The Drive’s Mike Musto called this Chevy Impala the quintessential muscle car — and he is not a writer who reaches for that language lightly. The BIG MUSCLE series is built on finding underappreciated machines and making the case through direct experience, and whatever Impala Musto drove for this episode made a compelling enough argument to convince more than 1.2 million viewers. The Impala’s role in American performance history is larger than most enthusiasts give it credit for.
The Drive’s Mike Musto does not use words like quintessential casually, and when he drove this Chevy Impala for the BIG MUSCLE series and came away describing it in terms usually reserved for the most celebrated muscle cars in American history, it was worth paying close attention. The Impala is not the first car that comes to mind when most enthusiasts make their mental list — that list typically starts with Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles, and Chargers. But the specific Impala Musto drove for this episode apparently makes a compelling argument for a reassessment, one that more than 1.29 million viewers found persuasive enough to watch through.
The Impala’s Forgotten Muscle Car Pedigree
The full-size Impala’s place in muscle car history is frequently overlooked by a hobby that tends to focus on smaller, lighter platforms. But in the early 1960s, before the Chevelle arrived, the Impala SS was where Chevrolet’s performance story actually lived. With the right engine — and the right engines were available, including the 409 cubic inch V8 that the Beach Boys made famous — an Impala SS was as serious a performance proposition as anything being built in America during that period. The combination of size, presence, and available power defined the original muscle car formula before the phrase had been coined.
Letting the Car Do the Talking
The BIG MUSCLE series from The Drive was built on finding cars that deserve more attention than they typically receive and making that case through the most persuasive means available — actually driving them and letting the result speak for the machine rather than for the writer. In the right hands and in the right configuration, a muscle car from any platform should be able to make its own argument.
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What exactly makes this particular Impala the one Musto describes in those terms is the information the video itself provides. The answer is worth hearing directly.
Watch the full video and share your thoughts below.
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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69
With a big block, for sure.
A 4 speed car !
427 biscayne 4 speed .1968 hauled freight
the 62 409 with 2 -4bls,,,even had songs wrote about it !
She’s real fine my 409.haha
I but one for the strip fast a h
All Impalas with 409,396, and 427 and 4 speed.
Yes I do
Awesome ride! My first car was a ‘69…. that was in ‘81. Wish I could have it back.
My 1st was a 390 Ford wagon… from same vein….
Awesome
being my first car was a 66 impala ss i’d say yes (y)
Muscle sled Brian Getts!
Jeffie would love this! ;)
My 68 with a 454 in it
had rough condition 72, loved that car
Amy Thrush show this to Jeff!
Had a 1969 lmpala 2 door 327 automatic good running car .
Damned straight
Doesn’t “define” but qualifies…..with a big block 4 speed.
if it has the 327 in it or not?
I had a 1969 it was my favorite Chevrolet
Alot of big cars big engines strong runners gm ford mopar were overlooked
The. SS. Certainly. Would
I had a 70 impala loved that car. Sadly had a car pull out of a side street hitting my right front fender pushing me into on coming traffic for a head on colission. The steel of the car saved my life and if I was wearing a seatbelt I probably wouldn’t have been hurt so badly. Just a 350 with the 2 speed tyranny I got for $700.00
Not really.
had one 427 car
Funny that Impalas show up a lot on car posts and don’t get me wrong, I love them..but once and a while I’d like to see an old mid 60’s Plymouth or Dodge mentioned..put a 4 barrel on a 383 with the old torque flight transmission in a Polaris, and it would give most Impalas all they could handle…drop in a cross ram 413…it would swallow them whole….
Polara
427-428 Galaxies were pretty tough too
No because it’s a heavy car and they did not consider power-to-weight ratio and the Impala has half ton truck suspension not car suspension is just too heavy
Not an Impala but my 77 Chevelle ran 12.20’s and it weighed about 4k with me in it , I had a 454 with about 560hp . You can make a boat fly lol !
Now put a big block in this little baby it we’ll see what happens
Oh sorry to answer your question Chevy Impala is too heavy to be a muscle car
They weren’t all 4 door Grandma cars back then
There were muscle cars during prohibition which is how we got NASCAR. But what truly says muscle car to me is GTO. I used to race a 72 at Corona raceway back in the day with very few mods,and it still blew the doors off most my competition
Erick Gudmundsson
Sweet ride bro 👍☺️
I dig it !!! Just don’t care for where the exhaust comes out
Family car with muscle maybe but not a straight up muscle car.
Yes it does!!!! Had a 69′ Impala!
Yes
There have been many great Impala SS cars. I like the 63 thru 67 years the best . But GM let this icon die like most other great cars they had . Vettes and Camaros are better than ever but now not affordable for most guys .
Sweet, sweet car, everything done just right, very well done..
I was in the military friend of mine had a 70 Impala with a 300 horse 350 in it hard head with set of headers who’s running 14 second quarter miles and 96 miles an hour I was pretty impressive for big boat
If it were a Baldwin Motion Performance one !
My Brother In-Law had a 68 Impala Custom Coup 427 4 spd it was a Bad Ass sleeper !!!
Would love to have a 65 Impala 496 , 6speed.
No
Awesome ,!!
We had a one…a faded green convertible with a couple of dents on each side….but Damn that car had some POWER!!! Love and miss it