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Elusive Black Panther While Ford was fighting off the early sensational introduction of the Chevrolet successes of the Chevrolet Corvair and Chevy Camaro by delivering over 212,000 units to II with their introduction of the Mustang in dealer showrooms that year. Keeping in August of 1964, GM began work on a fashion with the Mustang formula, the Camaro counter-punch experimental project named was offered with a laundry list of options at XP-836. The XP-836 project directly targeted both the factory and dealer level. Camaro the Ford Mustang mystique and the new youth customers could custom build their own car market that emerged from almost nowhere in with a host of options previously only the eyes of GM marketers. The surprising available on Chevrolet’s higher-line popularly of Ford’s Mustang framed the models. XP-836 project from the very start and incorporated the “Mustang Desiring the same custom performance formula” in the early years of treatments being offered by Shelby America production. for the Mustang, Camaro enthusiasts looked to the dealerships in hopes of finding these In the winter of 1965, the XP-836 project performance options. Happily, the folks at turned out a proto type car based on some Toronto-based Gorries Chevrolet/Oldsmobile cobbled up Chevy IIs. While crude, the new dealership answered the call to incorporate Chevrolet was shaping up to run well along their race knowledge into the new Camaro. The side Ford’s Pony car. Now named the result was the “Black Panther” “Panther”, the project and the Camaro. proto-types were written about in great length by the automotive press with all the Already known in racing and rally circles excitement of a pending rivalry with the with their work on the Corvette, Mustang. Given a name that the public could Gorries’s geared up to modify a latch onto, the “Panther” was limited number of Camaros into Black quickly being promoted as GM’s Panthers, giving the Camaro some real street Mustang-fighter. Sometimes called muscle. Modifications such as heavy-duty “Chevy’s Mustang” the front coils, rear leaf stiffeners, tubular “Panther” evolved conceptually shocks, 10” front disc brakes, power using  much of the Mustang marketing formula. assist brakes and steering, 500 magnum wheels and low profile Uniroyal 8.55 X 14 tubeless Now branded with the “Panther” tires were added to the dealer-modified cars. script and leaping-cat emblems similar to Brake balancing valves and other small tuning that used by Jaguar, the proto-types advanced points remarkably improved the handling and with an outward confidence that the drivability of the standard production Chevrolet’s sleek new cat would be car. chasing down the Mustang. By early 1966, Ralph Nader was doing a hatchet job on the All Gorries Black Panther Camaros were of Corvair, and GM management sought to course painted black, with a painted gold tone-down the image of their new car in hopes band around the nose. The Black Panther of not drawing the attention of safety nameplate was fixed to the forefront of each crusaders with the aggressive fender and on the rear deck lid. A gold “Panther”  name. stripe was added along the bodyline above the rocker panel area and a Gold pin stripe was Seeking a “clammier” image for added  just  below  the upper side bodyline. the new car, the marketing department looked to their current line of Chevrolet monikers, The Panther’s came with a deluxe Gold the Corvair, Corvette, Chevelle, and Chevy II interior and any of the regular factory for inspiration. Desiring another options a customer might desire. This first “C” name brand, merchandising Panther out of the Gorries shop was equipped manager Bob Lund and GM Car & Truck Group with the “007” James Bond panel vice-president Ed Rollert poured through as a bit of a joke. Simply enough, a console French and Spanish dictionaries and came up was added in place of the glove box lid with “Camaro”. Meaning, between the seats. The console featured a row “warm friend”, the new name of six or eight toggle switches labeled, Seat offered GM an excellent label to compliment Ejector, Machine Guns, Smoke Ejectors, etc. the current Chevrolet line and introduce What began as a joke later turned out later their  new  car  with  a  much tamer image. to be a customer demanded option that even the  most  reserved  customers  opted  for. Though the “Camaro” name was replacing the various project names the car Gorries offered both the 327 and 427 V-8 had been developed under, outside the company engine options for their Panthers. The 327 some controversy over the meaning of the new offering was the 275HP L30 engine, at 10:1 name was causing a potential image problem compression and made 355FT pounds of torque for the new car. In an unprecedented national at 3,200 RPM. The optional blueprinted 427 - conference call with some 200 journalists, GM 435HP, ZL1 engine with its neck snapping released the “ warm & friendly” 460FT pounds of torque at 4,000 RPM put some Camaro name to the public ahead of the cars real teeth in the Panthers. At 12:1 introduction to dealer showrooms. The effort compression, the ZL1 engine with its large was successful in quashing any “image 925 CFM 4-barrel carburetor proved to be a killing” interpretations of the new formal opponent for the Shelby GT-500 Camaro  moniker. Mustangs, which carried the 428 big-block Ford engine, but only developed 355HP in In 1967, amidst the phenomenal success of the 1967. Ford Mustang, General Motors pulled off a 1 A B C D 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112