Chevy Introduced a Big Block COPO Camaro Simply Because They Still Can

New COPO Camaro with the 572-cubic inch engine could be the last big block Chevy ever.

Earlier today, Chevrolet Performance took the wraps off of the 2022 COPO Camaro factory drag racing package. The COPO package has made the Camaro one of the top choices in the world of NHRA Factory Stock racing, with each of the top 5 cars in the Factory Stock Showdown championship chase this season piloting a Chevy muscle car. However, even with the current COPO Camaro dominating the highest level of factory-based drag racing, Chevrolet Performance is always working to stay ahead of the competition.

That is why the company has continued to update the COPO Camaro through the years since the program was introduced in 2012. Even when there were reports that the program would be discontinued after 2015 and again after 2020, there is a new version. Today, Chevrolet introduced the 2022 COPO and, as has been the case in past years, there is a change in the engine lineup with the introduction of the naturally aspirated, 572-cubic inch big block V8. Many people think that it is to give the Camaro teams a better chance in the world of Factory Stock racing, but in reality, Chevrolet is probably offering this monster engine to issue one more big block muscle car while they still can.

Big Block Camaro Power

Chevrolet didn’t offer any power numbers for the new COPO Camaro with the 572-cubic inch big block, but the company offers a similar engine in their performance catalog. Called “ZZ572/720R Deluxe,” that crate engine offers 727 horsepower and 680 lb-ft of torque, along with the promise of “pulling your bracket racer or heads-up challenger down the 1320 in the 9-second range.” The key difference between that crate engine and the new COPO 572 is that the new race engine is fuel injected while the crate engine is carbureted. The COPO big block also has a unique intake manifold, but the other details of this new power plant – including the four-bolt main caps, aluminum heads, a forged steel crankshaft, forged steel connecting rods and forged aluminum pistons – all sound like they are similar to the crate offering.

In any case, we would expect that the 572 in the 2022 COPO Camaro will offer more power than the crate engine, while still packing less power than the supercharged 350 that they use in Factory Stock Showdown racing. Fortunately, that blown 350 is still available with 580 official horsepower, as is the naturally aspirated, 427-cubic inch LSX with 470 horsepower.

Factory Stock Showdown Engines

When this new, massive engine was announced this morning, some racing fans thought that this big block was designed to put a big hurt on the Mustang Cobra Jet and the Challenger Drag Pak in the popular Factory Stock Showdown class, but that is not the case. As mentioned above, the current COPO Camaro teams in FSS run the supercharged 350, the Challenger teams run a supercharged 354 and the Mustang teams run a supercharged V8 measuring just 318 cubic inches. With the new 572 being naturally aspirated, it would not be competitive with these supercharged models.

Some of you might be thinking “if the crate engine makes 727 horsepower and the supercharged 350 only makes 580 horsepower, how is the 572 not powerful enough?” Well, that is because the power rating comes at a very low boost rating and in reality, teams are adding much more boost to the engine. It has been discovered that the “580 horsepower supercharged 350” in the modern COPO Camaro actually makes closer to 1,300 horsepower when it is tuned for race duty. There is power to be gained from custom tuning of the new big block, but no amount of tuning will get it to equal the power of the blown 350.

So, if the new 572 big block isn’t going to give Chevrolet an advantage in the highest levels of factory drag racing, why did they introduce it? Because they can, and with where the United States government is headed, it may not be long before Chevy isn’t allowed to offer this type of engine, even for racing purposes.

Last of the Big Blocks

The odds are good that if you are reading this, you know two things. First, the EPA is working hard to not only heighten restrictions on street cars, but they are also trying to come after race cars for emission levels as well. This seems absurd to some, but it isn’t all that unrealistic to think that the government could try to regulate cars that are never driven on public roads. In many places, there are emission regulations for farm equipment and off-road vehicles, so watching over race cars isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

If the EV lovers at the EPA get their way, Chevrolet could soon be banned from selling an engine like the 572 big block at all, let alone in a production vehicle. Even though the COPO Camaro is built purely for racing, coming without a VIN, it could soon be required to meet emission laws and when that day comes, an engine like the 572 will be an impossible offering.

Of course, there is also the questionable future of the Chevrolet Camaro. Rumors suggest that it will be replaced in the next few years by an electric sedan, but in any case, it seems unlikely that the muscle car that so many people know and love will soon be removed from the lineup once again. With the likely demise of the Camaro coupled with the possibility of government restrictions on race-only cars, this could be one of the last chances that Chevrolet gets to offer a factory built big block Camaro.

We imagine that some people will buy them to go racing and with the ability to possibly run in the 8-second range, they will be among the quicker cars at your local drag strip. At the same time, with this possibly being the last big block Camaro ever produced, it is likely that more than a few of them will be locked away as collectables.

Photos: Chevrolet

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com