The 1961 Chevrolet Impala SS is where the most famous performance badge in Chevrolet history began. Introduced mid-year as RPO 240, the Super Sport Equipment Package was — for this one year only — a genuine performance and handling option rather than the trim level it would later become. It arrived alongside another landmark: the new 409 cu in V8, Chevrolet’s answer to Ford’s 390 and the engine the Beach Boys would immortalize a year later. The numbers are extraordinary. Out of nearly 491,000 Impalas built in 1961, just 453 carried the SS package, and only about 142 of those had the 409. Few cars so cheaply optioned when new have become so valuable.
Table of Contents
- Overview and History
- RPO 240: What the SS Package Was
- Why 1961 Is Different From Every Later SS
- The 409 Arrives
- Full Engine Lineup
- Transmissions and Drivetrain
- Styling and the Bubbletop
- Chassis, Suspension, and Brakes
- Performance
- Production Numbers
- Authentication and Buying
- Collectibility Today
- Key Features Summary
- Full Specifications Table
Overview and History
1961 was the year several threads converged for Chevrolet. The full-size car was comprehensively restyled, losing its fins for the first time since 1958 and emerging cleaner and more restrained than the flamboyant 1959 and 1960. The new 409 cu in V8 appeared. And in February, mid-way through the model year, Chevrolet quietly introduced the Super Sport Equipment Package.
The motivation was competitive. Ford’s new 390 cu in V8 was beating Chevrolet on drag strips, and the division needed both a bigger engine and a way to package performance equipment attractively. The 409 answered the first problem; the SS package answered the second.
Neither was a volume success in 1961 — the late introduction saw to that. But between them they established the template for Chevrolet performance for the next decade, and the SS badge they created is still in use today.
RPO 240: What the SS Package Was
The Super Sport Equipment Package carried the option code RPO 240 and cost just $53.80 over the standard Impala price — a remarkably modest sum for what would become such a celebrated badge.
The package could be ordered on all Chevrolet models except the Nomad wagon, though in practice it was a far more common choice on two-door hardtops and convertibles, which is where nearly all surviving cars are found.
Its content was genuinely performance-oriented: heavy-duty suspension components, power brakes with sintered metallic brake linings, a padded dash, a passenger grab bar, SS wheel covers and trim, and SS badging. This was equipment aimed at someone who intended to use the car, not merely look at it.
One detail frequently stated incorrectly: 1961 Impala SS cars did not have bucket seats. Buckets made their debut in SS Impalas for 1962. A 1961 SS with factory buckets does not exist.
Why 1961 Is Different From Every Later SS
This is the point that matters most for understanding the car. For the Impala, the SS would spend most of its life as a trim level — buckets, console, badging, and appearance items. For its inaugural year only, it was a genuine performance package.
That distinction has a direct consequence for how the cars are valued and authenticated. A 1961 SS was bought by someone who wanted the heavy-duty hardware; later SS Impalas were frequently bought by people who wanted the look. It also means the 1961 package content — the metallic brake linings, the suspension parts — is mechanical rather than cosmetic, and therefore both harder to fake convincingly and more likely to have been worn out and replaced over sixty years.
It is also worth being precise about what the SS did not determine: the engine. After its February debut the Impala SS could be ordered with essentially any engine in the range, and the 409 could equally be ordered on a non-SS Chevrolet. The two options were independent, which is why a genuine SS 409 is so scarce — a buyer had to choose both.
The 409 Arrives
The 409 cu in V8 arrived in December 1960 as essentially a bored and stroked evolution of the 348 W-series big-block. It was Chevrolet’s direct response to Ford’s 390, and although its 360 hp rating was nominally below Ford’s top 375 bhp figure, the extra displacement earned it respect on the street.
In its 1961 form the 409 used a single four-barrel carburetor and was rated at 360 hp at 5,800 rpm with 409 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm — a neat coincidence of numbers that did the engine’s legend no harm at all.
The late introduction meant very few were built: approximately 142 Impala SS cars received the 409 in 1961, and most went to favoured customers who ran them at local drag strips. The engine exploded in popularity the following year, jumping from 142 to nearly 9,000 units, and was enshrined in popular culture by the Beach Boys’ 1962 song. By 1963 the top 409 produced a claimed 425 hp and 460 lb-ft with 11:1 compression and solid lifters, before production ended in 1965 in favour of the Mark IV big-blocks.
