“Three days later another car rolled off that same line. No one gave two craps about her, but they should’ve. Because this 1967 Chevrolet Impala would turn out to be the most important car... no, the most important object in pretty much the whole universe.”
-Chuck, 5.22 Swan Song
The iconic ’67 Chevrolet Impala is Dean Winchester’s car, passed on to him by John Winchester and we first see it in “1.01 Pilot,” When John, with a very young Sam and Dean, sits against the hood of it while their house in Lawrence, Kansas burns on the day of Mary’s death (May 2nd 1983).
History:
The Impala first belonged to Sal Moriarty, a man who bought it for $3999 and used it to drive around, giving bibles to the poor. On the 30th of April 1973 it was purchased, instead of a Volkswagen Van by a young John Winchester from Rainbow Motors in Lawrence, Kansas after being prompted By Dean Winchester himself (4.03 In the Beginning). The Impala was then passed on to Dean and since, the car has gone through almost as much as the brothers have.
In “1.01 Pilot”, the ghost of Constance Welch tries to run Sam and Dean over and later on in the episode, while Sam is in it, the same ghosts takes control of the car once more.
In the finale of Season 1, “1.22 Devil’s Trap”, the Impala is run over and destroyed when a possessed trucker drives his truck into it while Dean, Sam and John Winchester are in it. It is then towed by Bobby Singer in “2.01 In My Time Of dying” at a wrecker’s yard “off of I-83” where Sam meets him. Here, despite Bobby saying there’s nothing to fix, Sam tells him that just one part is enough for it to be fixed.
"Listen to me, Bobby. If there's only one working part, that's enough. We're not just going to give up on..."
-Sam, 2.01 In My Time Of Dying
Dean then restores the car in “2.02 Everybody Loves A Clown” although we see him hitting its trunk 17 times as he takes his frustration over John’s death out on it.
In a glimpse of 2014, we see that due to the apocalypse, the beautiful car has been left to rot. (“5.04 The End”)
We see Sam Winchester as the Impala in “5.08 Changing Channels” when The Trickster aka Archangel Gabriel puts him there.
After Sam is sent to hell, Dean goes to live an “apple pie life” with Ben and Lisa Braeden. During this time, the Impala is left under a tarp in the garage despite its weapons still being in the trunk.
"She should be hunting"
-Dean, 6.01 Exile On Main St.
When reunited with Sam, Dean tells him to take her. Despite this offer, which in the past we thought Dean would never have made, Sam declines.
After a year of not being used, Dean gets back into hunting in “6.02 Two And A Half Men” and the Impala is back on track, bringing a beautiful smirk to Dean’s face as he hears his baby roaring, alive once again. In “6.03 The Third Man”, we see Dean’s dislike for Sam’s Charger and he races him to where they need to go.
The poor Impala is possessed once again in “6.14 Mannequin 3: The Reckoning” by the ghost of Rose Brown and again, it tries to run Dean over.
“Hey, you leave my baby alone! She’s got nothing to do with this!”
-Dean, 6.14 Mannequin 3: The Reckoning
We see at the end of this episode that Dean is repairing the Impala’s damage at Bobby’s Salvage Yard.
Mechanics:
It’s a 1967 Custom Made Hardtop Chevrolet Impala with a 4 barrel V8 327 engine, 275 horsepower and is a 3-spd Auto.
This particular Impala is custom made. They don’t come black, or with leather seats, the front of which are capable of reclining. It has a cassette player, not a CD player and definitely not an iPod jack as shown when Dean throws the iPod jack Sam installed in the Impala once he reunites with his “baby” after coming back from hell. In the trunk is a weapons compartment, hidden under a false bottom with a combination lock on it. This combination is 11-02-83, which you may notice is Sam’s birthday. This trunk also acts as a devil’s trap after Sam drew them on.
The Impala has had several plate numbers: C-45P4 in 1973, BQN 9R3 in 1997, KAZ 2Y5 in 2005, RMD 5H2 in 2006 and CNK 80Q3 from 2007 till present.
“The Impala, of course, has all the things other cars have... and a few things they don't. But none of that stuff's important. This is the stuff that's important: the army man that Sam crammed in the ashtray - it's still stuck there. The Legos that Dean shoved into the vents -to this day, heat comes on and they can hear 'em rattle. These are the things that make the car theirs -- really theirs. Even when Dean rebuilt her from the ground up, he made sure all these little things stayed, 'cause it's the blemishes that make her beautiful.”
-Chuck, 5.22 Swan Song
Miscellaneous:
Apart from Sam and Dean, the Impala has had the most appearances in Supernatural.
It was only called “the Impala” by fans. However, it became a canon reference when Sam called it that in “2.01 In My Time Of Dying”.
There are fans that refer to the Impala as the “Metallicar”.
“So what’s it all add up to? Well, it’s hard to say. But me, I’d say it was a test. For Sam and Dean. And I think they did alright. Up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God himself - They made their own choice. They chose family. And well, isn’t that kinda the whole point?”
-Chuck, 5.22 Swan Song
Thumpa, out! ;)
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