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1959
Chevrolet
Impala
Coupe | 283 V8 | 3-Speed | Original European Export Vehicles
Price €69.750,-
Make Chevrolet
Model Impala
Year 1959
Mileage 76.607km
HP 0
Transmission Manual
Exterior Color Inca Silver
Interior Color Grey
# of cylinders 8
Engine displacement 4637
Let’s go in depth
1959 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe V8 3-Speed | European Spec
1959 CHEVROLET IMPALA SPORT COUPE - 283 CUI V8 - THREE-SPEED MANUAL - INCA SILVER - EUROPEAN DELIVERY - PORTUGUESE HISTORY
Some classic cars come with a specification. This one comes with a specification and a story: a genuine European-delivery 1959 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe, built for the European market at General Motors' Antwerp plant and registered new in Portugal on 2 July 1959, complete with its original Portuguese registration and ownership documentation, including the name of the man who bought it new. Alipio das Neves Morais Matias, a Portuguese industrialist, is recorded as the car's first private owner, making this one of those rare classics where a name and a date can be put to the exact moment it entered private hands.
FIND MORE ON:
Our website: pttmcars.com
Instagram: @pedaltothemetalmusclecars
Youtube: @PedalToTheMetal
Facebook: Pedal To The Metal Muscle Cars
LinkedIn: Pedal To The Metal
THE CAR
This Sport Coupe carries a genuinely rare specification for a 1959 Impala: the 283 cubic inch V8, paired with the three-speed column-shift manual that Chevrolet buyers of the era called three on the tree, along with factory power brakes and a European-market speedometer calibrated in km/h rather than mph. It was built at the General Motors Continental plant in Antwerp, Belgium, the factory that assembled Chevrolets from American-sourced components for the European market, so this car left the line already configured for the market it has lived in ever since. What sets this example apart is that its early history survives on paper rather than by inference. The original property certificate first records the car under General Motors Overseas Corporation, Lisbon Branch, before ownership passed to Alipio das Neves Morais Matias, a Portuguese industrialist, whose name appears in the documents as the car's first private owner. The accompanying livrete records its registration with the Direccao de Viacao de Lisboa on 2 July 1959, under the period plate HE-25-44, chassis number CAF 593558. From there, ownership traces through only a small handful of collectors, principally between Portugal, Spain, and France, the seller from whom this example now comes. Despite those later changes of ownership, the car has never actually been registered outside Portugal, which suggests it was held as a collectible rather than driven day to day once it left Portuguese hands. The odometer currently shows 76,607 km, a figure that cannot be independently verified through documentation but is entirely consistent with that history. The original Portuguese registration documents, the factory service manual, and a factory-correct spare wheel, though it cannot be confirmed as the car's original, are all included with the car. There are no restoration records, so the work cannot be dated or attributed with certainty, though its quality and consistency strongly suggest it was carried out in Portugal at some point during the collector ownership.
EXTERIOR
Finished in Inca Silver, a genuine 1959 factory color, this Impala wears the era's dramatic styling exceptionally well: the sweeping tailfins and cat-eye taillights that enthusiasts nicknamed the batwing look, and the sweeping wraparound windshield that GM's entire 1959 lineup used to such striking effect. Chrome trim throughout is excellent, panel gaps are straight, and the underside tells the real story: the frame, floor pans, and every visible component look fresh, finished in an even coat of undercoating that is rare to see this well preserved on a car of this age. The engine bay is clean and tidy, and the trunk floor is solid and just as well kept. A few minor imperfections do show up on close inspection, entirely normal for a cared for but genuinely enjoyed classic of this age, and nothing that detracts from the overall impression.
INTERIOR
The cabin is trimmed in leather upholstery finished in a matching grey and silver color scheme that carries the exterior theme inside. The leather looks essentially new, almost certainly retrimmed at some point during the restoration, and shows none of the cracking or wear typical of a 1959 interior. The dashboard retains Chevrolet's characteristically elegant instrumentation from the period, and the European-specification speedometer reads in km/h, a detail that quietly confirms this car's export-market origins. The three-speed column shifter operates as it should, with no automatic gearbox and nothing modernized in between, just a big American V8 and a manual shift on the column, exactly the experience a late-1950s Chevrolet should deliver.
DRIVETRAIN
Pedal To The Metal
Schrijnwerkersstraat 10-12
8601 VD Sneek (The Netherlands)
+31625196176
sales@pttmcars.com / matei@pttmcars.com
pttmcars.com
We have made every effort to ensure that all information in this advertisement is accurate. However, no rights can be derived from the information provided in the advertisement. Do not rely solely on this information, but always check for yourself the matters that are important to you and could influence your decision. Please contact seller for additional questions.
1959 CHEVROLET IMPALA SPORT COUPE - 283 CUI V8 - THREE-SPEED MANUAL - INCA SILVER - EUROPEAN DELIVERY - PORTUGUESE HISTORY
Some classic cars come with a specification. This one comes with a specification and a story: a genuine European-delivery 1959 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe, built for the European market at General Motors' Antwerp plant and registered new in Portugal on 2 July 1959, complete with its original Portuguese registration and ownership documentation, including the name of the man who bought it new. Alipio das Neves Morais Matias, a Portuguese industrialist, is recorded as the car's first private owner, making this one of those rare classics where a name and a date can be put to the exact moment it entered private hands.
