Local restaurateur and award-winning chef Sam Cover reveals his lifelong love of vintage all-American muscle cars.
A keen advocate for local and hyper-local produce, award-winning chef, Pacific Northwest native, and Spokane County-based restaurateur Sam Cover is also a lifelong fan of homegrown, all-American muscle cars. With a particular passion for late 1960s and early 1970s examples, Cover reveals more about his love of models such as the Ford Mustang Boss 302, Buick GSX, Chevrolet Camaro Z28, and more.
“I’ve always loved vintage automobiles in general,” explains Cover, “but my main passion is for all-American muscle cars from the late 1960s and early 1970s.”
Cover’s favorite models from this era, he says, include the Ford Mustang Boss 302, Buick GSX, and Chevrolet Camaro Z28. The award-winning chef is similarly passionate about muscle cars from Dodge, Shelby, Pontiac, and Plymouth. “Alongside the Mustang Boss 302 and Camaro Z28, cars such as the Buick GSX and Shelby GT500-KR define the era for me personally,” adds Cover, “as do the Plymouth Road Runner and Pontiac Firebird 400 Coupe.”
Dodge, meanwhile, he says, is renowned for creating one of the late 1960s and early 1970s period’s most potent all-American muscle cars. “When new, the Dodge Charger R/T-SE produced somewhere around 430 horsepower,” Cover explains.
Around the same time, Plymouth was also producing the similarly powerful Hemi Cuda, which, much like the Dodge Charger R/T-SE, was capable not only of delivering in excess of 400 horsepower, but close to 500 ft-lb of torque, too, according to the chef. “The late ’60s and early ’70s were an incredible time for American manufacturing,” suggests Cover, “particularly within the automotive industry.”
The Pacific Northwest native and Spokane County-based restaurateur has owned several high-performance vehicles from the period, as well as a number of much newer, far more modern examples, including two new Ford Mustangs and a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro.
Despite his love of powerful, high-performance cars, Spokane County chef Sam Cover is, however, also passionate about environmental awareness. An advocate for local and hyper-local produce, and the growing farm-to-table movement popular both in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere across America, Cover’s latest restaurant venture, set to open soon in Downtown Spokane, aims, the chef says, to be carbon neutral.
Cover’s choice of vehicle for day-to-day driving will also, perhaps, come as a surprise to those familiar with his love of powerful all-American muscle cars. “While I have a couple of vintage all-American muscle cars tucked away safely in my garage at home,” he adds, wrapping up, “right now, day-to-day, I’m proud to drive a much more environmentally friendly 2019 Toyota Prius which I love, too.”
