The initial tap of the throttle jolts the driver into a zesty frame of mind. Classic V-8 reverberations rumble through the 2.5-inch stainless-steel exhaust system, but that doesn't fully prepare the driver for the windfall of torque released when throttle plates are cracked to explore the SuperNatural dimension.
Steering and braking responses are equally forthright. This Impala perfectly impersonates a Corvette in four-door clothing.
Over minor road imperfections, the Koni shocks act as if they're frozen solid, so ride motions are occasionally jiggly and nervous feeling. That would ordinarily convert to dire harshness over major bumps, but the Impala has a full frame to intercede between potholes and pants' seats, so the firm suspension settings work just fine.
When asked to veer from the straight and narrow, this car breaks crisply with no discernible body roll. Pitched into a high-speed sweeper it responds with swift accuracy, despite (at 214.1 inches long) being only slightly smaller than many islands of the Indonesian archipelago. The SuperNatural SS, however, demonstrated its best behavior when we wired our test equipment to it. It thundered out of the hole with wide rear tires alight and clicked off two firm redline upshifts running down the quarter mile. The dash to 60 mph took only 5.9 seconds, 1.4 seconds quicker than stock. The quarter-mile ticket reads 14.0 seconds at 100.3 mph, beating the standard model by 1.6 seconds and 10.2 mph.
This Callaway-modified Chevy wriggled through the slalom with an agility that belies its two-ton-plus curb weight. The 63.6-mph average speed through the cones is 1.0 mph better than stock, but slippery leather seats, numb steering, and haphazard rear-axle location make you wish that Callaway engineers had focused a little more of their expertise on handling gains.
Despite wider wheels and tires, there was no measured improvement in stopping distance, but it's a sure bet that this modified edition will stand up to repeated hard use with significantly less brake fade than you'd find in a stock Impala SS.
As is the case with any aftermarket effort, there are a few shortcomings to report. The superwide front tires need constant help from the driver to keep the car in one lane on the highway. When the back seat is occupied, the rear tires occasionally brush the fenders over bumpy roads. Fortunately these are minor irritations that do little to diminish the day-in-day-out driving enjoyment that's baked into this overachiever.
The fact that Callaway's modifications cost more than the core car means there won't be a long line of customers begging for GM's assembly plant to work overtime cranking out Impalas for SuperNatural conversion. Nevertheless, as a demonstration of what can be done with conscientious reengineering, the Callaway SuperNatural SS is a shining example of the classic all-American muscle machine.
...
>>next page