Now here’s a head turner of a beauty Bobby Nitro has been meaning to get into print ever since encountering the convertible at the Timour Hall show back in January.
Settled nicely into the dappled shade, the sky blue 1961 Chevrolet Impala was a presence, like that one person in the room who everybody wants to talk to but who doesn’t seem to mind either way.
The Impala is part of a collection of classics owned and managed by Adiel Faure of Faureal Car Hire, the kind of cabbies you’ll splash out for when the occasion is that special and it calls for something out of the ordinary.
When Bobby chatted to Adiel, he discovered there were not one but TWO of these beauties.
The other one is a dark blue 1964 Impala, and it’s apparently the most desirable low rider, pretty much, of all time.
It’s a cultural icon after all, made famous in that legendary Dr. Dre music video Still D.R.E. featuring Snoop Dogg.
Adiel says: “The ‘64 resonates with a lot of people, across all demographics; basically people lose their minds for this vehicle. I tell people, you take this car to a matric ball, you’ll shut the place down.”
And he’s right, Bobby has seen a couple of arrival videos where the people get so excited as the Impala pulls up.
Adiel, who started as an avid Mercedes collector (think a 114 coupe on air), has been into the classics for years. When he saw the Impala on auction, he says: “I had to have it, and it was the first American car I ever bought. Thing with a car like this, you see it on TV but hardly ever in real life.”
There was lots of restoration work to be done on the ‘64, and Adiel started by importing the must-have wire wheels and did the interior over in white.
Engine is a 5.7-litre V8 Chev 350 4 bolt main with automatic transmission, four-barrel Edelbrock carburettor and intake, airBFT air suspension, custom boot installation and interior.
The light blue ‘61 has a Chev 327 2 bolt main engine, two-barrel Rochester carb and Powerglide automatic transmission, but the interior is standard. Adiel says: “It was refurbished in the ‘90s by a previous owner.”
When these cabbies pull up at that event, that’s where you can see they’re the real deal.
Adiel tells of some youngsters who he has driven to matric balls who, even though they were not even a glimmer in their mother’s eyes when this car was made, can still tell him all about it.