The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by the Chevrolet division of General Motors, commonly classified as a pony car. It was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang. The car shared its platform and major components with the Pontiac Firebird, also introduced for 1967.
The '69 Chevrolet Camaro is included in the first generation Camaros. It carried over the first generation's drivetrain and major mechanical components, but all-new body styling except for the hood and trunk lid, gave the car a heavily creased and substantially sportier look. The grille was redesigned with a heavy "V" cant and deeply inset headlights. New door skins, rear quarter panels, and rear valance panel also gave the car a much lower, wider, more aggressive look.
To increase competitiveness in the SCCA Trans Am racing series, a four wheel disc brake option, RPO JL8, was made available during the year. This system used the 4 piston brake components from the Corvette and made for a major improvement in the braking capability and was a key to winning the Trans Am championship.
A GM corporate edict forbade Chevrolet from installing engines larger than 400 cu in (6.6 L) in the Camaro. But requests from dealers (notably Yenko) who were dealer-installing 427 cu in (7 L) engines in the Camaro caused Chevrolet to use an ordering process usually used on fleet and special orders (taxis, trucks, etc) to offer 427 engines in the Camaro. Two Central Office Production Orders (COPO), numbers 9560 and 9561, were offered in the 1969 model year. The COPO 9561 option brought the solid lifter L72 big-block engine, making an underrated 425 hp (317 kW) gross. Dealer Don Yenko ordered 201 of these cars to create the now-legendary Yenko Camaro. Other dealers also became aware of the L72 engine package and ordered it. Around 1,015 Camaros were fitted with the L72 engine option.
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