The Nova SS is one of the smallest muscle cars ever made. That arguably makes it more of a sporty sedan than a pony car, but once you drive a Nova SS, you realize it wasn’t built for corners, which is a muscle car must-have.
There are several Nova SS models available. Chevy started producing it in 1964 with a 4.6-liter V8 under the hood. The 196 hp output was weak, and customers wanted more Chevy muscle. A few months later, Chevy tweaked the engine to produce 220 hp. This was still not enough.
Chevrolet’s engineers did not want to put a larger V8 under the hood because they thought the car couldn’t handle more than 400 horses. That meant the 396 V8 was the only option for a few years. Somewhat ironically, dyno tests later revealed that this engine actually produced more than 400 hp, so Chevy broke its own rules.
The Nova eventually fell out of favor following the 1960s Impala becoming more popular. Chevrolet also started producing Camaros with more power, which lured more people away from the Nova.
In 1968, the Nova SS became a package. If ordered, Chevy sent you an SS with a 350 V8 with 295 hp, a heavy-duty suspension setup, and a few badges to show it was the top model.