Note also that the 348 was discontinued mid-1961 and replaced by the 409. Both engines appear in 1961 cars depending on build date.
Full Engine Lineup
Because the SS package did not dictate the engine, the full 1961 Impala range was available:
- 235 cu in six — 135 hp, the base engine
- 283 cu in V8 — two-barrel and four-barrel versions
- 348 cu in V8, 4-barrel — 305 hp
- 348 cu in V8 — 340 hp with a single four-barrel
- 348 cu in V8, Tri-Power — 350 hp
- 409 cu in V8, 4-barrel — 360 hp, 409 lb-ft (from December 1960)
Of the 453 SS cars built, roughly 311 were powered by the 348 and about 142 by the 409. A 348-equipped 1961 SS is therefore the more common configuration — though “common” is relative when the total run is 453 cars — and is a rare and valuable car in its own right.
Transmissions and Drivetrain
Transmission choices included a three-speed manual, a four-speed manual, and the Powerglide automatic. The four-speed is the configuration associated with the SS and with the 409, and it is overwhelmingly what surviving performance cars carry.
Positraction limited-slip was available and widely specified on performance-ordered cars, with a range of axle ratios allowing the car to be geared for acceleration. Drive was to the rear wheels through a live axle on coil springs.
Styling and the Bubbletop
The 1961 restyle was a sharp departure from the two years before it. For the first time since 1958, the full-size Chevrolet had no fins. The body was cleaner, flatter-sided, and more formal, with a simple full-width grille and restrained brightwork — a reaction against the excess of 1959 and 1960 that has aged extremely well.
The two-door hardtop carried the thin-pillared, heavily glazed roof that enthusiasts call the “bubbletop”. The style had been born with the 1959 generation and continued into this restyle, and 1961 is the year most associated with the name. For 1962 Chevrolet introduced a more formal convertible-style roof on the Impala, leaving the bubbletop on the Bel Air — which is why the 1961 bubbletop Impala is such a distinctive and sought-after shape.
SS-specific visual content was deliberately subtle: SS badging and special wheel covers rather than stripes or spoilers. A 1961 Impala SS does not shout about itself.
Chassis, Suspension, and Brakes
The car used the X-frame chassis Chevrolet had introduced in 1958 and would use through 1964, with independent coil-spring front suspension and a coil-sprung live rear axle.
Here is where the SS package earned its money. RPO 240 brought heavy-duty suspension components that firmed up the standard car’s soft calibration, and power brakes with sintered metallic linings — a genuine competition-derived upgrade that resisted fade far better than standard drum linings, at the cost of requiring heat before they worked at their best.
Brakes remained drums at all four corners; discs were years away on a full-size Chevrolet. For a car capable of the performance a 409 delivered, this was the weak link, and it should be respected when driving one today.
Performance
Period figures for the 409/360 hp car:
- 0–60 mph: approximately 7.8 seconds
- Quarter mile: approximately 15.8 seconds at 94.1 mph
Those were serious numbers for a full-size car in 1961 and explain why so many of the 142 SS 409s went straight to drag strips. The 348-powered SS cars were slower but still quick by the standards of the day, and considerably easier to find parts for.
Production Numbers
The figures are what make this car:
- Total 1961 Impala production: approximately 491,000
- Impala SS (RPO 240): 453
- Impala SS with 409: approximately 142
- Impala SS with 348: approximately 311
- SS package price: $53.80
To put that in proportion: fewer than one in a thousand 1961 Impalas was an SS. Attrition over six decades — and the fact that many were raced hard — means genuine survivors are scarce indeed.
Authentication and Buying
Given production of 453 cars and the values involved, authentication is the whole game, and the market treats undocumented claims accordingly.
Points to work through:
- The SS package does not appear in the VIN. RPO 240 was an option, so verification depends on the cowl tag, documentation, and the physical presence of correct package components.
- Engine authenticity is separate from SS authenticity. A 409 can be fitted to any 1961 Chevrolet, and many have been. Verify casting numbers, suffix codes, and the block’s stamped pad against the car’s paperwork.
