Chevrolet Caprice

Chevrolet Caprice at a glance

Caprice generations and timeline

• Mid-1965: the Caprice Custom option (RPO Z18) adds US$200 (1965) to an Impala four-door hardtop priced at US$2,742 in 1965.
• 1967: GM's 100 millionth car, assembled on 21 April in Janesville, Wisconsin, is a light-blue Caprice coupé.
• 1977: the downsized Caprice wins Car of the Year and sells about 212,840 Caprice Classic sedans.
• 1986: the 9C1 police package arrives.
• 1996: the last Caprice leaves Arlington, Texas; the plant switches to SUVs.
• 2017: Holden ends Australian production, and with it the Caprice PPV.

First generation (1965–1970): the luxury Chevrolet

In the middle of the 1965 model year Chevrolet offered a dressed-up version of the Impala four-door hardtop. For 1966 the Caprice became a separate line with a four-door hardtop, a two-door formal-roof hardtop and six- or nine-seat wagons, all on a 3,023 mm (119 in) wheelbase. Base power came from the 283 V8 rated at 145 kW (195 hp gross).

The option list grew every year. The 396 Turbo Jet gave 242 kW (325 hp) in 1966, and the solid-lifter 427 L72 returned in 1968 with 317 kW (425 hp), the strongest engine any Caprice received. For 1970 the range ran from a 350 V8 with 186 kW (250 hp) to a 454 with 291 kW (390 hp). Buyers could choose a three- or four-speed manual, the two-speed Powerglide or the three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic. The formal roofline proved so popular that the Impala Custom Coupé copied it and became the best-seller of its line in 1968.

Second generation (1971–1976): the largest Caprice

The 1971 redesign stretched the wheelbase to 3,086 mm (121.5 in) and the sedan to 5,507 mm, growing to 5,660 mm by 1976 as bumpers grew to meet new crash rules. A 1971 car weighed about 1,830 kg. From 1973 the line was called Caprice Classic, and the convertible moved over from the Impala; about 8,350 convertibles were sold in 1975, the final year for open Chevrolets of this size.

This generation also spans the switch from gross to net ratings. In 1971 the 454 was rated 272 kW (365 hp gross; 213 kW or 285 hp net). For 1972 it was quoted at 201 kW (270 hp net), and by 1976 it gave 168 kW (225 hp) before being dropped. Motor Trend compared a loaded Caprice coupé at US$5,550 with a Cadillac Sedan de Ville at US$9,081 in May 1971 and judged the Chevrolet the better value. The 1976 model was the last pillarless Chevrolet hardtop.

Third generation (1977–1990): the downsized best-seller

GM's "Project 77" cut the coupé by 277 kg (611 lb), the sedan by 289 kg and the wagon by 395 kg. The wheelbase dropped to 2,946 mm (116 in), and the body lost about 25 cm. Buyers rewarded the result: the 1977 Caprice took Motor Trend's annual award, and full-size Chevrolets topped the American sales chart with about 660,000 built.

A four-speed automatic with overdrive arrived in 1982, and Car and Driver put the Caprice Classic on its Ten Best list in 1983. With 2,946 mm between the axles, the downsized car had a wheelbase 140 mm shorter than its predecessor. In 1986 the Impala name was dropped from the sedan, so every full-size Chevrolet became a Caprice, and the 9C1 police package appeared. Between 1977 and 1990 Chevrolet built 2,881,871 cars of this generation: 2,034,787 sedans, 556,706 wagons and 290,378 coupés. In 1990 the police Caprice won all six categories of the Michigan State Police test, the first car to do so.

Fourth generation (1991–1996): LT1 and the police 9C1

The 1991 body kept the old frame but wrapped it in rounded panels. Motor Trend gave it its 1991 award for the best new car from a US maker, while critics mocked the shape as a "beached whale". At first the 5.0 L03 V8 gave 127 kW (170 hp); the 5.7 L05 followed with 134 kW (180 hp). For 1994 Chevrolet fitted two new sequential-injection V8s: a 4.3-litre L99 with 149 kW (200 hp) and the Corvette-derived 5.7 LT1 with 194 kW (260 hp) and 447 Nm. The LT1 was standard in the wagon and in the police car.

With the LT1 the 9C1 became a popular police car, and many departments kept them in service for years after production ended. The Impala SS of 1994–1996 used the same mechanicals, and in 1995–1996 it was exported to the Middle East as the Caprice SS.

Production counts disagree. The yearly table in English Wikipedia adds up to 506,414 cars (454,173 sedans and 52,241 wagons); the same article's text gives 689,257, and German Wikipedia counts 668,226 sedans and 51,350 wagons. In the 1996 model year the base sedan was listed at US$29,045, and the 9C1 package at US$29,190. The last car left Arlington on 13 December 1996, and GM turned the plant over to its full-size SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe.

Holden-built Caprice and the PPV (2000–2017)

The name survived abroad. From model year 2000 Holden's long-wheelbase Statesman/Caprice (WH series) was sold in the Gulf states as the Chevrolet Caprice in LS, LTZ, SS and, from 2002, Royale trim. The 3.8 V6 gave 157 kW and 310 Nm, enough for 0–100 km/h in 9.5 s and 210 km/h. The 5.7 V8 gave 220 kW in the LTZ and 242 kW in the SS and Royale, always with a four-speed automatic.

The WM model of 2006 moved to the Zeta platform, and from 2011 a rebadged version returned to North America purely as a police patrol vehicle, the Caprice PPV. Its 6.0-litre V8 was rated 260 kW in the Holden WN with a six-speed automatic. Australian production of the Caprice ended in October 2017, and with it the last Chevrolet to carry the name.

Specifications by generation

Photo gallery