Chevrolet made a brief return to the ’60s muscle car mileau with the 1994-96 Impala SS, offering a respectable performance package in a roomy four-door platform.

The rebirth of the Impala SS came at the 1992 SEMA performance show in Las Vegas, where Jon Moss and his GM Special Vehicles crew unveiled a modifed B-body Caprice concept. The one-off show car sported five-spoke alluminum wheels, a Corvette LT1 V8, and the full complement of hot rod goodies. Despite its four doors, the SEMA enthusiast crowd saw in the SS a return to the glorious days of the ’60s muscle car movement. A smash hit of the show, the concept received the green light for production in 1994.

The production Impala SS was powered by a 5.7-liter LT1 V8 that was nearly the same Gen II small-block as used in the Corvette (above) but with cast-iron rather than aluminum heads and a milder cam profile. In B-body tune it produced 260 hp at 5000 rpm and 330 lb-ft of torque at 3200 rpm. Actually, this V8 (available only with a four-speed automatic transmission) was offered on all Caprice models. Where the Impala SS stood apart was in its chassis and appearance package.

Springs and antiroll bars were borrowed from the 9C1 police package, with the useful addition of trick de Carbon monotube gas shocks. The antilock brake system boasted 12-inch vented discs at all four corners, while the BF Goodrich Comp TA 255/50ZR-17 tires rode on SS-exclusive cast aluminum wheels. There was but one color for ’94, black, with fully blacked-out exterior trim to match, and one interior in gray with leather bucket seats and a console, but no console shifter. The gear lever remained on the steering column. In ’95 and ’96, two more exterior color choices were added: Dark Green Gray Metallic and Cherry Red Metallic.

Frank Markus of Car and Driver magazine gave the 4200-lb sedan’s handling his well-informed thumbs up, noting its “willingness to hustle through tight comers and quick transient maneuvers,” along with its sound body-motion control and .86 g lateral grip. There was one gripe in the magazine reviews: the column shifter, seen as unbecoming of a muscle sedan. For ’96, its final year, the SS got its console shifter (below right) and an analog speedometer and tach, too.

Chevrolet initially hoped to sell 12,000 units per year, but the Impala SS blew past the original estimates, racking up nearly 70,000 sales in the three years of production. But when the GM rear-drive B-body platform was dropped in 1996, the Impala SS was discontinued as well. Gone but never forgotten, the ’94-’96 Impala SS is now something of a cult favorite among Chevy enthusiasts, and a reasonably affordable ’90s Detroit collectible. At the online auction site Bring A Trailer, clean examples typically sell in the $15,000-$25,000 range.