Introduced
in autumn 1957, the Impala, named after the concept car shown at the January
1956 Motorama show, was in its first year part of the Bel Air line, initially
marketed as ‘Chevrolet Bel Air Impala’, later as ‘Chevrolet Impala’, with its
own body styles, a convertible or a unique 2-door hardtop roof (shared with the
Pontiac Bonneville) that was shorter and lower than that of the Bel Air. The Impala could be easily identified by
triple tail lights resulting in a smaller lower deck lid opening, while the
wings were more pronounced, a sign of things to come.
most popular nameplate of
the three
When
by 1959 an Impala 4-door sedan and 4-door hardtop arrived, it had a share of
over one third in Chevrolet full size US production, while the 2-door hardtop
and convertible body style were exclusive to the Impala and by 1960 it became
the most popular nameplate of the three series (Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala),
accounting for over half by 1962, though the 2-door hardtop body was again
granted in these years to the Bel Air, which had been the name for this body
style when it appeared back in 1950.
This share rose to well over two thirds in 1965, after which the Impala
was joined by the Caprice that would eventually overhaul the Impala’s share at
the downsizing in 1977, and replaced it by 1986. In 1959 and 1960, an impressive number of
nine body styles was available in the Chevrolet full size series: 2- and 4-dr
sedans, hardtops and wagons, a convertible, a 2-door panel van, and a pick-up
El Camino.
tail lights
By
1960 model year, replacing the cat’s eye tail lights of the 1959 models, the
Impala series reverted to its triple light distinction. This resulted in a 10% higher pie slice of
the Impala the next year to nearly half, growing to over two third in
1965. In Australia, 1962 through 1965
assembled Bel Air (sedans) had triple instead of dual tail lights, using Impala
deck lids with the additional two lights.
Just by 1965 arrived the Impala here as well.
convertible
By
1960, one out of every six Impalas was a convertible, dropping to one out of
ten in 1963, one out of twenty by 1967, and to under 1% from 1969, after which
the Caprice Classic took over from 1973 until 1975. The 6-cylinder engine was deleted by 1968,
urging the Benelux importer to switch to the V8.
station wagon
In
1958, the wagons were called Yeoman (2 or 4-door) with Del Ray trim, Brookwood
with Biscayne trim and Nomad with Bel Air trim.
By 1959, the entry-level model became the Brookwood, also as a 2-door wagon, while with Bel Air
trim the 4-door wagon was called Parkwood or (9-pass.) Kingswood, and the Nomad
now had Impala trim. In 1961, the 2-door
was deleted and both Bel Air based wagons were called Parkwood, selling over
half of the wagons, the Nomad 15%.
Hereafter the wagon naming was deleted, creating the first Impala wagon,
receiving three tail lights by 1963, and again by 1965. Then, from 1969 till 1972, the Biscayne wagon
was called Brookwood again, the Bel Air wagon was now called Townsman (a name
also used in the 1950s), the Impala Kingswood and the Caprice Kingswood
Estate. The Kingswood sold about half of
the wagons, with the Kingswood Estate growing to one third. From 1980 on the Caprice Classic wagon
outsold the Impala wagon, which was finally deleted in 1982.
1965 models
Only
in 1961 model year an Impala 2-door sedan was offered, and while the 2-door
hardtop comprised less than one third of the US Impala production, the more
solid 1962 roof lifted this to over 40%, and the striking 1965 ‘sweepline’ to over half, making the
Impala (incl. the Super Sport) sell almost 1.1 million units in a single market
in this calendar year, the only time that a given nameplate ever exceeded the
million mark. The Chevrolet full size series sold over 1 million
units annually in the United States nearly each year from 1949 till 1972. The Impala had 12% of the US market in 1965,
12.5% incl. the V8 Caprice, actually an Impala option package, introduced in
February 1965 in response to Ford’s LTD.
