The 1960s were unquestionably the golden era of muscle cars. Federal Crash Test Standards and the Oil Crisis of 1973 had not yet rained on everyone’s parade, and the Big 3 American automakers (Ford, GM, and Chrysler) were engaged in a horsepower war with each company trying to one-up each other.

During this time car manufacturers were basically selling full-on race cars to the public. The Plymouth Hemi Cuda, Dodge Charger R/T, Plymouth Superbird, Pontiac GTO “Judge”, Oldsmobile 442, Camaro ZL1/Z-28/SS, Shelby GT500KR, and the Ford Torino Talladega all packed monsterous engines that were often underrated in terms of true power output.

One muscle car from this era that is not often mentioned is the Central Office Production Order Camaro, or “COPO Camaro.”

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