As the 1960s dawned, General Motors proved to have a true hit on its hands with the new top-of-the-line Chevrolet, the Impala. Initially a Bel Air subset, the Impala for 1959 became its own model, evolving the following year with more subtle styling that featured flared but fully horizontal curved tailfins, a distinctive long hood and rear deck, a glassy greenhouse on closed models, and a selection of hot new powertrain options under the hood. It is this model, the 1960 Impala, that is widely considered one of the first real powerhouses to come out of Detroit, opening the door to the muscle car era.

The Impala convertible offered here is the image of a 1960 cruiser: it is big, red, convertible, and lavished with options. Indeed, it has been one of Richard and Linda Kughn’s favored drivers in Florida for many years and remains the perfect car for wintertime cruises.

Under the hood has been installed the most desirable Special Super Turbo-Thrust V-8, a 348–cubic inch mill with 11.25:1 compression and triple carburetors, good for a whopping 335 horsepower sent to the rear axle by the three-speed Turboglide automatic transmission. The body is finished in Roman Red with Ermine White accents, the iconic color combination for this model, with an interior turned out in the same shades of print vinyl. Accessories are abundant throughout, from the dashboard-mounted radio with its Straight Line Tuning to a heater/defroster, dual mirrors, Chevrolet-badged exhaust tips, and the prominent “Continental kit” with its covered spare.

Period television advertisements compared these 1960 Impalas to the sportier Corvettes, declaring, “The same team that developed the all new Corvette with all its razor-sharp reactions, developed all the new Chevrolets, including the best-selling, lowest priced, full size convertible.”

The 1960 Impala certainly was a great success and would be so for years to come. Equipped with the powerful tri-power 348 V-8 “big block,” this Convertible example is all the more desirable, beautifully restored, and highly presentable.