Impala

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Impala.jpg
Baby
Model '67 Chevrolet Impala
Plates C-45P4 (1973), BQN 9R3 (1997), KAZ 2Y5 (2005-07), RMD 5H2 (wish-verse 2006), CNK 80Q3 (2007-Present)
Color Black
Owner(s) John Winchester (1973 - 2005)
Dean Winchester (2005 - present)
Appearance(s) Season 1
Season 2 (except 2.07 & 2.18)
Season 3
Season 4 (except 4.12, 4.17 & 4.22)
Season 5 (except 5.18)
Season 6 (except 6.18)
Season 7 (except 7.07, 7.08, 7.09, 7.10, 7.11, 7.12, 7.13, 7.14, 7.16, 7.17 & 7.18)
Season 8
Season 9
Season 10
Season 11 (except 11.09 & 11.14)

Three days later another car rolled off that same line. No one gave two craps about her, but they should’ve. Because this 1967 Chevrolet Impala would turn out to be the most important car... no, the most important object in pretty much the whole universe.

– Chuck Shurley, 5.22 Swan Song

History

The Impala being constructed.

Whether it was Knight Rider or Magnum P.I. or The Dukes of Hazzard - all of these shows always had a character that was a car, and I always really responded to that.

– Eric Kripke, Source

Dean's car, affectionately dubbed the Metallicar by fans, originally belonged to his father, John. It is first seen in the aftermath of Mary's death, as John sits with his sons on the hood of the car while his house burns.[1] John later gave the car to Dean, although the exact date of this is unknown.[2] In a strange twist of fate, it is actually Dean who convinces John to buy the car, instead of a VW van, when he travels back in time to 1973.[3]

The Impala was built in Janesville, Wisconsin, on April 24, 1967.[4]

Eric Kripke had always wanted the boys to drive a muscle car, because growing up his favorite TV shows all had signature cars. However an Impala was not his first choice:

When I was originally writing the show I wanted to give the guys an American muscle car. My first choice was a '65 Mustang. My neighbour said it has to be a '67 Impala, because you can put a body in the trunk. He says, 'You want a car that, when people stop next to it at the lights, they lock their doors.'

– Eric Kripke, Source

At Comic Con in 2007 when asked why Sam had not driven the Impala in season two, Jensen answered "Because it's my car", followed by Eric Kripke reinforcing it with "Yeah, it's Dean's car!"

Car Facts

Mark Sheppard, Jeremy Carver, CW President Mark Pedowitz, Jared, Jensen, Bob Singer, Misha, WB President Peter Roth, and Eric Kripke in front of the Impala cake at the 200th episode party in Vancouver

The Impala, of course, has all the things other cars have... and a few things they don't. But none of that stuff's important. This is the stuff that's important: the army man that Sam crammed in the ashtray - it's still stuck there. The Legos that Dean shoved into the vents - to this day, heat comes on and they can hear 'em rattle. These are the things that make the car theirs - really theirs. Even when Dean rebuilt her from the ground up, he made sure all these little things stayed, 'cause it's the blemishes that make her beautiful.

