1969 Chevrolet Nova SS – 13.87 seconds
Price New: $2,600
Price Now: $50,000
The Nova was Bow Tie’s compact car introduced first as the Chevy II in the early ’60s. The small and affordable model was just a scaled-down Chevelle or Impala. Still, it obtained serious street credibility by the end of the ’60s since it became a favorite street racer’s weapon. The combination of Nova’s lightweight body and potent V8 engines made it very fast (via Hemmings).
Chevrolet introduced the SS 350 and SS 396 versions in 1968/9, which were extremely fast. The 1970 model still retained classic styling and two powerful V8 engines as an option. Independent tuners like Yenko even offered brutally fast 427 conversions.