This Chevy Camaro’s Engine Is So Big, It’s Illegal

In the normal world, a 6.5-liter engine is considered to be quite large. Chevrolet has decided to venture well beyond this and has crammed something closer to what you’d find pulling a semi-truck in the front of its 2022 COPO Camaro. As things stand, the COPO’s incredible naturally aspirated 9.4-liter V8 is the largest you’ll see powering a production passenger vehicle.

However, size doesn’t necessarily translate to performance. Despite the enormous volume of its cylinders, the COPO Camaro’s 9.4-liter engine only produces around 430 horsepower. If you’re looking for raw grunt, opting for the slightly smaller 5.7-liter COPO Camaro will give you an additional 130 horsepower, partially due to efficiency and partially due to the supercharger the 5.7-liter engine has attached to it. The smaller engine is fitted to Chevvy’s small block platform, while the larger option comes fitted to a big block platform similar to what the company installed in its vehicles back in the 1960s — an era that was arguably the golden age of the muscle car.

If 9.4 liters still seems a bit too small for you, and you have the means to source and fit an even larger engine, you have the option to buy the COPO Camaro a rolling chassis. The 9.4-liter COPO Camaro would certainly be a talking point in any garage, but it isn’t cheap. If you want to snag one new, you can expect to pay at least $105,000 (via Chevrolet). Like the other COPO Camaros, the 9.4-liter version comes with a weight-saving carbon fiber hood and the option of a trunk-loaded parachute for drag racing. But despite the extras, the big-engined beast may be the least practical car you could spend six figures on for one major reason.