The full-sized Chevrolet line sold nearly 1.7 million units in 1965, a
new single-year sales record, that was 18.2% of the market. GM had half of the US market that year,
Chevrolet over a quarter. By 1963 model
year, Buick had re-issued the upwards curving rear fender shape with the
Riviera.
formal roof
For
1966, with only cosmetic changes to the bodies, the 2-door hardtop portion
would be shared with the Caprice formal roof models, while the Super Sport part
halved, reducing the 2-door hardtop share among the Impala again to under half. Over 3 million of the 1965/66 full size
models were built, with almost one third the 2-door Sport Coupe, as the Impala
2-door hardtop was called. This 1966
Caprice 2-door formal roof, called Custom Coupe, had an upstanding rear side
window appearance, and was not used at the other GM full size models. A vinyl top was optional, as it was for the
Sport Coupe.
most produced nameplate
The
Impala became the most produced nameplate worldwide with 7.5 million units by
1967, overtaking the Bel Air, the year after which assembling generally stopped
outside North America. Cumulatively the
Impala would be the world leader for 25 years until 1992, though on a yearly
basis the (second generation) Corolla had beaten the Impala from 1971.
1967 models
For
1967, the Sport Coupe roof adopted a semi-fastback line, and by 1968, the
Custom Coupe, became also available for the Impala, even with the Super Sport
option pack till 1969. Among the full
size 1965~1968 GM B-body models, the Oldsmobile Jetstar I up to 1965, the
Oldsmobile Starfire up to 1966, and the Pontiac Grand Prix up to 1968 all used
the same 2-door hardtop roof with a concave backlight that was denied to Chevrolet. The emerged rear flank kickups for 1967
didn’t match to this roof, inciting Pontiac to integrate roof, rear fender and
sloping deck lid by 1968, urging Canada to use the sweepline roof for the Grande Parisienne, after production by
Fisher of the earlier configuration had stopped, guarding the Grand Prix from
losing its widest front track, as Canada then used Chevy’s wagon treads,
continuing the 2+2 models through 1970.
1969 models
By
1969 the sweepline look was ‘out’ and
the Chevrolet 2-door Sport Coupe models now had a more regular modest
appearance. Among the full size 1969/70
GM B-body models, the Impala/Caprice Custom Coupe were the only models with
their own 2-door hardtop roof, changed as well for this year, though the
Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale had the regular roof, ‘semi-formal’ with a smaller
backlight, while Pontiac wasn’t able to design another roof good enough to
distinguish its Grand Prix, coming up with the idea to put it on the stretched
four-door A-body chassis, the extra space granted to the hood, rather than to
the interior, creating the successful G-body, an idea that was copied the next
year by Chevrolet for its Monte Carlo, which was also planned as a convertible
that even made it to the accessory brochure, and after two years almost halved
sales of the Grand Prix, itself again available in Canada after six years, the
first year next to the less costly but roomier B-body Grande Parisienne.
1965~1970 GM full size
With
over 15 million built, total production of the 1965~1970 GM full size B-body
models exceeded that of the Ford Model T, and that of the Zhiguli, when
counting in the stretched C- (and D-) body varieties. But have a look at top
3 production cars.
1971 models
At
the 1971 remodeling, the B-body Pontiac Grand Ville had its own distinctive
2-door hardtop roof yet, next to the Impala/Caprice Custom Coupe with the
usual upstanding rear window appearance, while the Impala Sport Coupe (mated to
a Bel Air in Canada since 1970) got a more common look, selling fewer each
year, with in 1973 one out of every five 2-door hardtops a Sport Coupe, after
which this body style reverted to a more formal appearance, while the Custom
Coupe lost its traditional hardtop body, and eventually the Sport Coupe was
abandoned altogether by 1976, when the Impala Custom Coupe became the
entry-level model, priced below the 4-door Sedan. The Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale semi-formal
roof with the smaller backlight was now shared with the Buick Centurion. By 1975, ten years after the takeover by the sweepline 2-door hardtop, the 4-door
sedan again became the most popular body style in the Chevrolet full size
series, and now for the Impala series as well.
