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Maybe you’ve heard the old story about a ‘67 Chevy Impala equipped with a jet-fuel assisted take off (JATO) unit that met its match when it launched into a mountainside at over 300mph, killing the man inside. Although the story proved to be a legend, a group of guys recently decided to build an Impala as a tribute to it, to the tune of 10,000hp. Thanks to Jalopnik for bringing us the news.
Although the story of the JATO car sounds a bit far-fetched, many people questioned if the story was real or not, so much so that in 1996, the Arizona Department of Public Safety was prompted to issue a news release calling the story an “Arizona myth.” In 2003, the JATO car legend was visited by the crew of the Discovery Channel’s Myth Busters. After attaching rockets to a car and setting them off, Myth Busters saw their car go rather fast but not fast enough to hit 300mph. The car also failed to become airborne like the legend stated. In 2007, the legend was again tested by Myth Busters with a different rocket configuration. That attempt to get the car to go airborne failed as well with the rocket causing the car to explode prior to even hitting the end of its launch ramp.
Regardless of the validity of the JATO car legend, the mere idea of such a rocket-equipped Chevy is rather entertaining. So, as a tribute to the legend, Paul “Hot Rod” Stender and the guys from the Indy Boys shop created a 10,000hp Impala, complete with a military-discarded cruise missile engine on the roof and a bit of redneck flare. This doesn’t surprise us since Indy Boys has created other unlikely jet-powered projects, like a school bus and even an outhouse.
According to the Indy Boys website, the ‘67 Impala is street legal when the missile engine is turned off. The car also apparently gets some rather interesting reactions when taken through the McDonalds drive-thru. Ya think?
While we aren’t sure if this tribute Impala is capable of hitting 300mph or launching skyward, it would be interesting to see if Stender and the guys from Indy Boys ever tried to debunk the legend’s debunking. Rest assured- if that ever happens, we’ll make sure you know about it.
