell, Gibb exploited the company’s Central Order Production Office to birth a low-volume, special order.

Luckily, Chevrolet had been eyeing off the ZL-1 for the Corvette, so, by enlisting the COPO (Central Office Production Order) system used to build taxis and police cars on factory lines, code 9560 was developed, which snuck the ZL-1 427 into the ‘little’ Camaro.

Gibb ordered 50 to help qualify the ZL-1 for racing. But as the Camaro’s pace skyrocketed, so did its price, forcing Chevrolet to buy back the 37 he couldn’t sell to distribute, along with 19 others, through its dealer network. Ironically, they wouldn’t have trouble selling today, with examples fetching more than US$500,000.

THE SPECS Engine: 6997cc V8, OHV, 16v Power: 321kW @ 5200rpm Torque: 610Nm @ 4400rpm Transmission: four-speed manual & three-speed auto Weight: 1558kg 0-97km/h: 5.3sec Price (New): US$7919

3 Burly 427 Bits

1. Legendary Connections

2. COPO Conquers Down Under

3. Getting in on the Go-Fast Act