It is purple, rides on massive gold wheels, and it is a Landau. This Chevrolet Impala Landau is one of the approximately 4,600 units the automaker built in this body style in 1978. However, not much remained stock on this show-stopper.
For the fifth generation, Chevrolet rolled out 2,745 Impala Landaus in 1977, 4,652 in 1978, and 3,274 more in 1979. And that was the end of that body style for the Impala lineup.
Not as popular as the Caprice Landaus back in the day, the Impala Landaus are pretty rare today, as not many have survived. Furthermore, not many remained original, as the model's enthusiasts restomodded the retro DNA out of them. Take this 1978 unit, for example. Not much remained original about it.
The Landau Coupe had actually debuted with the fourth-gen Impala back in 1974 when Chevrolet offered a Landau vinyl roof, special paint colors, sports dual remote rearview mirrors, and color-keyed wheel covers.
A 1978 Impala Landau arrived at the Killemallkustoms shop to have some work done. Juan Estrada, aka Mr.75Caprice on YouTube, sees an Impala Landau for the very first time, and the car has quite an impact on him.
Photo: mr75caprice | YouTube
The 46-year-old Impala screams, "Look at me!" It is painted purple with an orange roof over an orange leather interior with purple piping and seatbelts. It sports an aftermarket steering wheel with a purple rim and three spokes that mimic the gold wheels.
In fact, it might just be a wheel used as a steering wheel, because it reads "Forgiato" in the center. The steering wheel frames a fully digital, customizable Dakota dashboard.
While the front end is dipped in chrome and integrates the custom tiara grille, the rear pillar reads "Impala Landau." The car rides on massive gold-finished 26-inch Forgiato wheels with floating caps that don't work properly.
It also sports a lowering kit that would normally put it closer to the ground if it weren't for the giant wheels. QA lower control arms, sway bar, tie rods, and adjustable coil-overs, all in chrome, together with a custom exhaust, are all on the menu.
The 1978 Chevy Impala Landau belongs to a man called D-Mac from Wisconsin. He's got his name written on the sills. His Impala is powered by a 383-cubic-inch (6.2-liter) V8 stroker engine. The whole engine bay is aftermarket.
Juan Estrada is surprised to see the Impala Landau, but he never claimed to be an Impala specialist. He is, in fact, a Chevy Caprice enthusiast. We have recently featured a story about Juan buying a 1987 Caprice from an old lady from Ohio, who used to drive it only on the weekends.
His Caprice came with a bonus: it had two spare wheels in the trunk alongside a roll of toilet paper. He also got a thermostat, which was offered for free by the owner's husband.
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