The Chevrolet Impala: named after the graceful African antelope, in its current incarnation it’s a moderately interesting front wheel drive sedan. But it’s still fun to take a look back on some of the more noteworthy examples, like the ’60s and ’90s versions, and see what folks can do to make them better.

TuneTime Performance gave it a go with this ’96 Impala SS. Sure, the car takes its looks from the rather bland Caprice of the day, but if Buick’s Grand National proved anything, it’s that a minimalist looks and dark paint make everything better.

And to make that which already looks awesome perform on the same level, there’s too many ways to count out here; but one of them certainly has to be what TuneTime did, which was slap an LS3 in the engine bay. Base 430 horsepower, 424 foot-pounds of torque, and a swell 10.7:1 compression ratio can really do a lot for a car.

Over the stock LT1, this SS making an additional 170 horsepower and 84 foot-pounds of torque; it’s not even a contest in terms of performance. Add in the RPM Level 6 transmission and dyn0-tested 498 rear wheel horsepower, and the case is closed.

TuneTime gives us just a taste of what this car is really capable of with a satisfying burnout at the end. There’s no doubt that this particular Impala can perform when push comes to throttle.

Hopefully the guys will upload some more videos soon, not only because the car is cool, but because they need to back up the claim they made in their video’s description: “Should run in the mid to low 11’s at the track.” Good luck fellas!