– Chuck Shurley, 5.22 Swan Song

  • The car is a 1967 Chevrolet Impala. Chuck says the Impala rolled off the assembly line in Janesville, Wisconsin, on April 24, 1967.[4] April 24 is Eric Kripke’s birthday.
  • Her first owner was Sal Moriarty, who bought her for $3999 and drove around in her giving Bibles to the poor. This is another reference to Jack Kerouac's On the Road, a huge literary influence on Eric Kripke. The main characters in On the Road are two young men, Sal (Paradise) and Dean Moriarty, who drive around the country.
  • John Winchester bought her from Rainbow Motors in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1973, after being influenced by time traveling Dean. The price on the windshield was $2204. Dean describes her this way "327 four barrel, 275 horses. A little TLC and this thing is cherry."
  • License plates: C-45P4 (1973), BQN 9R3 (1997), KAZ 2Y5 (2005-07), RMD 5H2 (wish-verse 2006), CNK 80Q3 (2007-Present)
  • The license plates are "KAZ 2Y5" Kansas plates for all of season one and most of season two, until they switch to "CNK 80Q3" Ohio plates in order to avoid detection.[5]
    • In the alternative reality of the wish-verse the license plates are "RMD 5H2" Kansas plates.[5]
    • The original KAZ 2Y5 plates appear again in season four via a recycled shot from season two.[6]
    • In a flashback to 1997, the plates are "BQN 9R3" Kansas plates, seen when John drives Dean and Sam to school in the Impala.[7]
    • In Supernatural: The Animation, the plates are "KYZ 2Y5" Kansas plates.[8]
    • In the timeline where the Titanic doesn't sink, Dean drives a Mustang with the Chevy Impala's original KAZ 2Y5 Kansas plates.[9]
  • Contrary to the design of the official Supernatural website, the Impala has a bench front seat and its gearshift is located on the steering column.
  • The front seat reclines; this is seen when Constance Welch is attacking Sam.[1]
  • The Impala has an automatic transmission,[10] although it was described as a manual in 2.05 Simon Said.
  • It has a cassette player and radio, no CD player, although when Dean returns from Hell he discovers that Sam has added an iPod jack.[11] Dean rips it out and tosses it onto the backseat. It hasn't been seen since then.
  • There is a weapons compartment built into the trunk, with a combination lock on it. The combination is 11-02-83.[12]
  • At Comic-Con in 2007 when asked about the engine specifications of the Impala, Kripke looked lost, but Jensen was able to describe it in detail.[13]
  • There are eight impalas used on the show. The main (hero) car has a 502 Big Block 550 Horsepower Engine and is the only one with a factory air conditioner.
  • The sound of the squeaking doors were chosen individually for the passenger side door as well as the driver side door by Supernatural sound supervisor Mike Lawshe.[14]
  • In 3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me, director Steve Boyum had the side spotlights removed from the Impala in order to mount cameras.[15] In May 2008 a fan campaign was started to get them restored.[16]
  • The LEGO and plastic Army Men that Sam and Dean later put into the Impala can be seen in the flashback in young Sam's motel room in 11.08 Just My Imagination

Nicknames

Dean: Woah!! Listen to her purr! Have you ever heard anything so sweet?

Sam: You know, if you two want to get a room, just let me know, Dean.

Dean: Don't listen to him, baby. He doesn't understand us.

– Sam and Dean Winchester, 2.03 Bloodlust

It wasn't until 2.01 In My Time of Dying that Dean's car was referred to as "the Impala", by Sam. Most notably she's called the Impala in the monologue by Chuck in 5.22 Swan Song.

Dean's term of endearment for his beloved Impala, first used in 2.03 Bloodlust, is "Baby". This is commonly used in fandom and by the cast and crew. Dean uses the diminutive in the following episodes: 2.03 Bloodlust, 2.16 Roadkill 2.05 Simon Said, 3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas, 6.15 The French Mistake, 7.06 Slash Fiction, 7.01 Meet the New Boss, 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy? and 9.04 Slumber Party.

Fans often refer to the car as "the Impala" or "Baby" partcularly in fan fiction. When Sam is transformed into the Impala by Gabriel, fans dubbed it the Sampala!

The nickname Metallicar originated on Television Without Pity on October 11, 2005 source. It was coined because Dean enjoys listening to classic rock music like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and, of course, Metallica while driving. It became commonplace throughout fandom, and has appeared on merchandise. It diminished in usage over later seasons, replaced by "Baby".

Significant Impala episodes

While filming Season 11, Jensen found the shell of the Impala that was totalled at the end of Season 1
  • 1.01 Pilot: The Impala is first seen as John and the boys take refuge with her after Mary is killed and their house is burning.

