The Impala is Dean's trademark black 1967 Chevrolet Impala. It was passed down to him by his father, who bought it in 1973 after a future Dean convinces him to buy it over a 1964 VW Van in the episode In the Beginning. According to Dean the car has 327 Engine and a Four Barrel carburetor. It bears a Sedgwick County, Kansas license (though their hometown of Lawrence, Kansas is actually in Douglas County) plate KAZ 2Y5, a reference to Kansas, the Winchesters' home state, and 2005, the year the show premiered. Starting in the episode 2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be, the car sports a new Ohio license plate (CNK 80Q3).
The trunk holds an amass of weapons that are modified and crafted to aid The Winchesters in their hunting activities. Dean refers to the Impala affectionately as "Baby."
Its Life So Far...
The first appearance of the Impala.
The car has been prominently featured on the series, beginning with the teaser of the pilot which shows John Winchester holding his two sons as he sits on the car and watches his house burn. The trunk is revealed to hold various weaponry to fight the supernatural. The car is Dean's most prized possession, and he protects it with nearly the same ferocity with which he protects his family.
In the pilot, a ghost possesses the Impala and tries to run Sam and Dean over. Later, as Sam is driving the Impala, the ghost takes control of the car again to make him drive her home. Sam 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.
The impala nearly totaled.
In the season 1 finale, Devil's Trap. A truck driven by a possessed trucker smashes into the Impala causing serious damage to her and her occupants. Sam and Bobby later have the Impala towed back to Bobby's where Sam refuses to scrap it, despite Bobby insisting it cant be salvaged. Dean later restored the Impala himself shortly before attacking the car's rear with a crowbar due to the pressure from his dying father's secret about Sam. (Everybody Loves a Clown)
Dean convincing his father to buy the Impala in 1973.
Sam inherits the car following Dean's death in the third season finale. The car is later returned to Dean in Season 4, who isn't impressed that Sam added an iPod jack to the car. He removes it and the jack is never seen again. (Lazarus Rising) It was shortly after Dean returned from Hell when he time traveled back to 1973 and convinced a young John Winchester to buy the Impala. Later when John proposes to Mary he does so in the front seat. (In The Beginning)
In order to destroy a ghost in Yellow Fever, Sam and Bobby attach an iron chain 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 road hauled him until his spirit was destroyed. The car had some minor damages here and there throughout various episodes and has even had angels and demons (once at the same time) in the back seat. (Heaven and Hell)
The Impala as Knight Rider.
In Season 5, while trapping Sam and Dean in realities based on various TV shows, Gabriel transforms Sam into the Impala (a knockoff from the TV series Knight Rider). It's while driving this that Dean finally realizes that Gabriel is actually an angel and not a Trickster. (Changing Channels) In Swan Song the history of the Impala is recounted by Chuck Shurley. It's the Impala and all its memories that helps Sam push Lucifer back and jump in the hole.
Dean pulls the tarp from the Impala.
A year after Dean has stopped hunting in Season 6, the Impala is under a tarp in the garage, albeit still with a trunk full of weapons. When Dean returns to hunting, he brings the impala out of retirement and removes the tarp, near the end of Two And A Half Men. The Impala becomes possessed by a ghost once again in Mannequin 3: The Reckoning with Dean managing to maneuver it into a wall.
The impala wrecked by demons.
The Impala is further damaged when Crowley and his demons attack Castiel. While Dean and Bobby take refuge in the car, it's flipped onto its roof and has all its windows blown out by the demon onslaught. (The Man Who Knew Too Much) The Impala doesn't stay damaged for long. Soon after Castiel leaves them in Meet The New Boss, Dean goes to fix the Impala due to it being the only thing he can do. With the help of Sam and Bobby, the Impala is fully repaired.
Due to the Leviathans cloning them and driving an identical Impala, they had to hide the Impala in order not to be detected. Dean has driven several cars in place of the Impala, many of which he has shown discontent.
The Impala's come back.
