Chevrolet sold its compact as the Chevy II from the 1962 model year and later as the Chevrolet Nova, running the rear-drive line through 1979. Later, the badge came back on a Toyota-based car built in California. Over those years the Nova was a family runabout, a drag-strip weapon and even a small luxury car.
These eight are our picks, and the verdicts are our opinion. Some are fast, while others simply did their job better than people remember. Every figure below comes from Nova owners’ resources, auction records and published histories.
1. 1963 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova SS
Chevrolet started building the Chevy II in August 1961. At first the engines were modest: a 153-cubic-inch four and a 194-cubic-inch six. Then, for 1963, the Super Sport option arrived on the Nova 400 under code RPO Z03.
The Nova Resource history adds a detail many fans miss. The 1963 SS convertible was the only drop-top SS Chevrolet ever offered, and it came only with the six. In our view, that makes it the most charming Nova of all. Still, it was never about speed. Instead, it proved a low-priced compact could wear a Super Sport badge with real style.
2. 1966 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova SS L79
The 1966 Chevy II got a full restyle, and buyers could order the SS with a six or a 327 V8. Even so, the one to find is the L79. That Corvette-derived 327 carried a 350-horsepower rating and breathed through a Holley four-barrel.
According to RM Sotheby’s, 5,481 of the 20,986 Nova Super Sports built for 1966 left the factory with the L79. An unrestored car with 25,000 miles and a Muncie four-speed sold at its Auburn Fall 2015 sale for $55,000. We’d put this one near the top. After all, it packed small-block punch into a compact body two years before the Nova got a big-block.
3. 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS 375
Big-block engines reached the Nova for 1968, and the 1969 SS came with power front disc brakes as standard. That mattered, because the top option was the L78 396 rated at 375 horsepower. The Nova Resource production notes count 5,262 L78 cars for 1969.
As a result, good ones command real money today. A highly original, 16,000-mile 1969 Nova SS 396/L78 with a manual gearbox sold for $68,200 at Mecum Kissimmee in January 2026. Our take: this is the Nova to beat for straight-line speed. It kept the small footprint and added the strongest engine on the factory order form.
4. 1973 Chevrolet Nova Custom hatchback
For 1973, Chevrolet added a three-door hatchback, the only new body style the compact received between 1968 and 1979. At the same time, the Custom series arrived and became the top trim. GM simply cut a hatch into the two-door coupe, so it kept the sloping roof and added a cargo door.
An Indie Auto history puts the base hatchback at $2,528 and counts about 91,000 sold in 1973. That was roughly a quarter of all Novas built, so the idea clearly worked. Meanwhile, Chevrolet’s ad writers called it the “Nova Motel,” as Old Cars Weekly recalls, and a camper kit called the Hatchback Hutch followed. We think it’s the most practical Nova ever sold.
5. 1975 Chevrolet Nova LN
Chevrolet reskinned the Nova for 1975 and made front disc brakes standard. In addition, a new 262-cubic-inch V8 joined the list. At the top of the range sat the LN, short for Luxury Nova, under option code Z11.
The Nova Resource Z11 page lists modified “H” bucket seats in brushed knit cloth, an upgraded acoustic package, LN emblems and 14×7-inch wheels. Old Cars Weekly adds that Novas became valued patrol cars after testing by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. In our view, the LN was the smartest Nova of the decade. It treated a compact like a small luxury car, and it did so with a straight face.
6. 1976 Chevrolet Concours
For 1976, the LN gave way to the Concours. It rode the same 111-inch-wheelbase X-body as the Nova and came as a coupe, sedan or hatchback. Under the hood, engines ran from a 250 six to 305 and 350 V8s, just as in the Nova.
Mac’s Motor City Garage lists base prices from $4,066 to $4,274, with a loaded car near $6,000. By 1977, Chevrolet had removed the Nova emblems entirely and printed a separate brochure. However, the Concours lasted only two seasons, and the Nova Custom took over as the top trim for 1978. We’d pick one for its odd place in history: a Nova that tried hard not to be called one.
7. 1979 Chevrolet Nova Custom
The 1979 car was the last of the rear-drive line, and it wore rectangular headlights for that one year only. The Custom picked up the wide chrome fender moldings and Cabriolet landau top the Concours used to wear. Buyers chose a 250 six or a two-barrel 305 V8, while California and high-altitude buyers could get a 350.
Curbside Classic reports that Chevrolet built 97,721 Novas for 1979, including 7,529 Custom coupes and 7,690 Custom sedans. For example, a Custom coupe listed at $4,164 with the six. Meanwhile, the front-drive Citation was waiting in the wings. We include the ’79 Custom because it closed an 18-year run with some dignity.
8. 1985 Chevrolet Nova NUMMI
The name returned for 1985 on a very different car. GM and Toyota had partnered in 1984 at New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) in Fremont, California. Soon after, the first vehicle left that line in December 1984. Underneath, this Chevrolet Nova was a Corolla Sprinter on Toyota’s front-drive AE82 platform.
SlashGear puts its original price under $7,500, with about 30 mpg city and 37 highway on the five-speed. In fact, the final year even offered Toyota’s twin-cam 4A-GE engine. In our view, it’s the most underrated Nova of all, since it put a Toyota-engineered car on an American line under a Chevy badge. Production ended after four model years, 1985 through 1988.
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