22 years later - The ghost of Constance Welch possesses the Impala and tries to run Sam and Dean over, but they jump out of the way. Later, as Sam is driving the Impala, she appears in the backseat and takes control of the car again to make him drive her home, where she tries to kill him. Dean shoots her with rock salt through the window of the Impala, shattering the glass, but her ghost returns quickly and Sam is forced to take desperate measures. He drives the Impala through the front wall of her home and comes to a stop in the living room, where she is confronted by the ghosts of her drowned children and destroyed. Dean tells Sam that he did a good job, but says, "If you screwed up my car, I'll kill you." As Dean and Sam drive away, we see that the Impala's right headlight is out.

  • 1.02 Wendigo: Dean lets Sam drive.
  • 1.06 Skin: Dean is upset when he realizes the shapeshifter pretending to be him has been driving the Impala. He later retrieves a new gun and silver bullets to kill the shapeshifter with after reclaiming the car.

Dean Winchester: Argh, the thought of him driving my car.
Sam Winchester: Oh come on.
Dean Winchester: It's killing me!
Sam Winchester: Let it go.

  • 1.13 Route 666: The epic showdown between the Impala and the phantom truck. While confronting the vengeful spirit of Cyrus Dorian, who possesses his truck to target his killers, Dean is forced to flee the truck in the Impala when the attempt to torch Dorian's bones fails, prompting Sam to direct Dean to the location where an old church burned down so that the truck will be dispersed when it arrives on holy ground.
  • 1.20 Dead Man's Blood: John chides Dean for allegedly not taking care of the car, saying, "Hey Dean why don't you touch up your car before you get rust? I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it."
  • 1.22 Devil's Trap: a truck driven by a possessed trucker smashes into the Impala causing serious damage to her and her occupants.
  • 2.01 In My Time of Dying: Sam meets Bobby at a wrecker's yard "off of I-83" where the Impala has been towed to. Bobby says "There's nothing to fix. The frame's a pretzel, and the engine's ruined. There's barely any parts worth salvaging." Sam however counters "Listen to me, Bobby. If there's only one working part, that's enough. We're not just going to give up on..." , although Bobby understands, Sam is speaking of Dean as much as the Impala.
  • 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown: Dean and Sam are staying at Bobby's where Dean is restoring the Impala. At the end of the episode Dean takes out his rage on his car, hitting the trunk seventeen times with a tire iron.
  • 2.03 Bloodlust: The Metallicar is back in perfect condition. There is great opening sequence focusing on her return to the open road, to the tune of Back in Black by AC/DC.
  • 2.16 Roadkill: Dean, Sam, and Molly McNamara are in the Impala when they drive through the ghost of Jonah Greely. The Impala loses power and they leave it on the side of the road to hunt down Greely. After Greely is dispatched, the car works again.
  • 2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be: Dean asks Sam if he has "ditched the plates" referring to the license plates (a necessity as they know the FBI are tracking them after the events of 2.19 Folsom Prison Blues). During the episode we see the usual "KAZ 2Y5" Kansas plates have been replaced by "CNK 80Q3" Ohio plates, and in the wish-verse with "RMD 5H2" Kansas plates.
  • 3.02 The Kids Are Alright: After not being seen to drive the Impala during Season Two, Sam is seen behind the wheel again.
  • 3.06 Red Sky at Morning: Bela has the Impala towed, leading to Dean panicking to the point of hyperventilating because he thinks it has been stolen.
  • 3.07 Fresh Blood: Dean begins teaching Sam how to work on the Impala because Sam is "gonna need to know these things for the future".
  • 4.01 Lazarus Rising: Dean is not impressed that Sam added an iPod jack to the car while he was in Hell. He removes it and the jack is not seen again. Later, when Sam goes to exorcise the demons in the diner secretly, he takes the Impala to Dean's annoyance. Sam defends it as a "force of habit" as he'd been driving the Impala everywhere for four months while Dean was in Hell.
  • 4.03 In the Beginning: Dean convinces a young John Winchester to buy the Impala rather than a VW van. The date of purchase is 30 April, 1973 and the price on the windshield was $2204. When John proposes to Mary, he does it in the Impala.
Pic from the set by Guy Bee
  • 4.06 Yellow Fever: In order to destroy the ghost of Luther Garland, Sam and Bobby attach an iron chain inscribed with spellwork to the Impala and wrap it around the ghost's neck. Once the chain is wrapped around his neck, Bobby drives down a road, dragging the ghost behind the Impala and roadhauling him, effectively scaring him to death and saving Dean's life. Though it's a "terrible plan" that neither Sam nor Bobby like, it works. In an outtake from the episode, Jensen Ackles sings "Eye of the Tiger" in and around the Impala while during the episode, Sam discovers and interrupts Dean doing the same.
  • 5.02 Good God, Y'All: When Sam leaves, Dean says Sam can take the Impala, but Sam declines.
  • 5.04 The End: Dean (from 2009) discovers the Impala wrecked and left to rot in 2014.
