The coolest V-8 sedan of the ’90s is less than $20K
By the 1990s, the full-size, rear-wheel-drive, American family sedan was an endangered species. The automotive industry had embraced front-wheel drive due to the layout’s advantages in efficiency, cabin space, and manufacturing costs. Accordingly, cars like the Ford Taurus, Honda Accord, and Toyota Camry had almost completely taken over family-hauling duties. Chevrolet’s redesigned Caprice Classic was one of the few rear-wheel-drive holdouts in 1991, but it was a slow seller that appealed only to fleet buyers and traditionalists.
Jon Moss, the head hot-rodder of GM’s Specialty Vehicles Group, was tasked with reinvigorating the Caprice. His solution was simple: Put a big engine in it, make it look cool, and revive an iconic nameplate. A 260-hp version of the Corvette’s LT1 V-8 engine was added to a 9C1 police-package Caprice, and the 1994 Impala SS was born. The trim was painted body color, the hood ornament was removed, five-spoke wheels were fitted, and a BMW-like kink was added to the rear-most pillar. Black was the only color available. “Lord Vader, your car is ready,” the ad copy went.
It was an instant hit. Chevy sold more than 69,000 examples during the car’s short three-year production run and didn’t see the need to change much on the Impala SS. Two new colors, Cherry and Dark Green, were offered in 1995, but most buyers still went with black. The 1996 model received full analog instrumentation and a console-mounted T-handle shifter, as opposed to a column shifter.
If you’re in the market for an Impala SS, beware of clones. It’s not difficult to convert a regular Caprice to SS spec. Look for WX3 on the Service Parts Identification located in the trunk to verify if it’s the real thing.
Mechanically, the Impala SS is pretty stout, but there are a few things to look out for. Opti-Spark, the LT1’s optically triggered ignition distributor, can fail, and replacement is labor-intensive. The four-speed automatic transmission—4L60E in GM speak—has a mixed reputation. Failures seem to happen north of 100,000 miles or with prolonged hard use. Owner Mike Reily grenaded the 4L60E in his Impala at a track day. Instead of replacing the autobox, he swapped in the six-speed manual transmission from a contemporary Camaro. “Jon Moss let me drive the GM Specialty Vehicles 1994 six-speed prototype Impala SS in 2001 at the Dreamapalooza car show,” he explained. “At that point, I knew I needed to do the manual transmission conversion.”
Unmodified Impalas are worth more to collectors, but Reily is probably having more fun in his car. Rowing through the six-speed’s gears is immensely delightful, like giving the torquey V-8 a firm handshake. Even with its sport-tuned suspension, the Impala SS is not light on its feet. You are always aware of how substantial this 2-ton behemoth is when you pitch it into a corner. Not to say that the SS won’t stick to the road—Car and Driver reported an impressive-for-the-time 0.86 g figure in its skidpad test.
GM unceremoniously killed the Impala SS at the end of 1996, when its Arlington, Texas, assembly plant was retooled for SUV production. But the cars have enjoyed a cult following. It turns out Americans think a big rear-wheel-drive sedan with a big engine is still a timeless recipe for cool.
1996 Chevrolet Impala SS
Engine: 5.7-liter V-8
Power: 260 hp @ 5000 rpm
Torque: 330 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm
Weight: 4036 lb
Power to weight: 15.5 pound/hp
0–60 mph: 7.0 sec
Price when new: $24,405
Hagerty #3 (Good) condition value: $13,900–$19,800
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This article first appeared in Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Click here to subscribe and join the club.
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I think I remember several years ago, a guy did some work to one and ran it in the Silver State Challenge. I remember a picture of the digital speedo reading 175……………Impala SS- “Room to Zoom”
I had a ’95 Caprice with an LT-1 and the most trouble that I had with it was one time the fuel pressure regulator valve went bad and the dealer could not find the trouble. Finally I talked with a GM engineer, told him of the trouble I was having, and in about 3 weeks he called me and told me to check the fuel pressure regulator. That was the problem. The dealer had replaced the fuel pump, put on a new distributor cap, and a couple of other parts. I had one water pump to start leaking and I replaced it. I wanted to keep it for a second car, but my wife talked me into trading it in when I bought her a 2007 Impala SS. I still wish that I would have kept the ’95 Caprice even though it had 175,000 miles on it.
They were fun back in the day but I do remember beating them in drag races back in the day. Would have been nice to see this have gone and and been improved. Why american brands mostly abandoned rear drive and V8 options in car I do not know. There was always a market as Dodge has shown.
I bought a ’95 Impala SS new.
My wife liked the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, but for the same price, I insisted on the Impala. My friends suggested I “put it away” for the future. I had no such intention.
I drove it every day for 150000 miles and loved every minute in it. It was great on the highway. It handled twisties very well for a behemoth.
I’d look forward to business trips to PA to wind it through the Poconos dodging deer.
It was a great family hauler, with a huge trunk which would swallow strollers, mountain bikes or skis, and with 4 studded snow tires, no amount of snow would even slow it down. It was an absolute beast in snow and ice. One of the best handling cars I’ve ever driven in scary weather.
