Ford's BIGGEST Rival The 1963 Impala Z11 That Changed Racing Forever

427 CHEVY BEAST That Ford Dreaded 1963 IMPALA Z11

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A rather mild land yacht at its introduction in 1958, the Impala quickly joined the trend of the era and became increasingly more powerful with each generation.

Rated at 280 horsepower in 1958, the 348-cubic-inch (5.7-liter) V8 came with 350 horses on tap in 1960. But the Impala truly stepped into the high-performance realm in 1961, when Chevrolet introduced the Super Sport (SS) option.Originally available on any Impala, the SS package was mostly an appearance bundle at first, but it also came with a brand-new, 409-cubic-inch (6.7-liter) V8 rated at 360 horsepower.

But Chevrolet took things up a notch in 1963, just before GM announced a withdrawal from competition for all its brands.

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As the drag racing scene was leaving a big mark on high-performance production models, Chevrolet put together a race-oriented Impala to compete against the Ford Thunderbolt. That's how the Regular Production Option (RPO) Z11 was born.Created for drag racers and NASCAR enthusiasts, the Z11 was essentially a lighter Impala with a bigger, more powerful V8. The latter was a 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) derived from the existing 409 mill and equipped with a longer stroke, a two-piece, high-rise aluminum intake, dual four-barrel carbs, and a special cowl induction system. Thanks to a 13.5:1 compression ratio, the 427 produced a whopping 430 horsepower and a staggering 575 pound-feet (780 Nm) of torque.

That's slightly more than the legendary 426 Hemi V8 engine that Mopar introduced a few years later!But the Impala Z11 wasn't just about power and torque. To become a competitive drag racer, it also had many of its steel parts built from aluminum. The fenders, bumpers, engine hood, brackets, grille, and braces were all made from weight-saving material.In addition, Chevrolet stripped the car off its radio, heater, sound deadening material, and front sway bar.

"Old Reliable," the Z11 that was used as a mule before production kicked off. Once other Impalas started rolling off the assembly line, "Old Reliable" was taken to the track and won 90% of its races in 1963 in 1964. Such performance was unheard of in those days and helped cement the Z11's reputation as a fast and reliable factory performance car.

With fewer than 50 of them still around, the Impala Z11 is now a prized-collectible and arguably the most expensive of its kind. They rarely show up on the auction block, but when they do, they command prices over $350,000.In 2017, a black-painted Z11 (one of only two built this way) changed hands for a whopping $432,000. Also in 2017, "Old Reliable" sold for $525,000.

While the Impala nameplate lived on for many decades after the Z11 was discontinued, Chevrolet never built another one like it. GM did offer the Impala Z24 with up to 425 horsepower in the late 1960s, but it was devoid of the lightweight and race-bred components that helped the Z11 achieve glory at the drag strip. And it all happened six years before Chevy developed the 1969 COPO Camaro.

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[ruffus]

I had an awesome 1963 impala SS drop top

[ClassicChrome]

Great video! Love the old racing footage!

[lonneykearl]

64 ford fairlane thunderbolt was a contender

[calvincrews]

I can’t choose between the 1958-64 model classic cars from GM including the Bel Air Biscayne and Impala models

[johnbrown]

Fords hemi Cammer was the engine to fear.

[yorotirb]

You show it as i take it a bored out 409 to 427 or was it an actual early 427 that i didnt think came out till bout 65 or66?

[georgethecritic]

Sorry, I didn't know there was a cost factor involved. Granted you don't need Brad Pitt to narrate but I guess I just don't know how the whole production works. I know one thing though, I surely dislike a.i.

[georgethecritic]

Hey if you're going to do a video about Holy Grail race cars, please don't use ai. Car guys know it is a "Hemi" and not a HEM IS! And later in the presentation ai slurred its way through the Z in Z11. I personally hate ai narration.

[mariozamprogno]

Stop using AI nonsense. This is disgusting. The cars are cool, but the commentary is total crap.