At the height of the muscle car era which was dominated by big-engine vehicles such as the Pontiac GTO and Chevrolet Impala, the Camaros, and Buick among others, the Chevrolet dared to release a compact car by the name Chevy Nova in 1962. The Chevrolet Nova also known as the Chevy II was of unibody construction and was powered by an IHV inline four-cylinder or six-cylinder engine. It was initially offered in two-door and four-door sedan that can either be a convertible or a station wagon.

The Chevy Nova was conceptualized as a low-cost alternative to its bigger version, the rear-engined Chevrolet Corviar and as an entry model in the compact car class that faced the Ford Falcon. The Chevy II outlasted both vehicles. As it offered a V-8 engine with the combination of a fuel-injected feature that was also available to the Corvette, and with the lightweight body, the Chevy Nova became the popular vehicle for drag racers during that time.

A year later, in 1963, the Chevy Nova introduced the Super Sport or the SS with V-6 engine. In 1966, the concept version Super Nova offered minor differences in features and dimensions. Major restyling came two years later in 1968 with the station wagon taken out of the model line. In 1973, the all-new hatchback body style based on the 2-door coupe was released. The Chevy Nova Super Sport was now upgraded into 350ci V8 and the bigger 396ci big-block V-8 engine. With the increasing popularity of big-blocked Nova, the original four-cylinder engine was dropped.

The next generation Nova was seen in 1974 that was carried through 1979 which still offered the V-6 and the V-8 engine. But as the popularity of the big-blocked engine decreases in the seventies, the Chevy Nova decreases its popularity and was discontinues in the early part of 1980s.