  • 5.05 Fallen Idols: After Sam has been telling Dean that their relationship needs to change, that he needs to let Sam "grow up", Dean asks Sam to drive.
  • 5.08 Changing Channels: While trapping Sam and Dean in realities based on various TV shows, Gabriel transforms Sam into the Impala (A la Knight Rider). It's while driving this that Dean finally realizes that Gabriel is actually an angel and not a Trickster, prompting him to remove holy oil from Sam's boot to lay a trap. (see Sampala)
  • 5.12 Swap Meat: While in Sam's body, Gary asks to drive, and reverses into a dumpster.
  • 5.13 The Song Remains the Same: Transferred back to 1978, John drives the car with Mary beside him, and Sam and Dean in the back seat, as they attempt to escape renegade Angel Anna Milton.
  • 5.22 Swan Song: The history of the Impala is recounted by Chuck Shurley, currently writing the final book of the series, as the Winchesters try and stop the Apocalypse. While Sam is possessed by Lucifer, and confronting Michael, Dean arrives at Stull Cemetery in the Impala. He confronts Lucifer, who starts beating him against the side of the Impala. However it's the Impala, the boys' home and place of so many memories (particularly of his relationship with Dean) that finally helps Sam fight back and take control from Lucifer. The Impala ends up with a cracked front windshield as a result of Dean's beating.
  • 6.01 Exile on Main St.: A year after Dean has stopped hunting, the Impala is under a tarp in the garage, albeit still with a trunk full of weapons. When he decides not to return to hunting with Sam, he offers the car to Sam - "she should be hunting" - who refuses her.
  • 6.02 Two and a Half Men: After deciding to return to the hunting lifestyle, Dean removes the tarp covering the Impala as Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" plays in the background. Dean smirks and the sound of the Impala roaring to life is heard.
  • 6.03 The Third Man: Dean doesn't like Sam's Charger and feels the need to prove the Impala's superiority by beating him to a witness' home.
Sam: Were you racing me?
Dean: No, I was kicking your ass.
After Sam's car is destroyed when Castiel throws an angel out of their hotel room window to land on it, he returns to traveling in the Impala with Dean and they add Sam's arsenal to the Impala's trunk.
  • 6.14 Mannequin 3: The Reckoning: The ghost of Rose Brown possesses the Impala and it starts chasing Dean, but he manages to maneuver it into a wall. At the end of the episode Dean is repairing the damage at Bobby's Salvage Yard.
  • 6.15 The French Mistake: In the alternate reality where Sam and Dean take the places of actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, respectively, they see multiple Impalas in various stages of repair on the set of their TV show, Supernatural. Dean is horrified when he sees the line of cars, and he tells Sam that he's going to be sick. Later, when they try to leave the set in what appears to be a working Impala, Dean is disappointed to learn that it, too, is a prop, and can't be driven at high speed. They have to abandon the car and are afterwards reliant on the actors' driver, Clif Kosterman.
The Impala smashes through the SucroCorp sign
  • 6.17 My Heart Will Go On: In the alternate reality created when the Titanic doesn't sink, Chevy Impalas do not exist. Instead, Dean drives a '67 Ford Mustang. When the Titanic is "re-sunk," and Sam and Dean reappear in their own reality, they wake up in the Impala. On the car's radio when they awake is Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."
  • 6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much: The Impala is present in Sam's subconscious mind, and, although he has no memories at the time, he recognizes it and is sure that it's his car.
Sam: That's mine.
Robin: Are you sure?
Sam: Oh, yeah.
In the real world, as Crowley and his demons attack Castiel, Dean and Bobby take refuge in the Impala, which is flipped onto its roof and has all its windows blown out by the demon onslaught.
Dean: Us driving around in this caboodle while baby's on lockdown?!
Sam: It's temporary, Dean.
Dean: Nobody puts baby in a corner!
  • The Impala is still absent in the present, but appeared briefly in a flashback during 7.15 Repo Man.
  • 7.23 Survival of the Fittest: As part of their assault on SucroCorp, Dean decides that the Impala will be used as a distraction and has Castiel transport him to where he hid it. While standing near the tarp-covered car, Dean finally convinces Castiel to help fight and informs him of their plan to announce themselves "big." To this end, he has the demon Meg crash the Impala through SucroCorp's front gate and giant glass sign, drawing out the guards who shoot out the driver's side window while trying to kill Meg.
  • 8.01 We Need to Talk About Kevin: After Dean went to Purgatory, Sam repaired the damage to the Impala from the crash and began driving aimlessly, eventually hitting a dog and thus meeting his girlfriend Amelia. Later, when Dean reunites with Sam, he is happy to see that Sam didn't "douche her up" but is annoyed to smell dog in the car and to learn that Sam has had a dog in the car many times.
  • 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?: Sam thought about selling the Impala to retrieve the Demon Tablet, but Dean started to threaten him and Sam changed his mind.

