Chevrolet Monte Carlo – The Car’s The Star
June 2, 2023
Did you ever play the word association game? You know the one, someone says a word and then you reply with the first thing that comes into your head. We say “tree” and you might say “leaves”, for example. Well, with all of the build up to Top Marques Monaco fully underway we’ve been thinking a lot about that tiny sovereign state and its most famous district, Monte Carlo, home to one of the world’s most renowned casinos. But going back to that word association game, when we hear Monte Carlo we don’t think of Blackjack tables or the rich and famous cutting about in designer clobber. We’re all fanatical petrolheads here at Car & Classic so the first thing that pops into our heads is the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, specifically the modified example that features prominently in Antoine Fuqua’s 2001 masterpiece Training Day, starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke.
Things like this happen all the time. If someone were to mention their pet rabbit, for instance, we would then think of a rabbit hutch, then Starsky and Hutch and then the Ford Gran Torino. You say you’re taking the day off, we think Ferris Bueller, which leads us to the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder that gets taken for a joyride and then sent flying through a full length garage window onto the forest floor below. It’s like seven degrees of separation with us, with every road leading to classic cars. It’s just the way our brains are wired after decades of indulging this passion of ours.
But back to the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Debuting in 1970 as Chevy’s “personal luxury coupé” it’s easy to imagine the brass at General Motors brainstorming a name for this new car that was based on a modified version of the company’s A-body platform. Again, word association would no doubt have played a part with Monte Carlo being synonymous with opulence and luxury, ergo making it the top contender for the car’s elected epithet. Offered with a plethora of V8s, as well as a choice of various auto and manual gearboxes the Monte Carlo was a popular car with the public, despite a lukewarm reception from the motoring press at the time.
With the deafening V8 echoes of the muscle car craze still ringing loudly in people’s ears the Monte Carlo wasn’t actually intended to be included in that class, but that’s not to say the car lacked performance, especially where the top spec SS454 was concerned. With a 7.4-litre big-block V8 producing 360bhp and 500lb ft of torque it was the beefiest of the Monte Carlos with heavy duty suspension and 15” rally wheels included amongst other performance modifications. As the years went on, however, the Monte Carlo became somewhat of a shadow of its former self, at least as far as power figures went. With lower compression ratios and the addition of catalytic converters due to emissions regulations, as well as GM’s marketing of the Monte Carlo as a luxury vehicle and not a fire-breathing muscle car, the focus was for the Monte Carlo to be aligned as a more comfortable, usable and affordable coupé that would appeal to a wider audience.
Despite all of this, the Monte Carlo remained a hugely popular choice for NASCAR teams, mostly due to its dimensions, and from the early ’70s to the late ’80s especially it remained the weapon of choice for many oval racers, stacking up a whole host of trophies and silverware along the way.
Spanning 37 years and six generations the Chevrolet Monte Carlo had an impressive innings but it’s the third generation we want to focus on here, specifically the black 1979 model that is Denzel’s character Alonso’s whip in the aforementioned Training Day; a car that is most definitely not from the motor pool. “Sexy though, isn’t it?” is Alonso’s accurate description of the rather memorable and imposing ride.
Playing a corrupt narcotics cop showing the ropes to Ethan Hawkes’ rookie Jake Hoyt, the pair spend a large portion of the film driving around in the Chevy, or as Alonso calls it, “the office”. This isn’t a standard Monte Carlo though. Fitted with hydraulic suspension for that gangster, lowrider vibe, along with Flowmaster exhaust and a set of beautiful Dayton wire wheels with white wall tyres the car is certainly a looker. The modifications extend to the interior, too, in the form of a Grant steering wheel and non-standard sunroof which set the car apart from standard fare examples.
Smaller and lighter than previous models, the third-gen cars were also now offered with a choice of V6 motors alongside the various small-block V8s of varying displacements. The engines may not have been the zestiest but they all had a certain level of presence and an inherent ability to cruise that’s perfectly fit for the purposes of the Monte Carlo featured in the movie. With a three-speed automatic as well, it’s not that powerful and it’s not that fast but it has just the right amount of attitude and swagger, making it the perfect conveyance for the character whilst simultaneously elevating it to legendary status in the process.
It’s a brilliant film with an Oscar-winning performance by Washington but it’s the Monte Carlo that’s the real star for us. Unfortunately, in typical movie car tradition the Chevy ends up totalled and riddled with bullet holes after all of the usual car gets damaged, car appears fixed, car is damaged again continuity errors but regardless of how it ends up it’s an iconic car and one that deserves its place on the distinguished list of famous movie cars. Anyway, we’re off to watch Training Day again now and then cruise around while listening to Dr. Dre, wishing we had air suspension. Going up!
