Chevrolet El Camino
It's from 1968, before you were born.
- Iconic generation
- 1968 El Camino SS 396 (Chevelle-based)
- Origin
- USA (Chevrolet)
- Engine
- 396 cu in (6.5L) Turbo-Jet V8
- Power
- 325-375 hp depending on tune
- Layout
- Front-engine car-truck hybrid
- Wheelbase
- 116 in (Chevelle platform)
- Production
- 1959-1987 (across generations)
- Body style
- Two-door coupe-utility
About
As of 2026, it's 58 years old.
The El Camino is the answer to a question almost nobody asked: what if a car and a pickup truck loved each other very much? Chevy's car-truck hybrid put a coupe's nose and cabin up front and an open cargo bed out back, creating something that could haul mulch on Saturday and look fantastic doing it.
It hit its absolute peak in 1968, when the El Camino moved to the handsome Chevelle platform and offered the SS 396 — a genuine muscle car with a load bed. With the Turbo-Jet 396 V8 making up to 375 hp, you could smoke the tires AND pick up lumber, a combination of talents no sensible vehicle should possess.
It was always a little bit ridiculous and entirely lovable. Part hot rod, part farm truck, the El Camino embodied a very American refusal to choose between fun and function — why have two vehicles when one weird one will do?
Long after it left showrooms in 1987, the El Camino lives on as a cult icon and a punchline and a folk hero all at once: the 'ute' that the U.S. never quite knew what to do with, but secretly adored. Few cars wear their contradictions with such swagger.
Chevrolet El Camino through the years
First try
Chevy answers Ford's Ranchero with the original, tail-finned El Camino.
The reboot
Reborn on the mid-size Chevelle platform, the El Camino finds its real groove.
Car-truck hybrid peaks
The SS 396 makes the El Camino a genuine muscle car with a cargo bed.
Last call
The El Camino bows out, leaving behind a cult of car-truck believers.