Sam: Huh. (Looks at the Impala.) Well...
Dean: No. Mnh-mnh. Say it and I will kill you, your children, and your grandchildren.
Sam: Okay, okay.
and
Dean: They didn't mean it, Baby. (Strokes the Impala.)

– Sam and Dean, 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?

  • 8.10 Torn and Frayed: After rescuing Samandriel, Castiel takes him out to the Impala to await Sam and Dean. When Naomi orders Castiel to kill Samandriel, he does it against the Impala and leans the angel's body against the car afterwards. Sam and Dean later find them in this position.
  • 8.12 As Time Goes By: After arriving in 2013, Henry Winchester escapes from Sam and Dean to find his son and learns the year from the Impala's registration tag. He is shocked and comments on how the Mayans must have been wrong about the end of the world and tries to steal the Impala, breaking the driver's side window. However, Sam and Dean stop him before he can hotwire it. Dean and Henry later make their plan to defeat Abaddon while driving in the Impala.
  • 8.17 Goodbye Stranger: Sam and Dean manage to reach the Impala after getting the angel tablet thanks to Meg's distracting Crowley. As Sam and Dean watch through the back window, Crowley kills Meg with an angel blade and they quickly speed off before he can go after them too.
The Impala parked in the Bunker's motor pool.
  • 9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here: In Sam's coma he is driving with Dean in the Impala with Dean, who is the manifestation of the part of his subconscious that doesn't want to die, trying to convince him not to give up. Bobby later appears and makes Dean disappear from the car when he tries to overrule Bobby's arguments about giving up. Later, it's revealed that Dean has locked Crowley in the trunk and is confronted by an angel when he tries to get Crowley's help in saving Sam. After everything is over, Sam wakes up in the real Impala and it's shown that Ezekiel, who is now possessing him to heal him, has erased his memory of his near-death experience and all knowledge of the possession.
  • 9.02 Devil May Care: Dean reveals to Sam that he has Crowley trapped in the Impala's trunk under a devil's trap, telling him that Crowley is the "junk in my trunk." When being confronted by Abaddon and her soldiers, Dean sends Tracy Bell to get the Impala and more weapons which she does, but she returns too late with the car as Ezekiel has already dealt with the demons.
  • 9.04 Slumber Party: After learning that the Bunker has a garage, Dean moves the Impala inside.

