What makes muscle cars so great that they can transcend trends and generations in order to remain at the top when it comes to being the most coveted cars out there? Is it the way they look and their powerful engines? Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

These days, when people think of muscle cars, they immediately associate the term with vehicles that were made for speed and great performance. Classic car enthusiasts, the ones considered to be purists, believe that only mid sized vehicles from the 60’s are the only ones truly deserving to be referred to as muscle cars. In this article, we’ll discuss one of the most popular muscle car models ever to come out. It was so popular that one of the biggest bands in the 60’s even wrote a song about it. Can you guess which one it is?

Considered by many to be the first real muscle car, the 1961 Chevy Impala SS is also the vehicle wherein Chevrolet introduced its 409 cubic inch V8 engine. This is the engine that launched the Big Three car manufacturers into a horsepower race that would last up until the 70’s. Of course, muscle cars wouldn’t be referred to as such if they had weak engines. This 409 engine became so iconic after the Beach Boys created a song about the car itself. “She’s so fine, my 409”, a simple line in a song, turned the car into an icon for baby boomers.

Seeing as the 1960’s was a time to be young, wild and free, Chevrolet marketed the 1961 Chevy Impala SS as a vehicle “for young men on the move, who wont settle for less than REAL driving excitement”. But did it live up to that promise? Well, it certainly did. The vehicle’s performance was excellent for the era in which it was created. It could go from 0 to 60 in 7 seconds and could complete the quarter mile in around 14 seconds at 98 miles per hour, thus making the 1961 Chevy Impala SS one of the fastest models available. Needless to say, the car had earned its place and certainly deserved being referred to as a legend among the many other muscle cars of it’s time. This is why it is such a highly collectable car among many muscle car enthusiats almost forty years later and will remain so for many years to come.

William loves to share his muscle car passion with others and has created his own classic car blog.