When GM styling head Bill Mitchell set about redesigning the Chevrolet look for the 1961 model year, taking over from the iconic Harley Earl, he wanted to make a big shift away from the upright aesthetic with dramatic tail fins that defined the brand’s 1950s. Moving into a smoother and cleaner jet age look, the 1961 Impala looked lower, longer, wider, and more streamlined. With wire-thin pillars and wraparound windows front and rear, the unique Sport Coupe model came to be known as a “bubbletop” in enthusiast circles. Decades on from its production date, this Impala design looks as beautiful as the day it was born. This particular example, currently for sale with a bubble-bursting $259,900 price tag, hides some modern improvements to make it an even better Impala.
Many car fanatics drive vintage cars because they’re stylistically impressive, and it doesn’t get much more impressive than a bubble top Impala scraping the ground on bags. There are downsides to driving a classic every day, though. Old cars typically don’t have the modern amenities that American drivers have come to expect, like the unstoppable power of a fuel-injected small-block Chevrolet V8, a modern overdrive transmission, the stopping power of disc brakes, or modern air suspension. Thankfully, this Impala is fitted with all of these. This is a showstopper that was built to handle the rigors of modern traffic. What more could you want?
Take one part old Impala, one part modern Corvette, and one part creative hot-rod ingenuity, and you get a magnificent piece of automotive art. Albeit automotive art with the price tag of a long-lost Gertrude Abercrombie surrealist masterpiece. I want to know everything there is to know about this machine, and I bet you do, too.
All ate up with motor
While the car still carries all of the beautiful bodywork of a ’61 Impala, it appears that just about everything under the skin has been replaced with modern alternatives. With new drivetrain components, suspension, steering, and brakes, this looks like a truly incredible driving experience waiting to happen. With the seller claiming just 1,111 miles on the odometer, it’s just barely been broken in and should be taken on a nice long road trip with expediency. Imagine next summer cruising back and forth across the country on Route 66 in a black-over-red Impala and barely breaking a sweat because you have a nice fuel-efficient LS engine, graceful power steering, comfortable suspension, and ice-cold Vintage Air A/C blowing. Yeah, that’s the American dream.
Back in 1961, Impala buyers would have been given three different engines to choose from, including a Blue Flame six-cylinder, a 283ci V8, and a 348ci V8. The most powerful Impala of its day featured 350 horsepower from a “Special Super Turbo-Thrust” V8 with three two-barrel carburetors. A modern LS2, cribbed from a C6 Corvette, makes an uncomplicated 400 ponies from its six-liter displacement. Presumably for the sake of simplicity and availability, the shop decided to pair this engine with a 4L60 four-speed automatic. This was an extremely common transmission, used in practically every rear-wheel drive General Motors product built from the mid-1990s to about 2010. This car should have no trouble delivering the giddyup, or laying some rubber if you want it to.
The seller describes the suspension setup thusly:
Equipped with a complete Ridetech Air Ride Suspension System, this Impala can transform from a pavement-hugging showpiece to a comfortable highway cruiser at the touch of a button!
Doesn’t that sound like fun?
It’s got red guts!
Inside the Impala, there’s an interesting juxtaposition of old and new, with gorgeous period-correct red interior upholstery wrapped around custom bucket seats, a unique center console, and plenty of retro-modern touches, like the full Dakota Digital gauge cluster. In addition to the modern air conditioning, this car is fitted with a modern (unspecified) multi-speaker sound system. I’m not sure how much music you’ll need, considering the LS2’s soundtrack is bolstered with a stainless-steel Borla exhaust.
I don’t like the Billet Specialties wheels, and I think they’re much too large for this car, but a nice set of 18s wouldn’t go amiss here. Likewise, the steering wheel is a touch too far. Beyond that, I’m not sure there is much I would amend here. It’s a nice car that appears to be nicely done. I’d want a few thousand more miles of testing on a completely custom car before taking it on a big trip, but the parts to fix it will be available at whatever parts counter you find along Route 66.
I’m not going to try to justify the price tag, because this is an absolutely absurd number, and I don’t think they’ll get anyone to pay it. If you have the spare quarter mil, though, there are a lot worse cars you could buy. Anything new in that price range is going to be faster, but will it be as effortlessly stylish? What’s the point in buying a new Porsche 911 GT3 when a sea of them parks at your local cars and coffee? You could instead arrive in something that has show-worthy style, and you’d still have enough comfort to cross the country.
