1971-’72 Chevrolet Heavy Chevy Chevelle

For many years, the Chevelle was Chevrolet’s jack-of-all trades — four-door family mover, station wagon, sporty two-door coupe, convertible, boulevard brawler/Stock Eliminator class powerhouse, even pickup truck. In 1971, Chevrolet built 43,200 Chevelle wagons, 35,600 base Chevelles, 249,000 Malibus, 5,089 Malibu convertibles, and 80,000 Super Sports. That’s a big enough ask of one car line, but that year, Chevrolet would assign the Chevelle one more duty: entry-level performance machine.

In keeping with the 1960s Detroit muscle car trend of applying an unusual name and an abundance of stripes to a car in order to boost its appeal to young people — The Judge, Road Runner, Dodge Demon Sizzler, etc. — Chevrolet launched the Heavy Chevy Chevelle in mid-1971 and offered it again in 1972. The Heavy Chevy Chevelle, billed