In Survival of the Fittest, Dean asks Castiel for a favor as he will not fight. He asks him to take him to his beloved Impala where they discuss the situation and Castiel finally agrees to help kill Dick Roman. When asked what the plan is, he tells Castiel that as Dick knows they're coming, they're going to announce themselves "big." The next morning, the Impala crashes through SucroCorp's front gate and ends up impaled in its giant glass sign, having apparently been used to reach the building by the group. However, when the guards come out, Meg is revealed to be the driver, Dean having used the Impala's arrival as a distraction so he, Sam and Castiel can sneak in. The distraction works, but the Impala is slightly damaged in her crash and the driver's side window is shot out by the Leviathan guards. After Meg dispatches them, she leaves, abandoning the Impala in the sign. It's later recovered by Sam after Dick is killed and Dean and Castiel disappear.
..and its quickly wrecked once again.
After Dean's return from Purgatory, he found that the Impala had been fully repaired after Sam told him about the previous year, though no new modifications were done to it, which made Dean happy, considering that the last time Dean went away for a year, Sam had made several modern additions to the car. When Dean smells dog in the car, Sam claims not to know what he's talking about but later admits he hit a dog with the Impala which caused him to meet Amelia Richardson. Afterwards, he took the dog around in the car, annoying Dean as he doesn't like dogs and doesn't want them in his precious car (We Need To Talk About Kevin). As the Leviathans are gone, Sam and Dean return to using the Impala instead of stolen cars.
The Impala in the Men of Letters Bunker.
When the Bunker's garage is found, Dean stores the Impala there. (Slumber Party) After taking full control of Sam, Gadreel uses the Impala to get around as he can no longer teleport, but it helps Dean, Castiel and Crowley find him as he runs a red light on his way to find Abner and kill him. After Gadreel is captured, Dean reclaims the car. (Road Trip)
After retrieving The First Blade, Sam and Dean return to the Impala to find it ransacked by demons who working for Abaddon. 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. (Blade Runners)
In Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire, after the Darkness is released it 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.
In 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. Dean later purposefully crashes the car, while Deputy Donelly is flung through it headfirst. The final fight takes place in the backseat and ends with Dean decapitating Donelly by slamming the left rear door on his head three times. Due to the conflict with the monsters, the Impala's front and rear windows are shattered, the being rear from Sam's gunfire 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.
Cars Dean also drives:
- 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown: Dean and Sam borrow a first generation (1984-1990) 'woody' Dodge Caravan from Bobby. Dean complains that it makes him feel "like a soccer mom."
- 4.01 Lazarus Rising: Dean drives from the gas station to Bobby's after his resurrection in a 1962 Mercury Monterey hard top. The license plate number is V6R 1G3.
- 4.17 It's a Terrible Life: Dean drives a Toyota Prius
- 6.01 Exile on Main Street: At the start of season six, when he is living with Lisa and Ben and not hunting, Dean drives a 1988 Ford F250 Pickup Truck.
- 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 1967 Ford Mustang.
- 7.03 The Girl Next Door: Dean drives a Jeep Grand Wagoneer after Sam takes the Impala to work a job on his own.
- Season 7: After The Leviathans (Disguised as Sam and Dean.) go on a killing spree (while driving a 67 Impala) causing the real Sam and Dean to become America's 2nd most wanted criminals. Frank Deveraux advises the boys to lock up the Impala to avoid detection. In the following episodes the boys drive:
- 7.06 Slash Fiction: Sam and Dean steal a 1983 Pontiac Acadian. Dean dislikes the horse decorations in the car. He voices his dislike to Sam.
- 7.07 The Mentalists: After exiting a restaurant Dean steals an unrestored, but working, 1970 Dodge Challenger. Dean seems to like the car. However, he is disgusted by the mess left in the passenger seat by the owner, as well as the poor condition the car is in.
- 7.11 Adventures in Babysitting: Dean arrives at Frank Deveraux's house in a 1969 Buick Special Edition.
