After the runaway success of Ford’s Mustang when it was introduced in 1964, Chevrolet quickly realized it had no car that could compete in the burgeoning pony car market. Sales of its “sporty” rear-engine Corvair were falling drastically, and that car’s top engine offering in 1966 of 180 horsepower was no match for the V8 Mustangs. So by 1967, Chevy had slapped together the Camaro as its participant in the pony car wars that would rage into the next decade. But while sales of the first-generation Camaro were high, many today see the model as a rushed and, consequently, flawed vehicle that didn’t come into its own until the second-generation. Sometimes called a 1970½ because it wasn’t introduced until February 1970, the first year model of the second-generation Camaros was officially known as a 1970 model. The new Camaro was longer, lower and wider than its first-generation counterparts, and the model was such a success that the basic platform would continue for 12 years. Like one of the defining features of pony cars at the time, the new Camaro came with a long-hood/short-deck semi-fastback design for all models (unlike the Mustang’s offerings of both a coupe and a fastback model). With the windshield swept back, overall glass area grew by 10 percent over the first-generation Camaros, even though the car did not include rear quarter windows. Because of this, visibility increased over previous incarnations. The doors were stretched to be unusually long, and were eight inches longer than the doors of the first-generation models. Total production for the model year was 124,901 Camaros, which was over 100,000 units less than the previous year. However, the short production year must be taken into account when comparing the two. The base engine was a 155 horsepower six cylinder engine, and the base model also had the option of a 307 CID V8 that produced 200 horsepower. There were also six other V8 options, depending on which of the four models was chosen.

Coupe

The coupe was by far the best selling Camaro in 1970, and had a total production run of 100,967, almost four times as much as the next closest Camaro model. The base price for a six-cylinder coupe was $2,749, while the base V8 engine added $90 to this total.

Rally Sport

Standing for Rally Sport, the RS Camaro basically was an upgraded trim package for the base models that featured a distinctive front-end look that most noticeably featured two front bumpers on the left and right of the nose of the car instead of the normal full-width bumper. The package also included round parking lights and hidden windshield wipers, among other trim features. This package also could be combined with the other two Camaro models, the SS and the Z28. The package added $168.55 to the base price.

Super Sport

The most notable aspect of the Camaro Super Sport was under the hood, since the model came standard with a 300 horsepower, 350 CID engine that could be upgraded to a 350 horsepower 396 engine. A total of 15,201 SS Camaros were produced during the model year.

Z28

Built to be the performer of the 1970 Camaros, the Z28 came standard with a 350 CID, 260 horsepower V8. Other improvements to this car included a tuned suspension, exterior trim and deluxe seats for the interior. The package added $572 to the base price of the Camaro, and 8,733 Z28s were produced in 1970.

1970 Pony Car Competition

Mustang was still at the top of the pony car heap in 1970 (with nearly 200,000 Mustangs produced), though the field of competitors did grow that year with the introduction of the Dodge Challenger. A sister car to the struggling Plymouth Barracuda, the Challenger came on strong with a total production of just over 83,000. However, this would be the best-selling year of the car, and its original incarnation would disappear within three years. Camaro’s corporate cousin Firebird also was similarly redesigned for 1970, and also saw a dip in production, though it also had the same short production year. Coming in at the bottom of the pony car sales numbers was the AMC Javelin, which had a production run of only 30,180 in 1970.

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