Chevrolet Impala IV (1965–1970)

The 1967 Impala at a glance

Where the 1967 car sits in Impala history

Chevrolet named the Impala after the African antelope, which also served as its emblem. The name first appeared on a 1956 Motorama show car, and the production Impala arrived for the 1958 model year as the top version of the Bel Air. Ten generations followed between 1958 and 2020, with gaps in 1986–1993 and 1997–1999, and the last car was built on 27 February 2020.

The fourth generation, launched for 1965, was the most successful. That year Impala sales in the United States passed one million units, an annual record for a single model that has not been beaten. The Impala was Chevrolet's most expensive full-size car until the Caprice, first an option package on the four-door hardtop in 1965, became a separate and more luxurious series for 1966. So by 1967 the Impala sat in the middle of the range, above the Biscayne and Bel Air and below the Caprice. The latest chapter of the name, the 2014–2020 front-drive saloon, has its own page on the tenth-generation Impala.

Styling: the 1967 redesign

For 1967 Chevrolet gave the full-size cars new outer panels while keeping the 1965 chassis. The sides took on a Coke-bottle shape, with bulges over the front and rear wheels inspired by the Corvette, and the Sport Coupe gained a long fastback roofline that ran into the boot lid. A formal-roof Custom Coupe, previously reserved for the Caprice, became available on the Impala the following year.

Inside and out, chrome still did much of the work: full-width bumpers, a wide grille, bright mouldings on the lower body sides and full wheel covers. Buyers could choose cloth, cloth-and-vinyl or all-vinyl interiors, and options included air conditioning, power steering and brakes, a vinyl roof, rear fender skirts, cruise control and a Positraction limited-slip axle.

The 1967 and 1968 cars also carried the first federal safety equipment. An energy-absorbing collapsible steering column, shoulder belts for closed models and side marker lights appeared, and GM changed its key and lock system for the first time since 1936.

1967 Chevrolet Impala engines and gearboxes

Every 1967 Impala used a front engine and rear-wheel drive. The power ratings below are the SAE gross figures Chevrolet published at the time; net figures measured with all accessories fitted would be lower. Metric conversions are ours.

The 283 and 327 belonged to Chevrolet's small-block family, and the 396 and 427 to the big-block Mark IV family. The two-speed Powerglide automatic was the common choice in ordinary cars; the three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic arrived with the bigger V8s. By our calculation, the six gave a 1,550 kg sedan about 13 kg per kW, while a 427 SS carried only about 5.7 kg per kW. You can convert other gross ratings with our power converter.

The 1967 Impala SS and SS 427

The Impala SS of 1967 was a trim package for the two-door hardtop and the convertible, with bucket seats and its own badging. Most SS cars had V8 engines; Chevrolet's figures list only about 400 with the six. Production records give 76,055 Impala SS cars for 1967.

The SS 427, regular production option Z24, was the serious one. It combined the 427 cu in L36 V8, rated at 287 kW (385 hp gross), with the F41 heavy-duty suspension and special SS 427 identification, and it was ordered on 2,124 cars in 1967. A 6.7-litre engine with 425 hp, sometimes quoted for this car, is a mix-up: the 425 hp L72 version of the 427 is not listed for the 1967 Impala in most references, and the L36 displaced 7.0 litres. The SS 427 package returned for 1968 and 1969. Chevrolet's mid-size performance cars of the same era are covered on our Chevrolet Chevelle page and in the Chevrolet muscle cars section.

Production and prices in 1967

Catalogue production figures list about 18,800 six-cylinder and 556,800 V8 Impalas for 1967, plus about 74,000 Impala SS cars, so total output was roughly 650,000 cars. Wagons alone accounted for more than 150,000. Compared with the record of more than one million cars in 1965, that was at least 35 % lower, and Impala output kept falling through the rest of the generation.

At the 1967 exchange rate of about 4 Deutsche Mark to the dollar, a six-cylinder sedan cost the equivalent of about €5,600 at the fixed euro rate, by our calculation. That placed it in the middle of the American market, between the cheaper Biscayne and Bel Air and the Caprice.

Baby: the Supernatural Impala

For many people under 40 the 1967 Impala is simply "Baby", the black four-door driven by Dean and Sam Winchester in Supernatural. The car appears through all 15 seasons of the series, from 2005 to 2020, and in the story it is described as powered by a 327 cu in V8. Production used a number of 1967 Impalas for filming, with estimates ranging from nine to about twenty cars, some fitted with camera mounts.

The series gave the four-door 1967 Impala a following of its own, and lead actor Jensen Ackles kept one of the screen cars.

Owning a 1967 Impala today

Parts supply is good because the 1965–1970 full-size Chevrolets were built in large numbers and shared many components; reproduction trim, panels and interior kits are widely available. The main checks are rust in the floors, boot floor, rear wheel arches and lower front wings, the condition of chrome and stainless trim, and the brakes, suspension bushes and wiring. On SS and SS 427 cars, documentation matters most: a build sheet and correct engine codes separate a genuine car from a clone.

The body is long, at about 5.4 m, so measure your garage before you buy; our will it fit in my garage tool helps. Four-door sedans and Sport Sedans are the cheapest way in and suit owners who want a comfortable cruiser or a Supernatural tribute. Sport Coupes and convertibles hold their value better, and a documented SS 427 is the collector's choice. Other American cars from the decade are listed in our 1960s classics section, and the wider story of the brand is in our history of Chevrolet.