First introduced in 1967, the Camaro was Chevrolet’s answer to the wildly successful Ford Mustang. Based on the same long hood, short deck style of the Mustang, the two nearly matched each other feature-for-feature and option-to-option. Like the Mustang, which owed its origins to the compact Falcon, the Camaro had its roots in the compact Chevy II Nova.

Chevrolet built 3,675 pace car replicas, RPO code Z11, to commemorate the second time the Camaro had paced the Indianapolis 500 in the three years since its introduction. Jim Rathman, the 1960 Indy winner, was chosen to pilot the pace car on race day. The 1969 models featured updated styling, including new grille, taillights, creases above the wheel openings, rectangular parking lights, bolder exterior stripes . . . and for the pace car convertibles, all painted Dover White and Hugger Orange with an equally striking orange and black houndstooth interior, which gave the car a most distinctive look not shared with anything else.

When buyers chose RPO Code Z11, “Indy 500 Pace Car Accents,” certain options became mandatory, including D80 Spoiler Equipment, Z22 Rally Sport Package, and ZL2 Air Induction Hood. At $79, the extra-cost hood was developed from racing, which had shown Chevrolet engineers that the high-pressure area at the base of the windshield was an ideal place to feed cool air into the air cleaner and thus enhance performance. Standard was an L48 300-horsepower, 350-cubic inch V-8, with an L78 396/375 V-8 optional at extra cost. Roughly 80 percent of all cars, like this example, were equipped with the 350/300 V-8.

This documented Indy 500 Pace Car Camaro was sold new at Poole Chevrolet Company, Inc. in Gaffney, South Carolina, on 6 June 1969 to C. E. Phillips, from the same city. The following optional equipment was ordered: tinted glass, power top, remote control rearview mirror, center console, air spoiler equipment, Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, power steering, AM push-button radio, rear seat speaker, special front bumper, custom deluxe seat belts, Rally wheels, special ducted hood, Indy 500 Pace Car accents, Rally Sport equipment, Camaro SS equipment, and custom interior. In addition, the trim code on this numbers-matching example tells us it was built in Norwood, Ohio, in the first week of May, 1969.

This limited-edition Indy 500 pace car has benefitted from thoughtful ownership and presents in nice overall condition throughout. An excellent driving example for local tours and shows, such as the famed Woodward Dream Cruise, this ’69 Camaro convertible will undoubtedly deliver plenty of performance and excitement for its next owners.