2-door share
In
the US auto industry as well, the 2-door hardtop body style had become the most
popular by 1965 with a share of over one third, growing to over 45% by 1968,
while a year earlier the total 2-door share exceeded that of the 4-door for the
first time since 1955, when the 2-door hardtop was on half that level. In 1974 the total 2-door share reached nearly
two third. In 1971, the 4-door sedan
share was on a minimum level of about one fifth.
Bel Air
The
Biscayne was skipped for the 1973 model year, but in Canada it stayed through
1975. Also by 1973, the Caprice was
renamed Caprice Classic. When the Bel
Air was renamed Impala S in the United States by 1976 (for one year), the Bel
Air continued in Canada, also after the 1977 downsizing. It outlived the 1980 remodeling as well and
was laid to rest after the 1981 model year.
This meant that with over 31 years it became the longest continuously
running Chevrolet passenger car nameplate, but it was beaten with some months
by the Caprice (Classic), ceasing production in December 1996. By 1986, the ‘Chevrolet Caprice’ had
succeeded on the Impala.
Pontiac Parisienne
When
by 1982 model year the Pontiac full size model was deleted in the United
States, the Canadians used the Caprice Classic body to continue their large
Pontiacs, to be sold in the USA as well by 1983. By 1985, the rear quarter Pontiac panel with
skirts was used again for the sedan, but with the Chevrolet front fender (both
models used the same center body section).
These Pontiacs used the Parisienne name, initiated at Pontiac Canada for
1958, as was Impala for Chevrolet. At
the 1953 Motorama show a Pontiac ‘La Parisienne’ (a female Parisian) was
presented.
Europe
Impalas
were assembled in Belgium and Switzerland through the 1960s, and sold in the
Benelux up to the 1980s, and in Switzerland until the 1977 downsizing, when the
Caprice Classic took over. In both
markets, Bel Air rather than Impala 4-door sedans were marketed, and upon the
arrival of the Chevelle in 1964, the Bel Airs and 6-cylinder Impalas were
deleted in Switzerland, while in the Benelux the Impala sedan became available
in 1971 and 1972 (next to the Bel Air), after the V8 engine had become
obligatory for the 4-door hardtop models, and by 1973 for all Impalas. Impala wagons were normally not marketed in
the Benelux. In Scandinavia all Impala
body styles were sold for various years in the 1960s. The last Impala for France was the V8
convertible from 1968 to 1970.
right-hand-drive markets
In
left-driving countries, such as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Impala
assembling and sales ended in the later 1960s.
In South Africa, the Caprice succeeded on the Impala 4-door hardtop from
1968 and lasted until 1969. Earlier, the
Biscayne sedan was pushed out by the Chevelle in 1964. Market penetration of the Impala was here
around 1%, and 2% for the Chevelle. In
Australia, the Impala came only by 1965 as a 4-door hardtop, accompanying the
Bel Air sedan, and succeeding it for 1967, retaining the hardtop, both lasting
for another year.
Latin America
Mexico
initially assembled Impalas and then manufactured them till 1975 as 2- and
4-door hardtop, after which the Caprice took over. The large-stroke 292 Chevy 6-in-line engine
with high compression was used from the later 1960s until 1973, avoiding using
a V8. Likewise, the early 1980s Impalas
in Venezuela were fitted the 252 V6 Buick engine, and by 1981 the Caprice
Classic as well. Here, the Impala V8
4-door hardtop was assembled until 1966, after which V8 Biscayne and Caprice
were the choices and then Impala again from 1975 until 1985. Peru assembled Impalas in the 1960s. Chile imported the Impala up to the
1980s. Imports to Brazil and Argentina
ceased after 1962, after which import restrictions started.
Far East markets
Assembling
took place until 1970 in Singapore (right-hand-drive) and the Philippines
(6-cyl. sedan). In Japan, the Impala
was available as sedan, 2- and 4-door hardtop, in 1970 also as Kingswood, and
was replaced by the Caprice Classic in the early 1970s. In South Korea, the Impala only appeared in
2015. Impalas were not sold in China and
Taiwan.
