An Impala That Could Outrun A Jaguar

While our story’s subtitle sounds like an episode of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom,” this 1961 Impala SS was something special. Its owner, Dan Gurney, had it modified to go “Jaguar hunting on the weekends,” said writer OCee Ritch in the July 1961 issue of Sports Car Graphic magazine.

- Drew Hardin

At the time, Gurney was in the thick of his Formula 1 career. He believed that the Impala SS, with just a few choice modifications, could successfully take on the Jaguar sedans competing in British saloon races of the time—saloon being the British word for sedan and not some pub crawl.

This was the first year Chevrolet offered the 409 in the Imp—rated at 360 hp and 409 lb-ft of torque using a single four-barrel carburetor— and for the most part, it was left alone. Local high-performance guru Bill Thomas and Bill Fowler just tore the engine down, inspected it, returned all clearances to stock spec, and then reinstalled it in front of the car’s aluminium four-speed gearbox. “Even the jets in the stock four-barrel carburetor were left untouched,” wrote Ritch.