- Check for the wrong details. Bucket seats in a 1961 SS are incorrect — they began in 1962.
- Documentation drives value. Without paperwork showing original SS and 409 specification, a car should be valued as a well-presented Impala rather than as a rare SS.
Collectibility Today
The 1961 Impala SS sits at the top of early-1960s full-size Chevrolet collecting, and a documented SS 409 bubbletop is a genuinely significant car — the first year of two nameplates that between them defined American performance motoring.
Values follow documentation above everything. A verified SS 409 with four-speed is a blue-chip car; a verified SS 348 is rare and valuable in its own right; and an attractive 1961 Impala bubbletop with a transplanted 409 but no SS provenance is simply a good-looking classic at a far lower price. The gap between those categories is enormous, which is why professional verification is essential before buying at the top end.
Practical notes: parts support for the 1961 body is reasonable but the SS-specific hardware is scarce, and sintered metallic brake linings in particular are a specialist item. Check for rust in floors, trunk, and lower quarters as with any full-size car of this era.
Key Features Summary
- Significance: First year of the Chevrolet SS badge and first year of the 409 V8
- Option Code: RPO 240, Super Sport Equipment Package — $53.80
- Introduced: February 1961, mid model year
- Nature: A genuine performance and handling package — unlike later Impala SS trim levels
- Package Content: Heavy-duty suspension, power brakes with sintered metallic linings, padded dash, passenger grab bar, SS wheel covers and badging
- No Bucket Seats: Buckets arrived for 1962
- Availability: All Chevrolet models except the Nomad wagon
- Top Engine: 409 cu in V8 — 360 hp @ 5,800 rpm, 409 lb-ft @ 3,600 rpm
- Other Engines: 235 six (135 hp); 283 V8; 348 at 305, 340, and 350 hp
- Performance (409): 0–60 mph approx. 7.8 sec; quarter mile approx. 15.8 sec @ 94.1 mph
- Styling: First finless full-size Chevrolet since 1958; “bubbletop” two-door hardtop
- Production: 453 SS out of approx. 491,000 Impalas; approx. 142 with the 409
The 1961 Chevrolet Impala SS Specs
| BODY AND PACKAGE | |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet (General Motors) |
| Package Name | Super Sport Equipment Package |
| Option Code | RPO 240 |
| Package Price | $53.80 |
| Introduced | February 1961 (mid model year) |
| Availability | All Chevrolet models except Nomad wagon |
| Common Bodies | 2-door hardtop (“bubbletop”); convertible |
| Nature of Package | Performance and handling — first year only; later Impala SS was a trim level |
| SS PACKAGE CONTENT | |
| Suspension | Heavy-duty components |
| Brakes | Power brakes with sintered metallic linings |
| Safety/Interior | Padded dash; passenger grab bar |
| Appearance | SS wheel covers, trim, and badging |
| Bucket Seats | Not available — introduced for 1962 |
| ENGINE — 409 V8 (new for 1961) | |
| Displacement | 409 cu in (6.7 L) |
| Origin | Bored and stroked evolution of the 348 W-series |
| Introduced | December 1960 |
| Carburetor | Single 4-barrel |
| Horsepower | 360 hp @ 5,800 RPM |
| Torque | 409 lb·ft @ 3,600 RPM |
| Rationale | Response to Ford’s 390 cu in V8 |
| SS Cars So Equipped | approx. 142 |
| OTHER ENGINES | |
| 235 cu in six | 135 hp — base engine |
| 283 cu in V8 | 2-barrel and 4-barrel versions |
| 348 cu in V8, 4-barrel | 305 hp |
| 348 cu in V8 | 340 hp |
| 348 cu in V8, Tri-Power | 350 hp |
| 348 Status | Discontinued mid-1961, replaced by the 409 |
| SS Cars with 348 | approx. 311 |
| TRANSMISSION AND DRIVETRAIN | |
| Available | 3-speed manual; 4-speed manual; Powerglide automatic |
| Performance Choice | 4-speed manual |
| Limited Slip | Positraction optional |
| Drive Layout | Rear-wheel drive |
| CHASSIS, SUSPENSION, BRAKES | |
| Frame | X-frame (used 1958–1964) |
| Front Suspension | Independent, coil springs |
| Rear Suspension | Live axle, coil springs |
