Donald Yenko

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Donald ("Don") Yenko (May 27, 1927 – March 5, 1987^[1]) was a racecar driver best known for creating the Yenko Camaro, a high-performance version of the Chevrolet Camaro.

In 1957, Yenko set up a performance shop for Chevrolet vehicles. The customers can either order high performance parts or they can have their car modified by Yenko's mechanics. In 1967, when Chevrolet began selling the Camaro, Yenko began to modify SS Camaros by replacing the original L-78 396 in³ (6.4 L)engine with a Chevrolet Corvette's L-72 427 in³ (7.0 L) and upgrade the rear axle and suspensions. He also modified other Chevrolet vehicles like Chevelle and Nova by fitting them with L-72 engines.

The 1970s saw the decline in muscle cars due to higher insurance premium and tighter emission rules, Yenko began to modify Chevrolet Vega with spoiler, turbocharger and design graphics. Due to difficulties with EPA certification, he only sold the modified Vega without a turbocharger. Instead, the turbocharger sold separately at Yenko dealership. In 1972 Yenko stopped selling modified cars and began publishing a performance parts catalog from cosmetic modification to engine modification. One of his notable product was the ZL-1 engine and he produced them under permission from Chevrolet. In 1981, Yenko made his last modification, the Turbo Z Camaro. He added a turbocharger to 350 in³ (5.7 L) engine. He sold the Yenko Chevrolet dealership in 1982, which had been family owned since 1934.

Yenko, along with his three passengers, died in March 1987 while piloting his Cessna 210M into land near Charleston, West Virginia. The landing was hard, causing the aircraft to bounce and Yenko to lose control. It then hit a dirt bank, fell into a ravine and crashed.^[2]