Front-Wheel-Drive
The
2000 front-wheel-drive Impala actually was the successor to the Lumina, after
the Malibu had been resurrected less than three years earlier, succeeding on
the Corsica. There were now four round
taillights, two at each side.
Canadian-built, with assembling in Venezuela and exports to Mexico and
Chile, it was more international than the 2006 model on the same platform,
built until 2016 as Impala Limited, overlapping the Epsilon II based Impala
since April 2013.
|
selected deviating Impala engine specifications
worldwide |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
body style |
cyl |
cubic-inch |
bore |
stroke |
liter |
cm3 |
bore |
stroke |
compr. |
gross hp |
rpm |
lb-ft |
kgm |
rpm |
bl |
number |
built |
|||
|
Switzerland |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
1958 |
convertible |
L6 |
235.5 |
235.5 |
3.5625 |
3.9375 |
3.9 |
3859 |
90.5 |
100.0 |
7.5 |
135 |
4200 |
29.2 |
2200 |
1 |
||||
|
1958 |
4-dr hardtop; conv. |
V8 |
283 |
283.0 |
3.875 |
3 |
4.6 |
4638 |
98.4 |
76.2 |
8.1 |
170 |
4600 |
37.3 |
2200 |
2 |
||||
|
Benelux |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
1955 |
manual |
L6 |
235.5 |
235.5 |
3.5625 |
3.9375 |
3.9 |
3859 |
90.5 |
100.0 |
7.1 |
120 |
3800 |
29.2 |
2200 |
1 |
||||
|
1955 |
Bel Air |
V8 |
265 |
265.1 |
3.7500 |
3 |
4.3 |
4344 |
95.3 |
76.2 |
7.25 |
150 |
4400 |
33.5 |
2200 |
2 |
||||
|
1965 |
2-dr hardtop; conv. |
V8 |
327 |
326.7 |
4 |
3.25 |
5.4 |
5354 |
101.6 |
82.6 |
9.5 |
290 |
5000 |
27.9 |
2000 |
4 |
Super
Sport |
|||
|
Peru |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
1960s |
V8 |
283 |
283.0 |
3.875 |
3 |
4.6 |
4638 |
98.4 |
76.2 |
7.6 |
170 |
4200 |
2 |
|||||||
|
South Africa |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
1963~1964 |
4-dr hardtop |
V8 |
327 |
326.7 |
4 |
3.25 |
5.4 |
5354 |
101.6 |
82.6 |
8.6 |
230 |
4400 |
330 |
2800 |
4 |
>1000 per year |
|||
|
1965~1967 |
4-dr hardtop |
V8 |
327 |
326.7 |
4 |
3.25 |
5.4 |
5354 |
101.6 |
82.6 |
8.75 |
230 |
4400 |
330 |
2800 |
4 |
<1000 per year |
|||
|
Australia |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
1965~1966 |
4-dr hardtop |
V8 |
327 |
326.7 |
4 |
3.25 |
5.4 |
5354 |
101.6 |
82.6 |
8.75 |
230 |
4400 |
4 |
||||||
|
1967 |
4-dr sedan/hardtop |
V8 |
327 |
326.7 |
4 |
3.25 |
5.4 |
5354 |
101.6 |
82.6 |
8.75 |
240 |
4800 |
325 |
3200 |
4 |
||||
|
Mexico |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
1967 |
L6 |
250 |
249.8 |
3.875 |
3.53 |
4.1 |
4093 |
98.4 |
89.7 |
9.25 |
175 |
4400 |
1 |
|||||||
|
1968~1970 |
2/4-dr hardtop |
L6 |
292 |
291.9 |
3.875 |
4.125 |
4.8 |
4783 |
98.4 |
104.8 |
9.75 |
190 |
4200 |
1 |
||||||
|
1971~1973 |
2/4-dr hardtop |
L6 |
292 |
291.9 |
3.875 |
4.125 |
4.8 |
4783 |
98.4 |
104.8 |
9.25 |
190 |
4200 |
1 |
1973 |
6508 |
||||
|
1973 |
2/4-dr hardtop |
V8 |
350 |
349.8 |
4 |
3.48 |
5.7 |
5733 |
101.6 |
88.4 |
8.5 |
245 |
4800 |
2 |
1974 |
3412 |
||||
|
1973~1975 |
2/4-dr hardtop |
V8 |
350 |
349.8 |
4 |
3.48 |
5.7 |
5733 |
101.6 |