| SS Upgrade | Heavy-duty suspension; metallic brake linings |
| Brakes | Drums front and rear |
| Steering | Recirculating ball; power assist optional |
| PERFORMANCE (409 / 360 hp) | |
| 0–60 mph | approx. 7.8 seconds |
| Quarter Mile | approx. 15.8 seconds @ 94.1 mph |
| STYLING | |
| Fins | None — first finless full-size Chevrolet since 1958 |
| Two-Door Hardtop Roof | “Bubbletop” — thin pillars, large glass area |
| 1962 Change | Impala moved to a formal convertible-style roof; bubbletop remained on Bel Air |
| SS Appearance | Subtle — badging and wheel covers only |
| PRODUCTION (1961) | |
| Total Impala | approx. 491,000 |
| Impala SS (RPO 240) | 453 |
| SS with 409 | approx. 142 |
| SS with 348 | approx. 311 |
| 409 Production Growth | 142 (1961) → nearly 9,000 (1962) |
| AUTHENTICATION | |
| SS in VIN | No — RPO 240 was an option |
| Verification | Cowl tag, documentation, correct package hardware |
| Engine Check | Casting numbers, suffix codes, stamped block pad |
| Red Flag | Factory bucket seats (not available until 1962) |
| Independence Note | SS and 409 were separate options — either could be ordered without the other |
1961 Chevrolet Impala SS – Frequently Asked Questions
Was 1961 really the first year of the Impala SS?
Yes. The Super Sport Equipment Package, RPO 240, was introduced in February 1961, mid-way through the model year. It cost just $53.80 and could be ordered on all Chevrolet models except the Nomad wagon. It is the origin of the SS badge that Chevrolet still uses today.
How is the 1961 SS different from later Impala SS models?
For its inaugural year only, the SS was a genuine performance and handling package — heavy-duty suspension, power brakes with sintered metallic linings, a padded dash, and a passenger grab bar. From 1962 onward the Impala SS became essentially a trim level with bucket seats, a console, and appearance items. That makes the 1961 the only Impala SS where the badge meant hardware rather than décor.
Did 1961 Impala SS cars have bucket seats?
No, and this is a common error. Bucket seats debuted in SS Impalas for 1962. A 1961 Impala SS presented with factory bucket seats is not correct, and it is a useful red flag when assessing a car’s authenticity.
How many 1961 Impala SS were built?
453, out of approximately 491,000 Impalas built that year — fewer than one in a thousand. Of those 453, roughly 142 had the 409 and about 311 had the 348. Many were raced hard, so genuine survivors are rarer still.
Was the 409 only available on the SS?
No, and this is important. The SS package and the 409 engine were separate options. The 409 could be ordered on a non-SS Chevrolet, and an SS could be ordered with any engine in the range including the base six. A buyer had to deliberately choose both — which is exactly why genuine SS 409 cars are so scarce.
How fast is a 1961 Impala SS 409?
Period testing recorded 0–60 mph in about 7.8 seconds and a quarter mile of roughly 15.8 seconds at 94.1 mph. Those were serious figures for a full-size car in 1961, which is why most of the 142 SS 409s went to customers who ran them at local drag strips.
What is a “bubbletop” 1961 Impala?
The two-door hardtop body, with thin roof pillars and a large glass area giving an airy, rounded greenhouse. The style began with the 1959 generation and carried into the 1961 restyle. For 1962 the Impala moved to a more formal convertible-style roof and the bubbletop continued only on the Bel Air, which makes the 1961 bubbletop Impala a particularly distinctive shape.
How do I verify a genuine 1961 Impala SS?
The SS package does not appear in the VIN, so verification depends on the cowl tag, surviving documentation, and the physical presence of correct RPO 240 hardware. Engine authenticity must be checked separately through casting numbers, suffix codes, and the stamped block pad, since 409s have frequently been transplanted. Given that only 453 cars were built, the market discounts undocumented claims heavily — treat an unverifiable car as a nice Impala, not a rare SS.
