1967 Camaro Indy 500 Pace Car
1967 Camaro SS Convertible
51st Indianapolis 500 – May 30, 1967
Driver – Mauri Rose
When the Camaro was introduced in 1967 it was an exciting time. The muscle car market was just heating up and Ford had a 3 year jump start on Chevrolet with the record selling Mustang. Coinciding with the introduction of this hot new contender to the pony cars, the 1967 Camaro was chosen as the official Indianapolis 500 Pace Car.
This was a huge marketing opportunity for Chevrolet, although in hindsight they seemed to have underutilized it. Unlike future years where Chevy created replica Pace car Camaros for sale to build excitement and expose the brand, the 1967 Indy Pace cars were only manufactured for race related use and not for public sale.
A total of 81 Camaro Pace Cars were produced in 1967 for the race. They break down as follows;
- (1) actual pace car which lead the racers
- (2) backup pace cars
- (43) “Festival Cars” which were used by Indy officials & committee members for various race and public relation related activities
- (10) Speedway Vehicles used by race staff
- (25) Brass Hat cars for use by the press and high ranking Chevrolet employees
The 1967 Camaro Pace cars had a distinctive white and blue color scheme. They were all painted Ermine white with a white top and Bright Blue custom interior. A matching blue “bumble bee” stripe was added around the nose. The most noticeable feature was the side door decals. At the top in gold letters with black outlines read, “Chevrolet Camaro”. Under that in large block blue letters with black outlines read, “OFFICIAL PACE CAR” with smaller text below; “51st ANNUAL INDIANAPOLIS 500 MILE RACE – MAY 30, 1967”
Depending on the car and it’s intended duty at the race, these Camaros were equipped with either a 396 cid L-78 big block (375 hp V8) or a 350 cid l-48 small block (295 hp V8). The actual pace car that ran the track had a warmed up 396 putting out more than the advertised 375 hp.
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