Supernatural’s Dean Winchester’s Eternal Love – Baby, the 1967 Chevrolet Impala

Supernatural aired for 15 seasons, making it the longest The CW series in history, premiering its last season in 2020. Starring Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester and Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester, we followed the two over the years as they found and lost people and fought demons, angels, and even God. But one thing that was constant in the brothers' life was their father’s car, a 1967 Chevrolet Impala HardTop.

Cars have different meanings in fiction, but Dean Winchester really considered it as family. The car was alongside them the entire time, like a third leading character, and Dean even restored it after being hit by a truck (and before attacking the car’s end with a crowbar).

But the Impala, named “Baby” in the series, was more than just a means of transportation for the boys. Their father, John Winchester, purchased it in 1973 after a future Dean convinces his dad to buy it over a 1964 VW Van at a used car lot. The car was so beloved that, in Season 11, it even got its own episode. The most-watched episode of the season, the episode smartly-titled “Baby,” gives us the story from the Impala’s point of view.

Introduced right in the pilot, the car was a part of all fifteen seasons of the series. Most episodes ended up with the brothers having a bonding moment that involved the Impala as well. There was no journey the four-door car couldn’t do. Plus, the trunk was always filled with demon-hunting weapons.

“On April 21st, 1967, a hundred millionth GM vehicle rolled off the line at the plant in Janesville. 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,” character Chuck Shurley defines it in Swan Song (Episode 22, Season 5).

According to Dean, in the series, "Baby" is powered by a 327ci V8 Turbo-Fire engine fueled by a four-barrel carburetor, putting out 275 hp, which was not the most performant version in the stable. The show had a total of nine different versions of the model, using it for different purposes over its 15-seasons run. Baby 1, the Hero Car, which provided the sound of the engine and the creaking of the doors, and Baby 2 were used for the exterior shots, and Baby 3 was set up with multiple cameras for the interior shots. And they also had two "extras," usually towed, and several cars whose doors and windows were removed because they obstructed the camera angles.

In 1967, GM built the Impala with a choice of five engines ranging from a 155 hp inline-six up to the 385 hp, 427ci Turbo-Jet V8, which was detuned to 385 hp instead of 425 hp provided in 1966 by the same powerplant.

Supernatural also featured several other cars during its long run. The show was like an ode to the Americana, bringing cars like a Dodge Caravan, a 1962 Mercury Monterey hardtop, a 1958 Ford F250 pickup, a 1967 Ford Mustang, a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and a 1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V, among other muscle cars.

Dean’s love for the Impala transferred into reality as well. After the end of filming, the main actor Jensen Ackles received the car, and he shared he didn’t steal it, but that he finally got permission. It was no easy feat, and Ackles shared he asked to keep it for years: “I begged and begged and pleaded for years, but I finally got it this year. They're going to let me drive home the Impala,” Ackles explains. Jared Padalecki also took home the same model after the show ended.

From its premiere in 2005 to its end in 2020, Supernatural put the Impala back on the map. The engine’s roar ended up meaning just as much to the fans as the show’s unofficial song, Kansas' “Carry on My Wayward Son,” and it definitely deserves its place in any Iconic Movie Cars list.