Cars & Cinema: 6 Camaros That Made It To The Movies
The Chevrolet Camaro has remained one of the premier examples of American muscle and performance cars. Its design, especially in the early models, features a long hood, short deck, and sleek profile now synonymous with the iconic image of muscle cars. The symbol it represents has become a core part of pop culture, and unsurprisingly, Chevrolet's flagship muscle car has appeared in many movies, TV shows, songs, and entertainment videos.
Apart from being an archetype, the Camaro also has additional context for why it's become such a timeless piece of American culture, and the biggest part of that is its performance. Every generation of the Camaro has ranked among the most affordable performance cars you can buy, with high horsepower accessible to all kinds of people. This has also pitted it as a rival with other brands with similar offerings like the Ford with its Mustang.
The competition, performance, accessibility, and design range let the Chevrolet Camaro embody the idea of freedom, youth, and power. These themes feature prominently in movies too, making this particular muscle car such a good prop. As such, we've made a list of a few of the Camaro models that made it to the big screen.
The 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS in Better Off Dead
While other Camaros on this list might indicate more gruff power, action, and noise, ironically, the one in the 1985 dark comedy "Better Off Dead" represents hope, growth, and a lot of wholesome, good feeling that you might say is uncharacteristic of a muscle car.
The '67 Camaro SS 350 is a sleek 295-hp machine that can do zero to 60 in 7.8s. Of course, it's an impressive car, but like the movie's main character, Lane, it's in a bad state of disrepair. Both Lane and the car seem "better off dead." The main character's girlfriend had left him, and the Camaro itself at the beginning of the film has also seemingly been abandoned and left for dead. The film follows all his unsuccessful but darkly hilarious attempts at suicide.
After Lane meets a French exchange student, Monique, who offers to fix the Camaro, they both set to work on it together. As the car gets better, so does Lane, until both car and boy become the best versions of themselves. The Camaro becomes a powerful machine that serves as a platform for Lane's discovery of self-worth and provides him with the tools he needs to move forward in life with confidence.
The 1969 Yenko Chevrolet Camaro SYC in 2 Fast 2 Furious
When Don Yenko, a car dealership owner, took advantage of the COPO program to custom order the 1969 Camaro, one has to wonder if he knew the mark these vehicles would make on the Camaro brand and the muscle car world as a whole. Its rarity, power, beauty, and age make this car one of the best Chevy Camaros ever.
Apart from the proprietary race stripes and "sYc" badge, the Yenko Camaro has an L72 427 engine that does about 450 hp, a four-speed manual transmission, front and rear spoilers, dual exhausts, and a bunch of other sports ccdar conversion features like the 140 mph top speed speedometer and a 16-inch front stabilizer bar.
Car fans and fans of the "Fast and Furious" series alike gasped with delight when they saw the blue 1969 Yenko Camaro in the sequel, "2 Fast 2 Furious." It is a key symbol of style, speed, and street racing. In all the scenes where Korpi and Brian drive the Yenko Camaro, there's something about the car that evokes nostalgia and awe, from its wonderful V8 exhaust notes and what it represents.
The 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 in 21 Jump Street
It might not be a stretch to say "21 Jump Street" helped Channing Tatum win People magazine's 2012 award for sexiest man alive. The gray 1970 Camaro Z/28 that Tatum's character, Jenko, drives as an undercover cop at a high school may have contributed to the handsome strong-man allure that earned him the honor.
Like Tatum, everything about the car is attractive — from the rumbling exhaust (which the characters were specifically warned not to play with) to the 360-horsepower engine poised under the hood. You might not have been able to tell from scenes in the movie, but this vintage car can reach zero to 60 miles in roughly 5.8 seconds. You'll also notice a refreshingly sporty design with a coupe layout and a rear spoiler reminiscent of a tail wing.
The Camaro was a good augment for Jenko's traditional masculinity while it contrasted with Jonah Hill's character Schmidt and his nerdy persona, making it a subtly powerful humor device. Also, it's a nice nod to every motorhead watching. Old Camaros have a way of evoking profound nostalgia.
The 1977 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 in Transformers
Bumblebee has long been a household name, and while many will remember our favorite alien robot as a 2010 Camaro SS, let's not forget that we first met him in 2007, in the first "Transformers" movie, as a beat-up yellow 1977 Chevrolet Camaro. This was the car that started Bumblebee's long and rich Camaro story.
The 1977 Camaro Z/28, by itself, isn't necessarily remarkable. It came at a time when Americans were sensitive about gas prices, which affected this car's stock performance options. It's fitted with a V8 that has roughly 177 hp, and it cycles gears through a three-speed automatic transmission. However, this weak disposition is what makes Bumblebee even more endearing because as the story progresses, so does he until he becomes a 400-plus hp Camaro.
Bumblebee is the underdog among the Autobots. He shows enormous potential and remains crucial to the unfolding events. His initial unintimidating stature is what makes him accessible to the movie series' main character Sam, becoming a major catalyst for the plot. What better car encapsulates this ideology than the '77 Camaro? It comes from a long line of historically powerful cars (just like Bumblebee comes from a long line of powerful Autobots). It's not the best it can be, but it shows a lot of promise.
The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro in Death Race 4: Beyond Anarchy
If you've ever wondered what a fifth generation Camaro would look like in a dystopian death match, you should watch "Death Race 4: Beyond Anarchy." The already muscular, aggressive design of the relatively newer 21st-century Camaro is further dramatized with aggressive bulletproof armor and exaggerated sci-fi boosts above a sharp-angled spoiler. The main character uses this Camaro to battle against the leader of The Sprawl, who drives a Ford Mustang. Yeah, it's a classic Mustang versus Camaro rivalry.
Frankly, it's hard to tell exactly what year the Camaro on screen in the movie is. The color filters in the film and all the mods on the car make it difficult to say for sure. It also doesn't help that many of the generation five Camaros from 2010 to 2015 look alike. IMCDB (Internet Movie Cars Database) says it's a 2010 Camaro, however.
The 2010 Camaro comes in a bunch of trim options, so it's still hard to tell which one is drifting about in the city-wide prison of The Sprawl. Assuming that it's a base 6.2-liter V8 trim (1SS), the car has 426 hp at 5,900 rpm, 420 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm, and can do zero to 60 in 4.7 seconds (without all the in-movie mods). It also uses a six-speed manual transmission, and you could also get a six-speed automatic transmission option.
The 2016 Chevrolet Camaro in Transformers: The Last Knight
Bumblebee has to make one more appearance before we round up. While this isn't the last movie our favorite yellow Autobot has featured in, it's the one with the latest Camaro model Bumblebee has transformed into so far.
In "Transformers: The Last Knight," there are many supercars boasting powerful engines. Michael Bay's thrilling car chase scenes have wild CGI and eye-pleasing mayhem and would not have been complete without epic vehicles themselves. Unsurprisingly, Bumblebee gets a serious upgrade to a yellow and black 2016 Camaro. It's also worth mentioning that the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro rivalry is a strong theme here, represented by the head-to-head between Barricade and Bumblebee.
Nonetheless, the star Chevy in this movie is an automatic transmission V8 Camaro 2SS (two-door coupe). It's got a 6.2-liter engine that can do up to 455 hp at 6,000 rpm and 455 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm. This car has been on the market for a while, and you could get it used for about $30,000.