In between jobs, Sam and Dean would sometimes get a day – sometimes a week, if they were lucky. They'd pass the time lining their pockets. Sam used to insist on honest work, but now he hustles pool, like his brother. They could go anywhere and do anything. They drove 1,000 miles for an Ozzy show, two days for a Jayhawks game. And when it was clear, they'd park her in the middle of nowhere, sit on the hood, and watch the stars... for hours... without saying a word. It never occurred to them that, sure, maybe they never really had a roof and four walls... but they were never, in fact, homeless.

– Chuck/God, 5.22 Swan Song

  • 9.05 Dog Dean Afternoon: After performing a spell that allows him to communicate with animals but with the side-effect that he takes on dog-like traits, Dean sticks his head out of the Impala's window as Sam drives. Later, a pigeon poops on the Impala's hood and Dean nearly shoots it in revenge after it gives him attitude and threatens to poop on the Impala more. When Dean gets him adopted by two animal-lovers and they say goodbye, The Colonel tells Dean he gets car-sick and he threw up in the Impala's backseat.
  • 9.06 Heaven Can't Wait: Castiel rides with Dean in the Impala, riding "shotgun" for the first time since Swan Song. After deciding to go on his "date" rather than help Dean with his hunt, Castiel is forced to ask Dean for a ride to Nora's house as he is now human and can't teleport. Dropping him off, Dean gives Castiel advice on his date and later races back to the house after realizing that Castiel is in trouble, getting there just in time to help him take down Ephraim. The next morning, Dean drives Castiel to work, letting him go back to his normal human life.
The Impala in Supernatural the Musical in 10.05 Fan Fiction
  • 9.10 Road Trip: After taking full possession of Sam, Gadreel steals the Impala to get around as he can no longer teleport. However, this helps Dean, Castiel and Crowley find him as he runs a red light near Sommerset, Pennsylvania where he is going and the demon Cecily is able to find out about it. Dean finds his exact location as he parks the Impala outside and reclaims the car after Gadreel is captured. At the end of the episode, Dean leaves in the Impala without Sam.
  • 9.16 Blade Runners: Returning to the Impala after getting The First Blade, Sam and Dean find it ransacked by demons working for Abaddon who were looking for the Blade. The wards on the Impala's trunk kept that safe, but Abaddon had "Be afraid, Your Queen" keyed into the side of the car in Enochian, which annoys Dean. When Crowley betrays Sam and Dean and takes the Blade, he pins them against the Impala.
  • 10.02 Reichenbach: After capturing Dean, Sam drives him back to the Bunker in the Impala remarking on the condition of the car as it is full of trash. Showing his new demonic nature, Dean calls the Impala "just a car," shocking Sam given how much Dean cared about it.
  • 10.05 Fan Fiction: In Marie's play, they have a prop version of the Impala. After getting the prop version of Dean's Amulet, Dean hangs it on the Impala's mirror as a symbol of his restrengthened brotherhood with Sam.
  • 10.11 There's No Place Like Home: In order to keep Dean from following her, Dark Charlie slashes the Impala's front tire. Dark Charlie later steals the Impala to Dean's great anger and uses it to follow him to Clive Dillon's house where he retrieves it after Dark Charlie and The Wizard of Oz are defeated.
  • 10.12 About a Boy: After being turned into a teenager, Dean tries to drive the Impala but to do it, must push the seat up all the way, squishing Sam's legs. This causes Sam to ask to drive instead. Later, after dropping Tina off at a bus station, Dean turns on the radio and doesn't change the channel for once when Taylor Swift comes on.
  • 10.22 The Prisoner: Sam reveals that he low-jacked the Impala in order to trace Dean if he ever went off under the Mark of Cain's influence. Using the low-jack, Castiel is able to follow Dean to Shreveport, Louisiana and later back to the bunker. In Shreveport, Dean is pulled over by the police under the orders of Monroe Styne and they smash the taillights to justify it and arrest him when he gets angry. Dean later knocks the deputy who did it out and tells him it was for what he did to the car.
