Car Craft – November 2019

Nobody Expects Anthony Griffin’s

Caprice Coupe to be Fast

And He’s Just Fine to Let

You Think as Much

I

t’s not exactly the car you expect to be fast. Yeah, coupes

are sporty. And yeah, this one has a fastback window like

the G-bodies that Chevrolet and Pontiac built for NASCAR

homologation. But it’s also a car with the word “classic” in its

name. If you survived the malaise years, you probably remem-

ber that the Caprice Classic didn’t invoke the image of speed,

even though deep down you knew Chevy made cop cars out

of the things.

Which makes Anthony Griffin’s ’78 coupe so good. When

he punches it, this whale of a car does an asymmetrical

pushup and whistles past almost silently. After it goes by it

makes a profound “PSHHHHHHH” as the nose goes earth-

bound, leading you to wonder if it’s air springs that jerked

the nose up in the first place.

To be totally fair, it’s pressure that punches this Caprice’s

nose skyward, only it’s pressure applied to a different part of

62 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2019

By Chris Shelton / Photos: Chris Shelton