The 1967 Camaro pace car program created several distinct groups of convertibles, each built for a specific role at Indianapolis. Collectors now chase these cars by production slice, and true rarity depends less on paint and decals than on where each Camaro worked and what sat under its hood.
Sorting those editions by scarcity reveals a clear hierarchy, from ultra limited big block race cars to more numerous festival cruisers. The ranking below follows that trail, using documented build counts and event assignments to show which 1967 Camaro pace car editions sit at the top of the rarity ladder today.
The ultra rare SS396 pace cars that actually led the 500
The rarest 1967 Camaro pace car editions are the SS396 convertibles that handled official race duties at the Annual Indianapolis 500 mile event. These cars carried the burden of pacing the field, so Chevrolet treated them as hand prepared machines rather than simple appearance packages. One detailed account notes that Chevrolet supplied a top of the line SS396 version of the new Camaro to serve as the official car for the race in 1967, with the model choice tied directly to the prestige of the Indianapolis 500 and the debut of the Camaro itself In 1967 Chevrolet Camaro.
Chevrolet engineers also treated at least one of these SS396 pace cars as a competition grade tool, blueprinting the big block for reliability at sustained speed. A later auction description explains that Chevrolet took great pains with the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS pace car edition convertible, noting that the engine was carefully prepared and blueprinted to ensure its reliability while pacing the Indianapolis 500 field Indianapolis Chevrolet.
The almost mythical 396/375 Camaro SS Pace cars
Just below the official race leaders sit the most extreme big block pace car variants, the 396 cubic inch, 375 horsepower Camaro SS Pace cars. Enthusiast research cites factory records that identify only TWO Camaro SS Pace cars with 375 HP, 396 cid and TH400 Auto transmissions, a figure that places these cars at the very top of the rarity scale among production based pace car editions Oct According TWO Camaro SS Pace Auto.
A separate discussion of March 1967 builds repeats that same core claim, again stating that, According to records, only TWO Camaro SS Pace cars with 375 HP, 396 cid and TH400 Auto transmissions were produced, which reinforces the idea that these specific big block combinations exist in almost prototype like numbers rather than as a regular production run May 17 2024 According TWO Camaro SS Pace Auto.
Corporate VIP and Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car promotional builds
Once the true race duty and 396/375 cars step aside, the next rung in rarity belongs to the corporate and promotional pace car editions. One account of these cars explains that Chevrolet produced a small batch of convertibles for Chevrolet corporate VIP use and that there were about 40 cars in this group, which served executives and special guests during the Indy festivities These cars were produced for Chevrolet VIP 40.
The same coverage, dated Jun 16, 2021, frames one featured 1967 Camaro Pace Car as part of a particularly striking subset, describing it as Possibly One Of The Most Stunning Pace Car Ever Made and highlighting how Chevrolet paired the big block power with a Powerglide automatic transmission for smooth parade duty Jun Camaro Pace Car Possibly One Of The Most Stunning Pace Car Ever Made While.
Festival Committee Vehicles and dealer linked pace car editions
Below the corporate VIP cars, the ranking shifts to the larger but still finite pool of Festival Committee Vehicles and related dealer supplied pace car editions. One detailed breakdown of the 1967 program states that First we have the 500 Festival Committee Vehicles, of which 43 are Camaros, numbers 1-43, and then notes that The Speedway Vehicles include 10 Camaros, which shows how Chevrolet spread the pace car look across different event roles while keeping the Camaro share relatively tight inside the larger 500 vehicle pool 500 43 Festival Committee Vehicles Camaros The Speedway Vehicles.
Chevrolet also leaned on local dealers rather than mass producing replicas, which further shapes rarity. A period style feature notes that, Instead of offering replicas to the general public, Chevrolet supplied RS/SS 396 convertibles as pace car style cars through local Indianapolis dealers, which meant that only buyers in that region could easily order a car that mirrored the track machines and that these RS/SS 396 convertibles carried the same basic look without the exact race duty pedigree Nov However Che RS/SS 396 convertibles.
Documented survivors, auction stars and modern rarity signals
Rarity on paper only matters if survivors still exist, and the registry data for 1967 pace cars remains thin. One long running reference notes that there are 98 cars registered from the 1967 pace car program, and that the historical narrative stretches back to when the year was 1948 and the car chosen to pace the 42nd Annual Indianapolis 500 mile race was the Chevrolet Fleetmaster convertible, which underscores how few 1967 cars have surfaced compared with the long history of Indy pace vehicles There are 98 cars registered Annual Indianapolis 500 mile Chevrolet Fleetmaster.
Individual stories help fill those gaps and show how collectors now treat these cars. One feature titled In The Beginning recounts how Chevy secured a major marketing coup when Indy officials selected the Camaro as the pace car, and later follows a specific Camaro that carried the number 92 and paced the race before eventually becoming a collector’s dream, which illustrates how a single documented car can anchor an entire sub registry of 1967 pace machines Jan In The Beginning Shortly Chevy Indy Camaro.
Big block pace car editions in the modern auction and show circuit
Modern auction results and show appearances now serve as real time barometers for rarity and demand. One high profile sale earlier in the decade involved the Camaro that paced the race, which sold for $632,500 at a major event run by Mecum Auctions during its 35th Annual Indy Spring sale, a figure that signals how collectors value documented race duty provenance above almost any other option combination Camaro Mecum Auctions $632,500 Annual Indy Spring.
Other big block pace car editions continue to surface at dedicated muscle car gatherings and on the auction block. A recent video feature invites viewers to Take a look at this incredibly rare and unique 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car at a major Muscle Car show, highlighting an L78 396 example that blends the pace car appearance with one of the most desirable big block engine codes Sep Take Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car Muscle Car.
Indy Pace Car labeled SS convertibles and later collector focus
Beyond the headline race cars, some 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS convertibles left the factory with explicit Indy Pace Car edition branding, which now gives them a distinct place in the rarity ranking. A recent auction listing describes a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS convertible with an Indy Pace Car edition package and notes that a 67 big-block convertible Camaro is already rare, but that this specific Chevrolet Camaro SS Indy Pace Car edition became even harder to find because buyers had only a short window of time to order one, which compresses production numbers compared with standard SS convertibles Jan 15 2025 Jan Camaro Chevrolet Camaro SS Indy Pace Car 67.
Another RS/SS pace car edition convertible, built to similar specifications, reinforces how Chevrolet blended marketing and engineering in these cars. A separate auction description for a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS pace car edition convertible explains that, as has been the case with most cars built to pace the Indianapolis 500, Chevrolet again focused on reliability and performance, which helps explain why these RS/SS pace car edition convertibles now command strong interest among collectors who rank them just below the actual race leaders and the TWO 396/375 Camaro SS Pace cars in overall rarity 500 Chevrolet.