88.4 |
8.5 |
270 |
4800 |
360 |
49.8 |
3200 |
4 |
1975 |
3171 |
|
|
Venezuela |
net hp |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
1980~1984 |
4-dr sedan |
V6 |
252 |
251.9 |
3.965 |
3.4 |
4.1 |
4128 |
100.7 |
86.4 |
8.0 |
125 |
4000 |
205 |
2000 |
4 |
1980 |
3476 |
(incl
Caprice) |
|
|
Canada export |
Nm |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
1966~1970 |
L6 |
250 |
249.8 |
3.875 |
3.53 |
4.1 |
4093 |
98.4 |
89.7 |
7.5 |
136 |
4000 |
220 |
3600 |
1 |
|||||
Chevrolet
Impala April 2013 - 2020, export to
South Korea from September 2015 till February 2019
The
2014 Impala actually is the 14th generation, counting the 1963,
1967, 1969 and 1980 sheet metal changes separately, although the 1958 Impala
was listed as a Bel Air and the 1994 Impala SS as a Caprice Classic. The 1961 models by the way used 1959/60
carryover engineering with the same front and rear tread width, but with a
narrower body, reducing the wheel to fender gap with over one inch.
GM
Media reported in 2012 that “sculpted coves in the body sides add to the
Impala’s design drama, with a signature cue in the rear fenders that
acknowledges classic Impala designs. The long greenhouse area enhances the
sleek look of the car while maintaining excellent visibility.”
Sales
of the Impala in the United States fell off every year since 2010, even when
this new generation had arrived in 2013, and the market share diminished to
under 1% by 2014. Sales in Canada rose
from 2015 to 2018 with 15%, but market penetration was far lower than in the
USA.
In
South Korea, where the Impala was imported from September 2015, with possible
assembling canceled later, it had 1% of the market in the first months. The V6 model sold only marginally.
Production
of the Impala ended in February 2020 and about half as many were built as each
of the previous generations, and this generation was the only one built in
Detroit.
|
platform: |
Epsilon II |
Impala |
||||||
|
GM |
GM |
GM |
||||||
|
rear
suspension: |
4-link independent,
coil springs |
L850 |
L850 |
HF6 |
||||
|
curb
weight from: |
1669 |
kg |
4 cyl. |
4 cyl. |
V6 |
|||
|
wheelbase
(cm): |
283.7 |
DOHC |
DOHC |
DOHC |
||||
|
length
from (cm): |
511.3 |
cc: |
2384 |
2457 |
3564 |
cc |
||
|
width
(cm): |
185.4 |
dir. inj. |
dir. inj. |
dir. inj. |
||||
|
eAssist |
||||||||
|
market: |
||||||||
|
USA/CDN |
April 2013 |
13-14 |
13-20 |
13-20 |
||||
|
3.6
export to Middle East |
fwd |
fwd |
fwd |
|||||
|
6A |
6A |
6A |
||||||
|
kW |
136+11 |
145 |
172'~227 |
kW |
||||
|
hp |
182+15 |
196 |
230'~305 |
hp |
||||
|
' 14-16 CNG |
||||||||
|
South
Korea |
import |
December 2015 |
15-19 |
15-19 |
||||
|
fwd |
fwd |
|||||||
|
6A |
6A |
|||||||
|
146 |
227 |
kW |
||||||
|
199 |
309 |
hp |
||||||
Net output data are approximate.
with
thanks to Ward’s Automotive Yearbooks and oldcarbrochures.com
For more historical
information on GM Body and Platform Listing, see:
On a Global Mission: The Automobiles
of General Motors International
11 December, 2023