As if it wasn’t obvious enough, the 2016 Chevrolet COPO Camaro is a big hit among Camaro->ke248 enthusiasts. It’s such an in-demand car that General Motors->ke1024 felt obliged to come out and say that over 5,500 showed interest in the latest iteration of the sports-slash-drag car.

Obviously, Chevrolet->ke199 won’t be able to cater to all these interested parties because the company has capped the production of the COPO Camaro to just 69 units, as has been the case since it was brought back in 2012. But, that hasn’t stopped inquiries from piling in, especially with the car’s ability to be configured for drag racing purposes. The first-production unit of the 2016 model also fetched $300,000 at a recent auction->ke2845 hosted by Barrett-Jackson. That tells you how in-demand the car is.

With these variables, it only makes sense for Chevrolet to increase production of the model, right? Well, not quite, at least according to Jim Campbell, General Motors’ VP of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. Taking a cue from the law of supply and demand, Campbell pointed out that a big part of the COPO Camaro’s appeal is the fact it’s in short supply, thus keeping a large segment of the Camaro enthusiast population itching to get a piece of one.

Those who don’t end up getting the factory-built models can still opt to build their own COPO Camaros by buying a rolling chassis and a crate engine. That said, enthusiasts have long held the belief that these custom builds are not held in as a high regard as the factory-built ones.

So, if you’re a Camaro enthusiast and you’re itching to get a COPO Camaro, you’re going to have to use every ounce of hustle you can muster to score a piece. Otherwise, you can build you own or wait for another year for the next release to arrive.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Why it matters

It matters because the interest in the COPO Camaro is validation for Chevrolet that the Camaro market is alive and well. Not that the company should doubt that notion, but it certainly doesn’t hurt Chevy’s ego to see how in-demand the COPO Camaro is.

Remember, those lucky enough to get a COPO Camaro either use them in races or keep them as collectibles, so it’s not like these models are being used as daily drivers that are used to pick up groceries. Now, do I agree with Chevy’s decision to keep production down even if it knows that it still might sell out if they built 1,000 units? To a certain degree, I get it why Chevrolet is doing it. But, capping it at 69 units feels a tad low to me, even though I get the historical reference to keeping it at that number.

In my world, I think somewhere around 200 to 300 units would suffice. This keeps more customers happy knowing that they have a bigger chance of buying one while also keeping its exclusive status. But, if Chevy wants to keep it as limited as possible, I can’t disagree with that decision. Campbell himself said that the fire-breathing Camaro not only raises the profile of the entire model lineup, but the cap in quantity also “makes sense for our business from a number of perspectives.”

I have an idea on what these perspectives are and I’m sure that Chevrolet has weighed all the options itself. So, if it wants to keep the COPO Camaro’s production number limited, it has some good reasons for doing so.

2016 Chevrolet COPO Camaro

Read our full review on the 2016 Chevrolet COPO Camaro here.