The “bubbletop” Chevrolets of the early 1960s are American icons. For the first time, the fins of the 1950s were gone; now, the Bel Air was a thoroughly Jet Age, pared-down, and—in the 409 “Turbo Fire”-powered sport form—deadly-looking street machine. Gone were the miles of chrome trim seen in the 1959 catalogues, instead replaced by squared-off lines which terminated in a convex top supported by remarkably thin pillars. Sales were, as they say, blistering.

The 1962 model year saw the range of available engines expanded to five, while the variety of Bel Air body styles was reduced to four; two-door and four-door sedans, a station wagon, and, for its final production year, the model seen here: the two-door hardtop sport coupe.

Blistering performance was on tap, too, from the hot 409, which in dual-quad configuration achieved one horsepower per cubic-inch. The lightweight coupe body and supremely powerful engine quickly made the model an infamous steed of choice for individuals looking to go racing; 0–60 times were in the neighborhood of seven seconds, with quarter-mile times in the 15s on street tires—and far quicker on race rubber. As the fastest car Chevrolet could build (Corvette’s biggest engine was a 327), it is difficult to imagine someone specifying a car such as this with anything other than racing in mind. This sentiment is best echoed by The Beach Boys’ 1962 hit “409,” which forever cemented this model’s place within American pop culture.

The eminently presentable 409-powered bubbletop offered here is finished in the attention-grabbing color combination of Roman Red over matching red vinyl and color-matched steelies fitted with chrome “dog dish” hubs. Additional features worth savoring include a column-mounted Sun Electric tachometer, Posi-Traction rear axle, and a racing-spec cabin console devoid of both heater and radio.

Thanks to a complete and thorough restoration executed immediately prior to the consignor’s acquisition in 2011, this sport coupe displays a fantastic degree of luster. In the spring of 2016, it was prominently featured as the cover car for the quarterly muscle car publication Bone Stock. The car’s odometer presently indicates approximately 188 miles at time of cataloguing, which is presumed to represent the distance traveled since completion of its wonderfully kept restoration.

This exceptional 409 is sure to excite its next owner—perhaps with some late-night use of its throttle pedal down Main Street.