ZL-1 Super Car
The reason GMMG matters. Sixty-nine 4th-gen Camaros turned into a modern echo of the 1969 COPO ZL-1 — Candy Apple #1, Grumpy Jenkins #69, GM Racing 427 aluminum, up to 627 horsepower at the crank.
#69 ZL-1 — the Grumpy Jenkins tribute car. Photo from the GMMG Registry archive.
The 1969 COPO ZL-1 Camaro is the most valuable Camaro ever built. Sixty-nine of them left Chevrolet's Norwood plant with an all-aluminum ZL-1 427 crate motor and a dealer invoice that scared everyone but Fred Gibb and Dick Harrell. Matt Murphy grew up on that story. In March 2002 — three months before Chevrolet ended F-body production entirely — he built his answer to it.
"The number wasn't arbitrary. Sixty-nine cars, one per original ZL-1 — that was the whole point."
Why sixty-nine?
The count is homage, not marketing. Every serialized 2002 ZL-1 Super Car carries a numbered dash plaque and a signed door-jamb tag from Matt Murphy. Car #001 was painted Candy Apple Red — a direct reference to the original '69. Car #069 was built as tribute to Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, whose original ZL-1 dominated Pro Stock through 1970. GMMG later built three additional prototypes for development and press use, but those are not part of the serialized 69.
Four phases, one platform
Every ZL-1 Super Car started life as a 2002 Camaro SS with the B4C police-package chassis — Z06-spec brake hardware, stiffer subframe, and heavy-duty cooling. From there the buyer picked a phase. Phase IV is where the "SR427" name came from: a GM Racing–derived all-aluminum 427ci LS crate motor, dry-sump-adjacent oiling, and Penske double-adjustable nitrogen shocks tuned by GMMG.
- I
Phase I
LS1-based. Whisper intake, ported MAF housing, ASP pulleys, chambered exhaust, tune.
400 hp · 410 lb-ft - II
Phase II
Long-tube headers, catted Y, LS6-spec heads, custom cam, ported throttle body.
475 hp - III
Phase III
Displacement bump to 427 ci via LS-based short block, upgraded valvetrain.
600 hp - IV
Phase IV — SR427
GM Racing–derived all-aluminum 427ci LS crate motor. The car GMMG built to answer Ford's Mustang Cobra R.
627 hp
Chassis, brakes, and rear axle
| Base platform | 2002 Chevrolet Camaro SS · F-body · B4C |
|---|---|
| Body | 2-door coupe · roof panel non-optional (T-tops delete) |
| Transmission | Tremec T-56 6-speed manual (two cars later converted to 4L60E automatic) |
| Rear axle | Strange Engineering / Ford 9-inch conversion, 4.10:1 |
| Front suspension | B4C stiffer subframe with Penske double-adjustable nitrogen shocks |
| Brakes | Z06-spec 12.8-inch slotted rotors, four-piston front calipers |
| Wheels | 17-inch forged, GMMG-specific offset |
| Interior | Numbered dash plaque, embroidered headrests, signed door-jamb tag |
How to authenticate a real ZL-1
- Numbered dash plaque, engraved (not decal). Number matches VIN in registry records.
- Door-jamb tag signed by Matt Murphy in silver paint pen. Original tags include phase level.
- Engine bay: GMMG plaque riveted to the passenger-side inner fender.
- Rear axle: Strange Engineering housing on all cars. Original GM 10-bolt = wrong.
- Cross-check chain of custody through the registry before signing a check.
Notable cars
#001 — Candy Apple Red, homage to the '69 COPO. Consigned once through Mecum; hammered above expectations.
#069 — Grumpy Jenkins tribute livery. Displayed at multiple Bloomington Gold events.
#019 — Phase IV / SR427. One of the earliest cars documented in period magazines (GM High-Tech Performance).
Why they're going up
Sixty-nine cars is the same production run as the original COPO ZL-1 Camaros. Those cars now trade for seven figures at auction. GMMG's Super Cars are the only modern F-body build with equivalent scarcity, documented provenance, and an unambiguous connection to the original story. Every sale since 2018 has been at a strong premium to the base 2002 Camaro market — and unlike the old Yenko/Baldwin-Motion cars, these have living authentication through Matt Murphy himself.
From the registry archive
Photography from the GMMG Registry archive.