Chevrolet Impala SS 1968 images

Chevrolet wasn’t chasing the GTO with this car, it was aimed at Ford’s Galaxie 7-Litre and Mercury’s S-55, full-size rivals most muscle car fans forget existed. Only 1,778 of these SS 427 Impalas were built in 1968, hiding up to 425 horsepower under a body that could pass for a family sedan. A well-sorted example could reportedly reach 60 mph in about six seconds flat.

1968 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 CID V8 3-Speed Automatic

MCF thanks Gateway Classic Cars for the images here.

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Chevrolet wasn’t chasing the GTO or the Z28 with this car, that’s the twist. While Pontiac and its own Camaro were busy fighting for the muscle car crowd, Chevrolet quietly built a nearly two-ton full-size cruiser that could hit 60 mph in six flat, aimed at an entirely different rival hiding in plain sight at Ford and Mercury dealerships. Under a deceptively plain full-size body sat an engine option so rare that barely more than a thousand were built the year this one left the factory. What was Chevrolet actually trying to beat?

The Rival Nobody Expected

The SS 427 package, internally coded Z24, was Chevrolet’s answer to Ford’s Galaxie 7-Litre and Mercury’s S-55, full-size performance cars, not the mid-size GTO or pony-car Camaro everyone assumes Chevy was chasing in this era. Offered only from 1967 through 1969, and only on the Impala Sport Coupe and Convertible, the package layered special hood treatment, redline tires, and upgraded suspension onto Chevrolet’s biggest body.

Two Versions Of The Same Idea

Buyers could choose between the 385-horsepower L36 427 or the far rarer L72 variant making 425 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque, this particular car’s 3-speed automatic pairing being the more common configuration. Chevrolet built just 1,778 SS 427 Impalas in 1968, and despite weighing close to two tons, a well-sorted example could reportedly reach 60 mph in about six seconds, a genuinely startling number for a car most onlookers would mistake for a plain family sedan.

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