Chevrolet Impala 9C1

What the Impala 9C1 is, and why it is out of production

The Chevrolet Impala 9C1 is the police-package Impala: a four-door, front-wheel-drive sedan that General Motors built for patrol work and sold to law enforcement agencies, not to the public. The 9C1 designation belongs to a wider GM program known as the Chevrolet 9C1 police package, which has appeared on many Chevrolets over five decades. On the Impala, it covered three generations of V6 sedans from 2000 through the 2016 model year.

The verdict on this page is Out of production. In November 2013, GM said it would keep building the fleet-only Impala Limited (the carried-over ninth-generation Impala, sold only to fleets after the redesigned tenth-generation car went to retail buyers) at its Oshawa, Ontario plant "through the 2016 model-year," as reported by Auto Rental News. The Michigan State Police test book for model year 2016 was the Impala's last appearance; the model-year 2017 book lists no Impala, and the only Chevrolet sedans tested that year were the 3.6L and 6.0L Caprice. GM has offered no 9C1 Impala since.

What 9C1 means on a Chevrolet

9C1 is a General Motors production code that marks a vehicle built for police use or as a car-based emergency vehicle. Wikipedia's Chevrolet 9C1 article classifies it as a Special Equipment Options (SEO) code rather than a Regular Production Option (RPO) code. The distinction matters because GM uses RPO codes for ordinary options. GM's own 2016 Impala Limited Police Package 9C1 & 9C3 Specification Guide (the manufacturer's order and equipment document for the final 9C1 Impala) calls the package "Police Package 9C1" and reserves the term "RPO" for other options, such as "RPO White 50U." The accurate shorthand is "police package code" or "SEO code."

A companion code, 9C3, marks the detective, unmarked or supervisor variant. Wikipedia dates 9C3 to the 1992 Lumina. On the 2016 Impala Limited, GM's specification guide lists 9C3 differences such as a 40/20/40 split bench seat and full wheel covers, so a 9C1 and a 9C3 Impala of the same year are not identical cars.

The code is older than the Impala's police career. Its earliest use was the Nova 9C1, offered to law-enforcement agencies from 1975 to 1979, which began as a 1974 prototype for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Since then the 9C1 code has been applied to the Nova, Malibu, Celebrity, Impala, Caprice, Lumina, Tahoe, Silverado and Blazer EV. A "9C1" badge on a sale listing therefore identifies a duty build, not a particular model.

Generations and engines

Every Impala 9C1 from 2000 to 2016 used a V6 engine and front-wheel drive. Wikipedia's Chevrolet 9C1 article gives the following sequence:

• Eighth generation (2000 to 2005): 3.8L Buick V6, 200 hp.
• Ninth generation (2006 to 2013): 3.9L V6, 242 hp at introduction, later listed at 233 hp (2007) and 224 hp (2009).
• From 2012: the 3.6L LFX V6, about 300 hp.
• Impala Limited (2014 to 2016): the ninth-generation body continued for fleets with the 3.6L.

The sources do not agree on the later 3.9L rating. Wikipedia lists 224 hp from 2009 onward, but the Michigan State Police model-year 2011 book, which prints the manufacturer's specification, lists the Impala 9C1 3.9L (237 cubic inches, sales code 1WS19) at 233 hp at 5600 rpm and 240 lb-ft at 4000 rpm, with a 4T65E four-speed automatic, a 3.29:1 axle, single exhaust and E85 capability. Both figures are given here because neither source resolves the other. Wikipedia also dates the 3.6L to "2012 onward"; this page has not confirmed that first model year in an MSP book for 2012 or 2013.

The final form is well documented. GM's 2016 specification guide describes the Impala Limited 9C1/9C3 (Model 1WS19) with the LFX 3.6L V6, a DOHC engine with spark-ignition direct injection (SIDI) and FlexFuel capability (gasoline or E85), rated at 302 hp at 6800 rpm. It used a 6T70 six-speed automatic, a 2.44 axle ratio, a 17-gallon fuel tank and a stainless single exhaust with dual outlets.

Performance: what Michigan State Police testing shows

Michigan State Police (MSP) publishes an annual evaluation of new patrol vehicles, and its books are the primary record of how the Impala 9C1 performed. Every MSP figure on this page is a clean-roof result, meaning the car was tested without a lightbar, spotlights or antennas; an equipped patrol car will usually run slower. MSP's purchasing criteria call for 0 to 60 mph in 9.0 seconds or less and 0 to 100 mph in 24.6 seconds or less, and MSP states that no sanctioning body defines "pursuit rated."

Model year 2011: the 3.9L against its rivals

In the MSP model-year 2011 book, the Impala 9C1 3.9L ran 0 to 60 mph in 8.78 seconds, 0 to 100 mph in 23.74 seconds and reached 138 mph. On E85 it ran 8.68 seconds, 22.94 seconds and 139 mph. Those results cleared MSP's criteria, but only by narrow margins. The same book shows why agencies looked elsewhere: the Dodge Charger 5.7L ran 6.24 seconds and 146 mph, and the Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 6.0L ran 6.18 seconds and 148 mph. The Impala was quicker to 60 mph than the final Crown Victoria-based Ford Police Interceptor (9.01 seconds, 129 mph), but it was the slowest of the three new-generation sedans.

