Chevrolet
Corvair Yenko Stinger

Why it matters

The Yenko Stinger was a Corvair turned into an SCCA race-ready sports car by Chevrolet dealer Don Yenko. It was built around a Central Office Production Order so that the 100 cars needed for homologation arrived as factory-ordered cars. It was one of the first uses of a COPO to order high-performance options, and Yenko applied the lessons to his later Camaro, Chevelle and Nova muscle cars.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

Yenko wanted a competitive car after Shelby Mustangs and Cobras overtook his Corvettes in SCCA racing. He chose the Corvair, which had fully independent rear suspension, and SCCA gave tentative approval in November 1965 if 100 were built. Yenko placed a fleet order for 100 Corvair Corsas, all white with black interiors, the 140 hp Corsa engine, F41 heavy-duty suspension, M20 four-speed gearbox, N44 quick-ratio steering, dual-master-cylinder brakes and a 3.89:1 Positraction differential (about half received 3.55:1 gears). SCCA inspected the cars on 6 January 1966 and classed them in D Production, where Triumph's TR4 dominated.

Jerry Thompson won the 1967 SCCA D Production national championship in a Stinger. For 1967 Yenko ordered 25 Monzas through COPO, because the Corsa had been dropped. The copo.com registry counts 115 COPO Stingers in total, including one 1969 car for Goodyear; other sources give different totals.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

The registry assigns Stingers a YS number. COPO cars run from YS-001 to YS-101 plus YS-105 for 1966, YS-107 to YS-131 for 1967 and YS-9700 for the 1969 Goodyear car. The YS plate is screwed to the driver's door pillar, and the GM-issued VIN is on the driver's-side engine-compartment frame rail near the battery well. The 1966 COPO cars were white with black interiors. YS tags above 132 were issued to other cars and racers and are not COPO cars. The registry notes that many original VINs belong to Corvairs that have been destroyed, so a YS tag alone does not prove a genuine car.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Introduction and History (Yenko Stinger Archives) Level B COPO.com / Yenko Stinger Archives

   • a total of 115 Yenko COPO Stingers ordered through the COPO program

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   Viva Lost Vegas: The strange tale of the Yenko Stinger Level B Hagerty Media

   • Calling it the Stinger, he built 115 from 1966–69

   Accessed 2026-11-12
3. 3
   Unique Cars and Parts – Yenko Stinger Level C

   • 100 1966 Corsas certified/converted as Stingers

   Accessed 2026-11-12
4. 4
   The Ultimate Corvair - Yenko Stinger Level B J. Michael Hemsley · Supercars.net

   • flat-six, air-cooled engine mounted in the rear
   • flat-six
   • engine is in the rear

   Accessed 2026-11-12
5. 5
   1966 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa Yenko Stinger Level C B. Mitchell Carlson · Sports Car Market · 2020-04-13

   • equipped with the base Corsa 140-hp engine
   • M20 4-speed
   • 3.89 Positraction differential (roughly half were fitted with 3.55s)
   • fully independent rear suspension that featured four U-joint half shafts
   • dual-master-cylinder brakes (sourced from Cadillac)
   • N44 quick-ratio steering

   Accessed 2026-11-12