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2025 Car Mileage with the Best Gas MileageWhat Is a Yenko Camaro?
With the proper connections and the right order code, Don Yenko was able to get Chevy to send his dealership souped-up Camaros from the factory.
The King of Camaros
When it comes to Chevy Camaros you have your Z28s and your IROC-Zs, your SSs and RSs, but the Camaro name that rings loudest over the decades, the name whispered in awe and trepidation is the Yenko Camaro. Among first-gen Camaros the Yenko stands supreme thanks largely to its 427 V8 and the sneaky, nod-and-a-wink way it got one under the hood. Below we explain what is behind the name and why the Yenko Camaro became an instant muscle car legend.
Call the COPO(s)
The Yenko Camaro gets its name from Don Yenko. Don was a racecar driver (he competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans) who worked at his family’s Chevy dealership in Canonsburg, PA. Don’s love of speed and power led him to feel some of the stock Chevys they were selling could make excellent racecars, if only they were given the right GM parts. This led him to making special orders through GM’s Central Office Production Order (COPO) system for 1965 Chevy Corvairs, selling them under the moniker, Yenko Stingers.
After selling some 185 Yenko Stingers over a two-year period, the Chevrolet Camaro arrived as the brand’s new muscle car built to compete with the likes of the Ford Mustang. The Camaro topped out with the SS’s 396 V8, a smaller engine that what the top-of-the-line Shelby GT500 Mustangs carried (a 428 cu.-in. V8) but also, and not coincidentally, also smaller than the 427 cu.-in. engines available in the Chevy Corvette. Yenko’s solution to the glaring oversight was to make an order through the COPO for a 427 big-block V8 to go in more race-ready Camaros.
‘67 and ‘68
That first year, Yenko COPO order (number 9561) called for 396-equipped SS along with an L72 427 big-block V8. This engine had a 12:1 compression ratio, aluminum cylinder heads, and a 4BBL carburetor and sent power to the wheels via a four-speed manual. Thus equipped, the ’67 Yenko Camaro produced 425 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine was not the only thing that made these cars distinct from their stock cousins. Yenko’s order also added 14”x6” Pontiac steelies, a 140-mph speedometer, a Stewart Warner tach, a rear spoiler (later joined by a front spoiler as well), and Yenko and 427 badging.
54 Yenko Camaros were built in 1967 and another 64 were built in 1968, but their popularity, especially among the racing crowd, was growing, and Yenko responded for 1969 with more aggressive use of the COPO system.
’69 Super Camaro
In 1969, Yenko was able to get Chevy to install the 427 V8 engines in the factory. That 427 Turbo-Jet V8 was now tuned to make 450 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. Yenko added novel items to his COPO order with the addition of a Positraction rear end, a new heavy-duty radiator, a bigger front sway bar, and power disc brakes. The front seat head rests now carried sYc stitching, signifying Yenko Super Car. Yenko ordered a total of 201 Camaros through the COPO in 1969, 30 of which were optioned with a three-speed automatic.
The original MSRP for a Yenko Camaro in 1969 was $3,895. Today these rare, souped-up Camaros auction for upwards of $200,000.
