The Camaro was born to do just one thing: eat up the Ford Mustang’s market share. It is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car, which has also been much more affordable than most German cars. Chevrolet launched the first Camaro in the year 1966. However, many journalists back then were already speculating that a Mustang competitor, code-named Panther, was in the making. In June 1966, about 200 of them were invited to an “important SEPAW meeting,” where Chevrolet launched the original Camaro. According to Chevrolet, the name Camaro means “a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs,” for obvious reasons. If you are a massive fan of the first-generation Camaro, Bring a Trailer has a 1969 model listed for auction, and it is in decent condition, considering it is more than half a century old.

Since its inception, the Camaro has been offered in two-door coupe and convertible body styles. The car shares its platform and many other components with the Pontiac Firebird. Over the years, Chevrolet has sold over 5 million Camaros, and for its affordable price, it has been a perfect sportscar for beginners. Among other models, the Camaro Z/28 was the benchmark with racecar-like performance. Of course, by today’s standards, the power figures are just the bare minimum for a sportscar, but back in 1969, a 290-horsepower car would make people go crazy. The Z/28 was powered by a naturally aspirated small-block 302 cubic-inch (5.0-liter) V-8. In addition, the engine was mated to a four-speed manual gearbox and could bolt through a quarter-mile in under 15 seconds.

If you are curious, the Lamborghini Miura from 1969 could do a standing quarter-mile in 14.8 seconds. The 1969 Z/28 was a homologation model for the SCCA Trans-Am series and was sold new for just $4,435 in that time’s money. However, despite packing a lot of performance goodies, like stiffer suspension and excellent cornering stability, the Z/28 felt clumsy to drive around, but that was the norm for cheap sportscars from that era. If you stomp your foot down, it will take its sweet time to reach 142 mph, which was an insane speed for the late 60s.

Instead of the stock 302ci V-8, this Z/28 now packs a more powerful 350ci V-8. However, the power figures are unknown, but we believe the engine can produce about 320 horsepower. The Camaro has been updated with a new battery, alternator, brake calipers, and tires. In addition, the engine has a crankshaft from the 302ci small block, and other aftermarket equipment includes rockers, Mallory electronic ignition, a Demon four-barrel carburetor, and valve covers. Finally, the fluid for the rear differential was changed before the auction.

Other features of this Camaro Z/28 are the red-colored 15-inch Rally wheels wrapped in Hankook tires, dual exhaust tips, and disc brakes on all four wheels. In addition, the cabin features black vinyl bucket seats, a Hurst T-handle gear shifter, a woodgrain-accented center console, an aftermarket audio unit, and color-matching dashboard trim. The current owner of 27 years has driven the car about 4,000 miles, so with an overall mileage is only 13,000, the car has hardly been driven in 53 years.