Chevrolet Opala SS
The Opala SS is a typical example of a Brazilian muscle car that was born at the height of the muscle car craze. This handsome fastback coupe left the factory in 1969. It came in a wide arrange of body styles as Chevrolet’s primary mid-size model for the Brazilian market. The name Opala was a bit controversial. Customers thought it represented the mix between the names Opel and Impala. Germany’s Opel was a part of GM and produced a model called Rekord, which was visually the same. The US-made Impala used the 250 CID (4.1-liter) straight-six, the same one as Brazil’s Opalas (via Car Throttle).
Either way, Chevrolet decided to introduce the performance version of the Opala. It used the same 4.1-liter straight six but was tuned to produce 169 HP. Despite the fact it wasn’t much by today’s standards, it was good enough to give the Opala SS decent performance figures and attract customers. The Opala SS was successful on the race tracks and won many events in Brazil during the ’70s. The Opala SS got a distinctive appearance package that included a vinyl roof and racing stripes.