Before the rally kicks off, lets stop and take a closer look at the two cars that we will be driving in this year’s rally. With almost 1,000 horsepower between them, these two beasts will demand just as much attention as any Lamborghini ever would.

1969 Camaro Z/28 No. 67

Wearing Millenium Yellow paint, the No. 67 car rolls into battle with a 383 V-8 under the hood that has been pushed to produced 544 horsepower, all of which is getting sent to the rear tires. Shifting duties are being handled by a proper manual transmission with three pedals and six forward gears. I don’t know exactly what transmission these cars are using, but if I were a betting man, I’d say it’s a T56.

The car’s sweet yellow paint and classic stance is complemented by a set of 18-inch Rushforth alloy wheels that come wrapped in sticky Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. No word yet on what suspension changes have been made, but the car has been lowered so it should handle a lot better than it did back in the ‘60s.

The car has been given the number 67 for the rally to pay homage to the legendary 1967 “Summer of Love” that defined a generation.

1969 Camaro Z/28 No. 88

The number 88 car is the one wearing the gorgeous red paint and menacing black stripes. Just like the No. 67 car, the No. 88 car comes with a stroked 383-cubic-inch V-8 under the nose, but output sits at a slightly more manageable 425 horsepower. The same 18-inch alloys, six-speed manual transmission and RWD drivetrain deal with translating that horsepower into motion.

The number 88 was for good luck. Eight is a lucky number in traditional Chinese culture, so the number was picked as a “double-luck” number. This will hopefully provide safe travels on the journey, and it pays tribute to the members of AsianDate and their culture.

Conclusion

It will be a fun exercise to see which car is the better of the two to drive. With the higher horsepower, the yellow car will be more of a handful, but also faster. The red car, on the other hand, may be a bit lighter, making it handle better. When the rally is over, I will have spent a substantial amount of time behind the wheels of both cars, so I will have thoughts on each of them later.

Don’t forget to keep it locked here on TopSpeed.com over the coming weeks for lots more Gumball 3000 photos, videos and coverage.