John Wick needs American muscle. Probably because there aren’t really any notable Russian muscle cars out there. Although I think we would all love to see him driving a UAZ-3907 Jaguar at some point for a rampage at sea. He seems to be quite fond of his 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 considering a large part of his whole quest is to get the car back, but aside from that he doesn’t seem too particular about the manufacturer, as in the first movie he is seen driving his Mach 1, a 2011 Dodge Charger, and of course the 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396.
Unfortunately, the Chevelle doesn’t get much screen time. In the first movie he just picks it up as a loaner from his mechanic after his car is stolen and we see it nicely featured a couple of times as he drives it around town. His hotel however gives him a new car late in the movie as an apology for an assassin trying to kill him in his sleep, so the Chevelle is out of action while he takes his new Charger out for a first (and last) spin.
Fortunately, since he wrecks his Charger before he gets a chance to recover his Mach 1 he returns to the Chevelle at the beginning of the second movie, and this time we get to see it in action as he chases a motorcycle around town. It’s a beautiful thing to watch this American classic in action under the city lights.
Mistaken Identity
There is some confusion over precisely what car it is that he is truly driving in the films. Many people seem to think that it is a Chevy Chevelle 454 LS6 CID V8, however it is actually a 396 CID V8. The identifying marker is the 396 emblems on the front fenders. Most people also think that the vehicle is black, but the paint job is actually Forest Green, which is only really noticeable when the light hits it just right.
There were three different Chevelles used for filming in the movies. They had a beauty car for the stationary scenes, a driving scenes car, and the stunt car used for his chase scene in Chapter 2. There is no real explanation for what happened with the car after Wick arrives at the Continental Hotel. When he is leaving the management gives him the keys for the Dodge Charger and we are left to assume that someone from the garage has come to retrieve the car. The assumption for the switch in cars is that the filmmakers didn’t want to ruin a beautiful classic so they sent the Charger out for the death ride instead, because while still a beautiful car, they are a bit easier to find.
Iconic Muscle
The 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS is undoubtedly one of the greatest muscle cars of all time. While the SS 454 is definitely the real beast of the ’70 Chevelle SS family with 450 horsepower, the SS 396 is certainly no slouch with a big-block V-8 402 cubic inch displacement engine offering an available 350 horses under the hood with 415 pounds of torque. The SS 396 was able to get Wick from 0 to 60 MPH in 5.8 seconds and he could run that motorcycle down with a quarter-mile time of 14.41 seconds.
The vehicle's use in John Wick only further fueled the desire for a return of the Chevelle line to production. Rumors of a return have been spreading for years, and we might finally get the much-awaited muscle car in the next few years. Maybe we could even see Wick behind the wheel of the comeback car for the fifth installment in the franchise. After all if ideas run out on how to keep the plot moving forward through future movies, they could always return to their roots and have someone steal his ’69 Mustang Mach 1 again. Let’s just hope they don’t kill any more of his dogs.
How To Get A Great Loaner Car
It seems in order to get a loaner car this nice all you have to do is be absolutely terrifying.
No mere mortal is going to go to their mechanic after their car is stolen and drive out of his shop in a 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS 396. The mechanic must be instilled with a terror of Baba Yaga, in order to hand out a car like that knowing that in all likelihood the car will either never be seen again because it has been completely destroyed or at least returned in need of a lot of work.
With a reputation like John Wick’s it seems you can pretty much have any car that you want. So, the fact that he chose the Chevelle is a testament to just how cool this car really is. John Wick will be back for plenty more vengeance in the years to come. So, hopefully he needs to borrow some wheels from his mechanic again and we can get some further screen time with this breathtaking automobile.