Every now and them we come across a car so unique, so rare, and so historic that even we would vote to never give it the “hot rod treatment,” but instead to leave it as a piece of history and maybe an investment hedge. This ’63 Impala Z-11 is one of those examples and we found it over at Streetside Classics in their Atlanta, GA showroom.

Only 57 Z-11’s were made in 1963, specifically for the purposes of drag racing, and it’s one of only 7 known to exist today. Even more incredible is that this meticulously restored icon only has 1,555 miles on the odometer, each of which was earned a quarter of a mile at a time!

The Z-11 package itself was a 1963 model year only option that essentially was a lightened up version of the regular Impala with a hotter version of the 409 mill and was only offered with a 4-speed.

The hood, front fenders, slash pan, front and rear bumpers, brackets and braces grill brackets, grille filler panel, and hood support latch were all made of aluminum instead of steel, and these changes added up to a little over 300 pounds weight savings!

The 409 under the hood has some obvious visual cues that separate it from it’s stock brethren, mainly in the form of the NASCAR style cowl duct on the air cleaner.

Truth be told, it wasn’t actually a 409 anymore as it had been stroked up the a 427 and was topped by special heads and two 4bbl Carter AFB carburetors. As a result, while the 409 was factory rated at a stout 430 horsepower, the true rating was likely more in the 480-525 range.