FIND MORE ON:
Our website: pttmcars.com
Instagram: @pedaltothemetalmusclecars
Youtube: @PedalToTheMetal
Facebook: Pedal To The Metal Muscle Cars
LinkedIn: Pedal To The Metal
THE CAR
This Sport Coupe carries a genuinely rare specification for a 1959 Impala: the 283 cubic inch V8, paired with the three-speed column-shift manual that Chevrolet buyers of the era called three on the tree, along with factory power brakes and a European-market speedometer calibrated in km/h rather than mph. It was built at the General Motors Continental plant in Antwerp, Belgium, the factory that assembled Chevrolets from American-sourced components for the European market, so this car left the line already configured for the market it has lived in ever since. What sets this example apart is that its early history survives on paper rather than by inference. The original property certificate first records the car under General Motors Overseas Corporation, Lisbon Branch, before ownership passed to Alipio das Neves Morais Matias, a Portuguese industrialist, whose name appears in the documents as the car's first private owner. The accompanying livrete records its registration with the Direccao de Viacao de Lisboa on 2 July 1959, under the period plate HE-25-44, chassis number CAF 593558. From there, ownership traces through only a small handful of collectors, principally between Portugal, Spain, and France, the seller from whom this example now comes. Despite those later changes of ownership, the car has never actually been registered outside Portugal, which suggests it was held as a collectible rather than driven day to day once it left Portuguese hands. The odometer currently shows 76,607 km, a figure that cannot be independently verified through documentation but is entirely consistent with that history. The original Portuguese registration documents, the factory service manual, and a factory-correct spare wheel, though it cannot be confirmed as the car's original, are all included with the car. There are no restoration records, so the work cannot be dated or attributed with certainty, though its quality and consistency strongly suggest it was carried out in Portugal at some point during the collector ownership.
EXTERIOR
Finished in Inca Silver, a genuine 1959 factory color, this Impala wears the era's dramatic styling exceptionally well: the sweeping tailfins and cat-eye taillights that enthusiasts nicknamed the batwing look, and the sweeping wraparound windshield that GM's entire 1959 lineup used to such striking effect. Chrome trim throughout is excellent, panel gaps are straight, and the underside tells the real story: the frame, floor pans, and every visible component look fresh, finished in an even coat of undercoating that is rare to see this well preserved on a car of this age. The engine bay is clean and tidy, and the trunk floor is solid and just as well kept. A few minor imperfections do show up on close inspection, entirely normal for a cared for but genuinely enjoyed classic of this age, and nothing that detracts from the overall impression.
INTERIOR
The cabin is trimmed in leather upholstery finished in a matching grey and silver color scheme that carries the exterior theme inside. The leather looks essentially new, almost certainly retrimmed at some point during the restoration, and shows none of the cracking or wear typical of a 1959 interior. The dashboard retains Chevrolet's characteristically elegant instrumentation from the period, and the European-specification speedometer reads in km/h, a detail that quietly confirms this car's export-market origins. The three-speed column shifter operates as it should, with no automatic gearbox and nothing modernized in between, just a big American V8 and a manual shift on the column, exactly the experience a late-1950s Chevrolet should deliver.
DRIVETRAIN
- Engine: 283 cui (4.6L) V8, factory rated between roughly 185 and 230 horsepower depending on original carburetion
- Transmission: three-speed column-shift manual (three on the tree), rear-wheel drive
- Brakes: factory power brakes
- Instrumentation: European-market speedometer calibrated in km/h
- Odometer: displays 76,607 km, not independently verifiable through documentation but consistent with the car's known history
- Genuinely rare European-delivery car, one of only a small number of 1959 Impalas built new for Europe at the General Motors Continental plant in Antwerp, Belgium, rather than the overwhelming majority built for the US market
- Documented first ownership: originally registered in Lisbon on 2 July 1959 under plate HE-25-44, chassis number CAF 593558, with the property certificate tracing the car from General Motors Overseas Corporation, Lisbon Branch, to its first private owner, Alipio das Neves Morais Matias, a Portuguese industrialist
- Original Portuguese registration documents survive and are included with the car
- Rare factory configuration: 283 V8, three-speed manual, power brakes, km/h speedometer
- Owned almost exclusively within Portugal, Spain, and France since new, with only a handful of owners on record
- Never registered outside Portugal, suggesting later ownership was for investment and collection rather than daily use, and that the car has genuinely only ever been enjoyed in Portugal
- Chrome in excellent condition throughout, minimal wear overall
- Leather upholstery throughout, looking essentially new and likely retrimmed during restoration
- Frame, floor pans, and underside in exceptional condition with fresh, even undercoating
- Clean engine bay and a solid, clean trunk floor
- Factory-correct spare wheel (originality not confirmed) and factory service manual included
- Currently on Portuguese registration, delivered with Dutch registration, Belgian or German also available on request
- Worldwide shipping available
- Year: 1959
- Model: Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe
- Engine: 283 cui (4.6L) V8
- Transmission: 3-speed manual (three on the tree)
- Odometer: 76,607 km (unverified, consistent with known history)
- Exterior: Inca Silver
- Interior: Grey/silver leather
- First registered: 2 July 1959, Lisbon, Portugal
- Original registration: HE-25-44
- Chassis number: CAF 593558
- Registration: Portuguese, delivered with Dutch registration, Belgian/German available on request
Pedal To The Metal
Schrijnwerkersstraat 10-12
8601 VD Sneek (The Netherlands)
+31625196176
sales@pttmcars.com / matei@pttmcars.com
pttmcars.com
We have made every effort to ensure that all information in this advertisement is accurate. However, no rights can be derived from the information provided in the advertisement. Do not rely solely on this information, but always check for yourself the matters that are important to you and could influence your decision. Please contact seller for additional questions.
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