We are back with yet another epic pure stock battle between two great nameplates of the muscle car world. This time around, we've got a 1969 COPO Camaro that took on a 1971 Plymouth Baracuda, and these two are pretty evenly matched between the power they produce and how much weight. Let's look at the numbers

1971 Plymouth Baracuda

Our first contender for today is this 1971 Plymouth Baracuda. This black beauty is rocking the legendary 426ci HEMI under that hood that on paper puts out 425 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque. This particular car features a three-speed auto. 3.23 rear axle gears were standard, while you also had optional 3.55 and 4.10s. This bad boy weighs 3,721 lbs. Just 48 examples of the auto were produced.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro COPO

At the other end, we have this very orange COPO Camaro. Under the hood lies a ZL1 427ci V-8 that pumps out 430 horses and 450 pound-feet of torque.} The Chevy also has a three-speed auto, along with 4.10 factory rear axle gears. Curb weight? About 3,300 lbs. Just 69 examples of the ZL1 Camaro were put together in 1969.

The Race

Having looked at the numbers, it all came down to how things panned out on the drag strip. From a dig, it was the CUDA that got off the line better, and right up to the midway point it looked like the HEMI was going to take this one, but the COPO wasn't going to hang in the towel that easily. The Camaro just managed to catch the Baracuda by the line, but not by much.

While this was technically supposed to be the factory stock class, let's just say that most cars are factory stock appearing.

Results

'69 COPO Camaro

'71 CUDA

9.66 ET @ 142.95 mph

9.79 ET @ 143.04 mph


FInal Thoughts

This was one helluva muscle car showdown. I knew it was going to be close, never anticipated, it was going to be this hair splittingly close though. While the Camaro does have the better ET here, the HEMI has the faster trap speed, and remember that it was on 3.23 gears as opposed to the Camaro's 4.10s. These cars were, and are, wild and it's incredible what these folks manage to do on those tires.