1968 Chevrolet Impala SS. Photos by Jeremy Cliff, courtesy Mecum Auctions, unless otherwise noted.
Starting in 1968, Chevrolet no longer built the Super Sport as a separate Impala model, as it had since 1964. Instead, it was a trim option available on a range of Impalas, including the popular Sport Coupe, the convertible and the less common Custom Coupe. Last weekend in Kansas City, a 1968 Impala Custom Coupe, equipped with the RPO Z03 Super Sport package and the 327-cu.in., 275-horsepower V-8, sold for a price of $13,000, a relative bargain given the car’s unrestored states and 38,900 mile history.
The change in Super Sport production did little to shore up sales. The public still loved the Impala, but sales of Super Sport variants had been dropping for several years when Chevrolet changed how they were ordered and built for the 1968 model year. Though 710,900 Impalas (excluding station wagons) were built for the 1968 model year, only 38,210 were ordered with the Super Sport package.
For a price of $179, Impala buyers checking the Super Sport option box received bucket seats, a center console, SS badging and unique wheel covers. The package could be ordered with any available engine, ranging from the 250-cu.in., 155-horsepower inline-six all the way up to the 427-cu.in., 425-horsepower L72 V-8.
GM didn’t publish a breakdown of SS packages ordered by body style, so it would be impossible to say how many of each type were constructed, or how many remain. It’s safe to say that the sleeker Impala Sport Coupe was more likely to be ordered with the SS package than the more formal Custom Coupe, which makes this claimed survivor with less than 39,000 miles a rare find indeed. Sold from the Ron Deffenbaugh Collection, the Impala was proof that collector cars need not be expensive to be interesting.
1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Twister Special. Photo courtesy Mecum Auctions.
The top-10 lots in Kansas City included a 2005 Ford GT, which sold for $255,000; a 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Twister Special, which sold for $225,000; a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette convertible, which sold for $87,500; a 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 fastback, which sold for $81,000; a 1957 Chevrolet Corvette, which sold for $80,000; a 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, which sold for $80,000; a 1956 Chevrolet Nomad resto mod, which sold for $74,000; a 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302S, which sold for $71,000; a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL Roadster, which sold for $61,000; and a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner, which sold for $58,000.
1964 Pontiac LeMans. Photo courtesy Mecum Auctions.
Other affordable lots worth mentioning included a 1947 Willys Jeep, which sold for $3,000; a 1972 Oldsmobile Toronado Hardtop, which sold for $6,500; a 1952 Chevrolet Styleline, which sold for $7,000; a 1967 Chevrolet Bel Air station wagon, which sold for $7,000; a 1974 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 clone, which sold for $8,500; a 1973 Ford Maverick, updated with a 5.0-liter crate engine, which sold for $10,000; a 1972 Buick Riviera GS, which sold for $13,500; a 1954 Cadillac Series 62, which sold for $14,250; a 1964 Pontiac LeMans, which sold for $14,500, and a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, which sold for $15,000.
For complete results from Kansas City, visit Mecum.com.
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