Chevrolet sold the Chevelle Super Sport for ten model years, from the 1964 Malibu SS to the 1973 Colonnade car. In that span, Chevelle SS engines ran from a 250-hp small-block to a 450-hp big-block, then back to a 175-hp 350.

Below, ten of them run in the order they arrived. Each rating belongs to a model year, and figures from 1972 on are SAE net, so they read lower than the gross numbers before them. One note before the list: the 1964 car also offered a 283 V8 rated at 220 hp, but it isn’t counted here.

1. 1964 327 V8

The first Malibu SS offered the 283 V8 from the start. Then, starting in mid-1964, buyers could order Chevrolet’s 327 V8 in 250-hp or 300-hp form, the Chevelle history on Wikipedia notes.

Muscle Cars Illustrated lists the same two ratings for the 1964 SS, in its Chevelle SS guide. That 300-hp 327 was the strongest engine in the first-year car.

2. 1965 L79 327

For 1965, Chevrolet added a hotter 327 as regular production option L79. It made 350 hp, Muscle Car Club’s Chevelle tables show.

The L79 did reach the Super Sport. For example, Chevy Hardcore covered a documented 1965 Chevelle SS with a 350-hp L79 that sold at Mecum, in its report on the car.

3. 1965 Z-16 396

The Z-16 brought the 396 big-block to the Chevelle late in 1965. As a result, it made 375 hp at 5,600 rpm and 420 lb-ft at 3,600 rpm, according to Muscle Car Club.

However, very few buyers got one. Muscle Cars Illustrated counts 201 Malibu SS 396 Z-16 cars, 200 hardtops and one convertible, in its SS guide. Muscle Car Club also gives the same 200-and-1 split.

4. 1966–1969 base 396

For 1966, the 396 became the standard Super Sport engine. The base version made 325 hp at 4,800 rpm and 410 lb-ft, Muscle Car Club’s tables list.

That rating then held steady for four years. The Wikipedia history gives the same standard 325-hp 396 for 1966, 1968 and 1969. Meanwhile, Muscle Car Club lists 325 hp for 1967 as well.

5. 1966–1969 L34 396

At first, the L34 sat in the middle of the 396 lineup. In 1966 it made 360 hp at 5,200 rpm and 420 lb-ft, according to Muscle Car Club.

For 1967, though, Chevrolet cut the rating to 350 hp, and it stayed there through 1969. The Wikipedia history notes the same change: 360 hp for 1966 and 350 hp after that. In other words, the middle 396 lost ten horsepower on paper, as Muscle Cars Illustrated points out.

6. 1966–1969 L78 396

Above it, the L78 topped the 396 range at 375 hp and 415 lb-ft, Muscle Car Club’s tables show. In 1966, Chevrolet built only about 3,100 L78 cars, Muscle Cars Illustrated reports.

Then 1967 got complicated. Muscle Car Club says about 612 L78 engines went in that year as dealer installations. By contrast, Wikipedia says the engine came back late in the model year with 612 sold. Either way, the L78 returned on the order form for 1968 and 1969.

7. 1970–1972 402, first sold as the SS 396

Late in the 1969 model year, Chevrolet bored the 396 out to 402 cubic inches, Muscle Car Club notes. Even so, the badges still said 396. The 1970 SS 396 package, RPO Z25, used the 402 with 350 hp as standard, according to the Wikipedia history.

For 1971, the 402 came in one rating, 300 hp gross. After that, the 1972 version showed 240 hp on the new net scale, Muscle Car Club’s tables show. Muscle Cars Illustrated lists the same 240-hp figure for 1972.

8. 1970–1972 LS5 454

For 1970, Chevrolet’s SS 454 package, RPO Z15, brought a 454 to the Chevelle. The LS5 version made 360 hp and 500 lb-ft, Muscle Car Club lists, and Muscle Cars Illustrated gives the same 360 hp.

For 1971, the LS5 showed 365 hp gross and 285 net, the Wikipedia history says. By 1972 it was the top SS engine at 270 net hp, a figure Muscle Car Club also lists. A 454 stayed available for 1973 at 245 net hp.

9. 1970 LS6 454

Above the LS5 sat the LS6, the solid-lifter, high-compression 454. It made 450 hp at 5,600 rpm and 500 lb-ft, and Chevrolet built 4,475 of them, the Newport Car Museum records. In addition, the museum lists $503.45 for the required SS 454 package.

RM Sotheby’s gives the same 4,475 total and an 11.25:1 compression ratio, in its catalog for an LS6 convertible. Chevrolet first announced it for 1971, too. However, no official records show any 1971 Chevelle built with one, Wikipedia notes.

10. 1971–1973 350 V8, the last of the Chevelle SS engines

For 1971, the SS turned into a package for any optional V8. Its standard engine became a two-barrel 350 rated at 245 hp gross, or 165 net, the Wikipedia history says. Muscle Car Club also lists that L65 at 245 hp, plus a four-barrel L48 350 at 270 hp.

Finally, by 1973, the SS required either a 350 or a 454. The four-barrel 350 showed 175 net hp that year, Muscle Cars Illustrated lists. In the end, Chevrolet put SS equipment on 28,647 Chevelles for 1973, and 2,500 of them had the 454, Wikipedia says.

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This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.