My transmission and distributor lasted 150k miles with no trouble. I took it to the track once and it hung with all the sports cars until the power steering pump boiled over and the front brakes suffered badly. Oh well, it was just too heavy for road racing.
The only thing that would have made it better would have been a manual transmission and an analog dashboard.
I’ll never forget my daughters and I watching the odometer turn to 100k miles while we were cruising comfortably at 100mph, but eventually the digital dashboard went wonky and couldn’t be fixed by Chevy so I lived with it.
I’m so glad I had it and very glad I drove / enjoyed it every day.
Lusted over these when they came out in ’94. When I saw the changes for ’96 – analog gauges, console shift – decided I had to pull the trigger. Bought the first Dark Cherry one of the local dealers got in stock in September 1995.
Peddled it after a year. On the plus side, sounded great after I ditched the pathetic stock Caprice exhaust system and had my muffler guy fab up a full 2 1/4″ system. It was quick enough, handled and stopped well for what it was, and even got respectable gas mileage. On the minus side, the interior was junk; some of the cheapest-feeling switchgear ever, huge seats that you couldn’t really get comfortable in, regardless of the six-way adjustment, and lots of hard plastic.
I lucked out in that I sold it just before GM ran a bunch more of ’em – the ’96 run was supposed to be limited – before converting the factory. Got $200 less than I paid for it, with 13K miles on it. Current daily is a ’15 SS M6, and it’s magnitudes better in every respect.
I had one SS, a dark cherry ’96 with a 6 speed conversion and 4.11:1 gears. Bought it cheap needing minor work and straightening out some of the cobbled stuff. Owned it a year and a half and it was a fun car. Today it is in good hands.
One of my other favorites was a ’94 9C1 Caprice. Daily drove it for four years and about 75K miles.
Lastly was a ’92 Caprice with the lowly 305 but the 3.73 equipped 9C1 rear axle and true dual exhaust made it a blast to drive. That went to the same guy that has my old 6 speed SS.
I drove a 1996 when new, and almost ordered one. In retrospect, I am glad we did not, but it would have been a comfortable and fun car, based upon my test drive.
Those SS wheels remain probably the best-looking RWD wheels ever fitted to a stock sedan, except perhaps the classic Buick black/chrome wheels.
Just to clear up a couple of details, the two non-black colors were called Dark Cherry Metallic and Dark Green-Gray Metallic, and the only interior color offered with any exterior color was gray leather. If someone had a DCM with a tan interior it must have been a Caprice.
Does anyone recall the the news chopper footage of the LAPD getting stomped by a 96 black impala SS. I’m sure it was modified and tweaked. Back in the day it was impressive to see that happen from that car! Almost like the white Hellcat police chaise, putt’n distance down!! They suffered the same demise of running out of gas I do believe. Cool video to watch or rewatch again:))
Have a late production black 96. I lower it 1 inch installed SLP exhaust an heaters with cold air. Dyno showed a little over 300 hp. The car is totally blacked out except the wheels. Tried to black the wheels but it looked terrible. 80 k miles been around the USA. Love the car. When I got pulled over earlier the state troopers always said they liked them and sorry they’re gone. Should have but in the 60 I still like mine
Loved my 96 DGGM. I like to bracket race it and went through like 4 motors, but the tranny lasted 310K !
With the pandemic and prices through the roof i had to sell, when else will people pay $3-4K for a car with over 300K on it.
I still shop for a 96 DCM and hope to get one one day.
Never had Opti issues like most, and did a water pump in driveway myself. I guess i am decent at keeping up with car maintenance ???
Lots of Nay-sayers here that probably never owned an Impala. i bought a ’96 Dark Cherry Impala SS new. Had a family of 4 and other hot rods. Absolutely LOVED the car. I live outside of San Antonio, TX. Used to visit the in-laws in New Mexico a couple of times a year. The drives through west Texas on I-10 were epic! Set the cruise control on 95 and let it run. Still had lots of pickup left for passing when needed (west Texas is fun). Traveled in absolute comfort. Yes, the bucket seats were closer to my home recliner than they were to my Corvette, but that is what the Impala was made for. The car was solid, fast (for a 4-door sedan) and comfortable. I put over 100k miles on it in 4 years and traded it when it was starting to show signs of wear. I traded it for an Audi A6 Quatro because of Audi’s racing success at LeMans. That car was a serious POS. Kept it 6-months (4 of which it sat dead in my driveway with computer problems) and sold it. Wish I had kept the Impala!
I took delivery of a black 95′ in August of 94′. It’s still sits in my garage- 42K pampered miles- and modified with a Paxton supercharger kit, level 10 transmission, Borla -and other goodies. I credit this car in ‘reviving’ the muscle car!
That kind of power in that behemoth. Those were the bad old days.
Typical GM. Just when they figure out how to sell a few of these Impalas, they cancel it. This would be the same company that went bankrupt and then shafted 1,000’s of retirees out of their hard earned retirement funds. I will never buy a GM product.