The Historic Vehicle Association illuminates a glass box containing the first Camaro built in 1966. The gold pony car stays on display at the Woodward Dream Cruise through Saturday, August 20th. The exhibition celebrates Camaro’s 50th anniversary and introduction of the 1977 Camaro model that took place in Detroit in August 1966.
The first Camaro – VIN 123377N100001 – was completed at the GM Assembly Plant in Norwood, Ohio on May 21, 1966. It was the one of 52 pilot prototypes produced, 49 at Norwood; three more made in Los Angeles. The car is a base model with a 140 horsepower, 230 cubic-inch inline 6-cylinder engine. The seat belts, wheel covers and whitewall tires were options. Base price for the Camaro – $2,466.
Ford, of course, spent years tempting the public with show cars and concepts that sort of hinted at the Mustang introduce in April of 1964. GM – playing catch up for years – revealed nothing about the Camaro until the car’s name announcement, which meant “comrade or pal”on June 9, 1966, The formal Detroit launch took place in August 1966. Dealers had 1967 model cars within a month.
This Camaro is also being recognized as Number 15 on the HVA National Historic Vehicle Register program in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) to be archived in Library of Congress. The exhibition is part of an HVA public heritage program launched on the National Mall in Washington, DC in April where President Taft’s 1909 White Steam Car and President Reagan’s 1962 Willys Jeep CJ-6 were similarly displayed and honored.
The Camaro is owned by 18-year-old Logan Lawson of Hutchinson, Kansas. Logan found the car online in Oklahoma when he was in the seventh grade. Logan’s father inspected the car and completed the purchase. Over the next five years Logan and his father completed extensive research on this and the 52 other pilot prototypes and returned the Camaro to its launch day debut specifications.
,