  • 10.23 Brother's Keeper: Sam can't track Dean by the Impala anymore as he has removed the low-jack. After getting Rudy killed and deciding to summon Death to kill him, Dean abandons the Impala at the motel, leaving a note to Sam saying "she's all yours" and driving another car to where he summons Death. Sam later finds the Impala and the note and drives it to where he meets Dean and Death. After the Mark of Cain is removed, Sam gives Dean back the keys to the car and they try to flee in it when the Darkness is unleashed. However, the back tire gets stuck in a pothole and they aren't able to escape. The Darkness washes over the Impala as it rushes out into the world.
  • 11.01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire: The Darkness washes over the Impala, rocking the car when suddenly Dean disappears as the Darkness pulls him out to speak to him. Sam is knocked out and wakes to the Impala's horn going off but no significant damage otherwise. Sam pulls the horn wire to shut it off and is shocked to find Dean a mile or so away from the car. When Dean returns and prepares to leave, he is annoyed to find the Impala still stuck in the muddy pothole and that Sam never said anything about it. They get the car out of the pothole and leave.
  • 11.04 Baby: The entire episode takes place from the car's point of view. During a vision, Sam sees a being appearing to him in the form of a young John Winchester who drives the Impala in the dream while talking to Sam. The final battle with Deputy Donelly takes place in the backseat and ends with Dean decapitating Donelly by slamming the left rear door on his head three times after putting pennies in his throat. Due to the conflict with the monsters, the Impala's front and rear windows are shattered, the rear from gunfire from Sam and the front from Donelly being flung through it headfirst. Due to Dean purposefully crashing the car, the front end is also smashed up and though the Impala runs, its hard to start the engine. At the end of the episode, Sam calls the Impala their home as they drive away.
  • 11.05 Thin Lizzie: The Impala has been repaired and at the end, Sam and Dean sit on the hood eating, unaware that Amara is nearby.
  • 11.17 Red Meat: Suffering from a serious gunshot wound, Sam manages to make his way to the Impala and drive to the hospital despite being barely conscious.
  • 11.21 All in the Family: After rescuing Lucifer, Sam races away from Amara with him and Donatello Redfield in the Impala. However, Amara appears in the middle of the street and stops the Impala with telekinesis. Sam is unable to escape Amara's hold, but before she can harm them, the Impala suddenly teleports to the Bunker. God emerges and tells them that he occasionally does answer prayers and rescued them.
  • 12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On: Dean leads a resurrected Mary Winchester into the garage of the Bunker where the Impala resides. Mary recognizes the Impala as John's car and treats it in a similar manner to how Dean treats the Impala. Looking into the backseat, Mary puts on a huge smile, presumably remembering times with John there. Later, the Impala is rammed by Ms. Watt with an SUV, spinning the car out and leaving a dent in the right rear quarter panel. After Mary kills Ms. Watt, she, Dean and Castiel depart in the dented Impala for Aldrich, Missouri where they have tracked Sam to.
  • 12.03 The Foundry: Dean has repaired the Impala from the damage Ms. Watt caused to it. Later, while driving to a case in St. Paul, Minnesota, the song Born to Be Wild comes on the radio. Showing a similar taste in music to her older son, Mary turns up the volume as they drive off, greatly pleasing Dean.
  • 12.08 LOTUS: Rick Sanchez and the Secret Service pull the Winchesters over, finding them through recognizing the Impala. After catching them, Rick comments on how the Impala really stands out.
  • 12.11 Regarding Dean: After Sam is captured by the Loughlins', a memory-less Dean wakes up in the Impala with a note from Rowena stating that Sam has been kidnapped by a witch and she found his "stupid car" and left him there. Dean then finds a sticky note on the window telling him to "stay" but eventually opens the trunk and finds notes directing him to his gun and witch-killing bullets with which he arms himself.

Imposter!Impalas

On occasion, Dean and Sam drive a car other than the Impala:

The guys also drove a 1969 Plymouth GTX towards the end of season 7.

