California Highway Patrol has placed its final Chevrolet Camaro patrol car into service, nearly three years after production of the sixth-generation model ended. The black-and-white Camaro SS 1LE appeared this week with CHP decals, a push bar, roof-mounted patrol lighting and additional emergency lights.

The car will roll out next week as the agency’s final CHP Camaro. CHP has not identified which division will receive it, a detail that could determine how heavily the car is used across the agency’s roughly 105,000 miles of California highways.

A 455-hp Camaro built for pursuit duty

This is not a standard Camaro SS fitted with a light bar. The SS 1LE package adds track-focused suspension hardware intended to improve high-speed stability, making it a natural fit for freeway patrol and pursuit work.

Power comes from a 6.2-liter V8 producing 455 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque. Independent testing has placed the Camaro SS 1LE’s top speed at around 175 mph, matching the high-speed capability associated with the package.

CHP outfitted the car with a roof light bar, grille and side-skirt lighting, plus red and blue flashers. A whip antenna mounted in the style of those used on CHP Camaros during the 1970s provides a period-specific detail on an otherwise modern patrol vehicle equipped with contemporary electronics and a digital dash.

The end of CHP’s Camaro era

CHP’s relationship with the Camaro began in 1979, when the agency tested a Chevrolet Camaro Z28 as a high-speed pursuit option alongside its sedan fleet. The nameplate later appeared in the agency’s fleet in 1991 and 2002, rotating in and out as a specialty vehicle.

Chevrolet built the last sixth-generation Camaro on December 13, 2023. That production milestone left this SS 1LE as the final car supplied for CHP duty, closing a run that lasted more than four decades.

The Camaro was part of a wider history of American performance cars used by law enforcement. CHP has also operated Mustangs, while Dodge and Ford muscle cars remain positioned to fill the space left by Chevrolet’s discontinued coupe.

What comes next for the Camaro?

Chevrolet has only teased a possible return for the Camaro. A rumored next-generation model remains unconfirmed, so there is no announced replacement for the CHP fleet at this point.

Chevrolet continues to use the Camaro name on its NASCAR racing variant, but the SS 1LE entering CHP service represents the final example of the sixth-generation road car joining the agency.