- 7.12 Time After Time After Time: Dean drives Elliot Ness' 1940 Black Plymouth Road King.
- 7.13 The Slice Girls: Dean drives a brown 1971 Buick Riviera.
- 7.14 Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie: Dean drives a Golden Brown 1973 Mercury Cougar.
- 7.15 Repo Man: Dean drives a black 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. This is the second car Dean used that he seems to like, as he voices worry that Jeffery's dog will pee in the back seat if left alone.
- 7.16 Out With The Old: Sam and Dean both drive a black Chevy pickup.
- 7.17. The Born-Again Identity: Dean drives a black 1970 Dodge Charger. In this episode it is shown that every car Dean stole he kept Castiel's trenchcoat in the trunk.
- 7.18 Party On, Garth: Dean Drives a 1978/9 Maroon AMC Pacer. Garth claims it is a "Nice ride."
- 7.20 The Girl With The Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo: Dean drives a white AMC Matador (Early to mid 70s)
Dean and The Impala
Dean and the Impala have had a long, loving history together. Dean received the Impala as a gift for his eighteenth birthday. Ever since then, he has cared for it and even fixed it up when it was wrecked in the car accident at the end of season 1. Though he sometimes reacts with anger at it, he loves it very much and often talks to it as if it was a human being and not an object calling it "Baby".
When Bela tows the car away, he is very upset. Later, when he is forced to hide the car, he is, again, very upset about this fact. Dean was going to give Bobby the Impala while preparing to surrender to Michael.
Weapons in the trunk
The Weapon Stash in the Back of the Impala
The Impala's trunk contains a massive arsenal of weapons. They are all customized for fighting supernatural creatures. There are different types of:
- Handguns
- Shotguns
- Rifles
- Knives
- Stakes
- Holy water
- Holy Oil
- Gasoline
- Salt
Also seen in the trunk are a 37mm DefTech Grenade launcher, Brass Knuckles, a Harpoon gun, Axes, and Nunchucks. However, none of these have ever been used on screen.
There are also various types of ammunition including: Silver, Iron and Rock Salt Shells as well as standard bullets for every weapon.
As of the Season 6 episode The Third Man, The amount of weapons in the trunk has increased vastly, since all the weapons that were in Sam's car were moved to the Impala, after Castiel and an unnamed angel flattened it.
The trunk also has a Devil's Trap on it, so demons can be effectively transported within the Impala.
Memories It Holds
Sam and Dean carving their initials in the Impala's door.
- Used to be John's car.
- Sam and Dean's initials carved in a door.
- A miniature army man Sam left jammed in the ash tray.
- Lego blocks Dean jammed in the vents. (Dean places the Lego block back in the vent when he repairs it)
- All the times Sam and Dean spent in the car including living out of the car at times.
- Sam and Dean watch the stars while sitting on it.
- Dean had sex with Anna in the backseat.
- Saved the world by the army man in the ashtray causing Sam to retake control of his body from Lucifer after remembering fond times with Dean.
- Sam hits a dog with it, causing him to meet Amelia Richardson who he falls in love with.
- Sam had sex with a waitress in the backseat
Trivia
The Actual Car
- In an interview at a convention, Ackles said the main Impala they use has a 427 and skid plates. The actual car was bought from the Kelley family of Farmingdale, NJ in 2005. The Kelleys were the second owners of the car, they bought it from the original owners. The car was bought new in 1967 at Mathews Chevrolet in Farmingdale, NJ. It was originally baby blue with baby blue interior and dual bench seats.
- For the production of the show, they have about six Impalas; only 2 work. The "Hero" one and "Stunt" one. Rumor has it, the sound comes from a tape, and is even that of a Mustang 65 instead of an Impala 67. This however, is not evident from comparing these particular sounds with the actual TV-show.
- Baby, Dean's nickname for the Impala, was also the name of an episode in season 11, seen entirely from the Impala's point of view.
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