Also of note: The '67 Impala that the Leviathans drive is identical in appearance to the Winchesters' Impala in almost every way. The differences lie in the custom rims on the wheels of the Leviathan!Impala, and, of course, the license plates. The Leviathan!Impala has Illinois plates: E62 3015. When Dean first sees the Leviathans driving their Impala, he remarks, "Oh, those are nice wheels. I tell you what, when this is over I'm stealing those rims."[17]

Origins Comics Controversy

In the teaser for the Pilot, John, Sam and Dean are clearly seen huddled together on the hood of the Impala as their house burns. In the Origins comics, Peter Johnson had John acquiring the Impala after Mary's death. Following a Q&A session with Cynthis Boris on Jack Myer's MediaVillage sitePeter Johnson returned with the following response:[28]

I've given a huge amount of thought to the Impala issue and have arrived at a conclusion.
As you may know from previous posts, I felt early on that there would be creative and character-driven value to seeing John get the Impala during his journey in the aftermath of Mary's death. It was a decision, and Kripke and I talked about it. However, I'm in violent agreement with many of your comments that the car is the third character in the show, and that it represents a sanctuary for this family following the death of Mary. I like it as the constant that remains after her death - as Mousitsa (Anna) puts it: 'baby' was there to support her three men after the fire.
These comments have made profound impact, and I agree wholeheartedly with the thematics they represent for the SN universe - for both TV and comics. So, despite the fact that #1 and #2 have both been published, I am going to propose making adjustments to revert to John already having the Impala from the get-go when the issues are collected into the trade paperback. I would like to restore this notion to the comics.
I believe in my heart and gut that it would be the correct version, not just to match the shot of John and the boys of the hood of the Impala in the pilot teaser, but much more importantly, for what the car represents in the continuity of the family -- before and after Mary's death. I'll be talking to DC about this on Monday.

The show later made the Impala's origin completely clear, when John buys the Impala in 1973 after Dean dissuades him from getting a VW van.[3]

The Impala in Fandom

The Impala has inspired a number of fans to get their own 67 Impala. Fans lovingly restore often beat up old shells of cars, sometimes down to the most minute detail to match the car to the Impala on the show. See Fan Impalas for more details.

The best known of the Impala restorers is Rick Blevins, who is featured on the "Fan" documentary on the Season 10 DVD and Blu-ray. Rick has restored cars both for himself and others, and it was an Impala restored by him and owned by fan Stefany Torres that the Supernatural producers used when they filmed the episode 9.20 Bloodlines in Chicago.

You can find Rick on Facebook at Everything Supernatural.


Impala keychain available with season five DVDs.
Impala plushie by ldhenson.

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.01 Pilot
  2. ↑ 1.20 Dead Man's Blood
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 4.03 In the Beginning
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 5.22 Swan Song
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be
  6. ↑ 4.04 Metamorphosis
  7. ↑ 4.13 After School Special
  8. ↑ Animated Impala
  9. ↑ 6.17 My Heart Will Go On
  10. ↑ Television Without Pity forum thread
  11. ↑ 4.01 Lazarus Rising
  12. ↑ OWS
  13. ↑ Jensen talks about the Impala at Comic Con 2007
  14. ↑ S1Com, p. 142
  15. ↑ Steve Boyum removes spotlights from the Impala
  16. ↑ Fan campaign to restore the spotlights
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 7.06 Slash Fiction
  18. ↑ 7.07 The Mentalists
  19. ↑ 7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding!
  20. ↑ 7.11 Adventures in Babysitting
  21. ↑ 7.12 Time After Time
  22. ↑ 7.13 The Slice Girls
  23. ↑ 7.14 Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie
  24. ↑ 7.15 Repo Man
  25. ↑ 7.16 Out with the Old
  26. ↑ 7.17 The Born-Again Identity
  27. ↑ 7.18 Party On, Garth
  28. ↑ Peter Johnson response to Impala origin
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