14. 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS
Walk into any car show or auction, and you will be hard pressed to not find a Chevelle Malibu SS. It is a classic looking muscle car, with the specs to back it up. Many consider this one of the defining moments in American muscle car history.
Starting in ’64, you could get a Chevelle with a 250 or 300 HP V-8, but with so much completion to build performance cars, Chevy had an answer the following year. Built on the same 115” wheelbase as the ’55 Chevy, the ’65 Chevelle Malibu SS contained a 350 HP 327 V-8 engine. And in contrast to previous Chevelle models, this one offered a robust center console and improved engine gauges. And you know it’s an SS by the SS badge on the fender.
In addition, in ’65, Chevy built another model of the Chevelle Malibu SS with a 396 CID V-8 that boosted the HP up to 375. They dubbed it the Z-16 package. It was immediate competition to the GTO and Skylark Gran Sport with increased displacement. And it ran a 13.9 second quarter mile. It truly was a staple of the American muscle niche that was just beginning to heat up.
Engine: 396 CID V-8 – Top speed: 135 mph –
Quarter mile time: 14.6 seconds – 0-60 mph time: 6.1 seconds