Ford announced their brand-new Mustang in 1964, with sales climbing into the hundreds of thousands. The success of the stylish coupe put rivals General Motors on the back foot.

A few years later, Chevrolet released their own pony car, the Camaro, putting the two vehicles in direct competition. But it was a long road that led up to the Camaro’s eventual emergence on the market, one that started long before anyone had seen the Mustang.

Hagerty has a full rundown of how the Camaro came to be, including some interesting backstory about how Chevy almost beat their rivals to the punch.

Read the full story here.