1961 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-Door Sedan

The 1961 Chevrolet holds the arguable distinction of being the nicest of the decade - the profile of the top-line Impala hardtop with its 'bubbletop' roofline will make people swoon. But true racers always went for the lighter cars in the lineup and, among Chevrolets, the Bel Air 2-door sedan was the bee's knees.

However, what makes this car even more interesting is that it's equipped with the 409 V8 engine. The Beach Boys may have sung about this engine a year later, but it was its 1961 introduction that built Chevrolet's reputation as a contender in the pre-Pontiac GTO performance sweepstakes. And it was cars like this example that ruled drag stripes early in the decade: No heater or radio - this car is all business! And you can bet that, out of the 142 cars built with the 409 in 1961 (increasing to over 15,000 in 1962!), most were high-zoot Impala hardtops and not this plain-Jane Bel Air.

The 409 was an extension of Chevrolet's 'W' block that debuted in 1958 with 348 cubic-inches. Combine that with the new 4-speed transmission that performance-minded buyers were snapping up and you see how Chevrolet was becoming America's favorite performance car by the close of the 1950s. But, competition from Pontiac, Ford, and Dodge/Plymouth soon relegated the 348 Chevrolet at the drag strip. The advent of the 360 horsepower 409 began a new era that lasted through 1965, when the 'Mark IV' 396 finally replaced it mid-year.