Model years 2014 and 2016: the 3.6L changes the picture

The 3.6L engine transformed the car. In the MSP model-year 2014 book, the Impala Limited 9C1 (302 hp, 262 lb-ft, 6T70 six-speed) ran 0 to 60 mph in 7.67 seconds, 0 to 100 mph in 19.40 seconds and reached 149 mph. That is more than a second quicker to 60 mph and 11 mph faster than the 2011 3.9L.

MSP MY2016, the model-year 2016 evaluation and the Impala's final MSP test, lists the "2016 Chevrolet Impala Limited (9C1)" 3.6L FWD at 7.81 seconds to 60 mph, 19.45 seconds to 100 mph, a 150 mph top speed and a 16.10-second quarter mile. Unlike the Caprice and Charger in the same book, which were rear-wheel drive (with all-wheel drive optional on the Charger), the Impala drove its front wheels.

The Impala Limited 9C1 and 9C3: the last police Impalas

When GM introduced the redesigned tenth-generation Impala for retail buyers in 2014, it did not make that car its patrol sedan. Instead, as Auto Rental News reported in November 2013, GM kept building the previous ninth-generation car as the Impala Limited, a fleet-only model, at Oshawa, Ontario. The same report named the Philadelphia Police Department and the New York City Police Department as long-time Impala users.

GM's 2016 specification guide states that the Impala Limited 9C1/9C3 was "designed for police work up to and including high speed emergency vehicle operations." It also states that GM "restricts the sale of police vehicles and they are not to be sold to retail customers." That restriction is why a civilian can own an Impala 9C1 only after an agency retires it.

The Impala Limited was the end of a line that had begun when the Caprice replaced the Impala for law-enforcement use in 1986. After the Caprice 9C1 ended in December 1996, the Impala 9C1 resumed with the eighth-generation car in 2000. From model year 2011 it shared GM's patrol sedan lineup with the Australian-built Caprice PPV, and both ended within a year of each other: the Impala after model year 2016, the Caprice after model year 2017.

Buying a retired Impala 9C1: what to check

A retired Impala 9C1 is a plain, front-wheel-drive V6 sedan with a duty history. The most important check is the engine, because it divides these cars into two very different groups. A 3.9L car such as the 2011 model ran 8.78 seconds to 60 mph in MSP testing; a 3.6L Impala Limited ran 7.67 to 7.81 seconds and reached 149 to 150 mph. Both engines are E85-capable, which is a fueling flexibility point rather than a performance one. A buyer choosing between a 2011 and a later Impala Limited should confirm which engine is actually under the hood instead of relying on the model year.

The following checks also apply:

• 9C1 or 9C3. A 9C3 detective car was equipped differently from a 9C1 patrol car, including seating and wheel covers in 2016.
• Equipment removal. State law governs what must be removed before a marked car is sold. Texas House Bill 473 (2015) bars state agencies from selling a marked patrol car to the public until lights, sirens, spotlights, emblems and the "outline of an emblem" are removed. Check the current text of your own state's law.
• Title documents. Federal surplus vehicles sold through GSA Auctions and similar channels are routinely accompanied by Standard Form 97, the U.S. Government Certificate to Obtain Title.
• Price expectations. No current price is given here. As one state data point, Vermont's Fleet Management Services found that state surplus vehicles sold for an average of 76% of book value across 2019 and 2020; that figure covers a general fleet, not police cars.

Common misconceptions about the Impala 9C1

• "9C1 is an RPO code." It is classified as an SEO code, and GM's own guide calls it a police package.
• "The redesigned 2014 Impala was a police car." The 2014 to 2016 duty Impala was the carried-over ninth-generation Impala Limited.
• "An Impala 9C1 has a V8." The 2000 to 2016 Impala 9C1 used 3.8L, 3.9L and 3.6L V6 engines only.
• "9C1 means Caprice." The code has been used on many Chevrolets, from the Nova to the Blazer EV.
• "9C1 and 9C3 are the same car." 9C3 is the detective and unmarked trim, with its own equipment.

The primary documents behind this page are GM's 2016 Impala Limited police specification guide and the Michigan State Police evaluation books for model year 2011 and model year 2016.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Michigan State Police; hosted by National Institute of Justice (NCJRS) — 2011 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation Program (2010, PDF)
• gmupfitter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2016-Impala-Limited-Police-Specifi…
• ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/nlectc/245035.pdf
• ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/nlectc/249904.pdf
• ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/nlectc/250527.pdf
• autorentalnews.com/114785/gm-extends-impala-limited-through-2016
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_9C1