Good ol' American muscle
The muscle car era was a time when horsepower took precedence over other factors that might have been more important to drivers. Muscle cars are still popular today, but they are not quite what they used to be.
Every few years or so, it seems like the industry rediscovers America’s love for muscle cars and brands try to capitalize on that by releasing new models with even higher levels of performance than before. This has been going on since the ‘60s when Ford introduced its first Mustang and Chevy its Camaro.
To even consider what the best muscle cars of all time are, there is a simple question must be initially addressed. What is a muscle car? For many, a muscle car has to be American (and therefore made by the likes of Chevrolet, Ford or Chrysler), it has to have a big V8 engine and it has to come from the era when pure muscle was regarded as the cream of the crop.
As a car fan, you may wonder what among the hundreds of different muscle cars produced in America are the best? Which are the most sought-after, the most influential machines that shaped the way drivers feel about these cars? So we broke down the top classic American muscle machines that defined this automotive movement perfectly. Saddle up for the ride and enjoy.
10. 1971 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda
Introduced in 1970, the Hemi 'Cuda featured a 426 cubic inch (7.0-litre) V8 making 425bhp, and was good for 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds. The first-generation Barracuda was mostly famous for its distinctive wraparound rear glass, but also for being Plymouth’s first sporty, compact vehicle or "pony car."
The model was withdrawn in 1971 after just 115 examples had been sold, because Plymouth didn’t want to strangle its legendary Hemi V8 to meet new emissions regulations. Nowadays the Hemi 'Cuda is highly collectable of course, with the rarest convertible versions selling for millions of dollars.
9. 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat
Paying homage to the past while still being fully up to date is a pretty tough feat, yet the 2015 Dodge Challenger manages to do just that. This retro-styled muscle car sports updated styling and packs more power than many supercars, and with the optional paddle-shifted eight-speed auto gearbox, the Hellcat races to 60mph in just 3.6 seconds.
Yet underneath those classic lines the Challenger is completely modern with its keyless ignition, infotainment system and eight-speed automatic transmission, the latter allowing a big coupe with a near-500-hp V8 to earn a 25 mpg highway rating.
8. 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88
The biggest and baddest Corvette of them all was the L88 built from 1967 to 1969. What set this car apart was a comprehensive racing package that included the big block V8 with solid-lifters and Can-Am-spec cylinder heads.
Conceived as a bone-fide home-grown sportscar to rival European imports, the two seat Chevrolet Corvette may not fit the muscle car tag for many US enthusiasts. But to the rest of the world you couldn't deny the fact it was packed with factory competition hardware that made the Corvette a pure race car.
As a limited series of around 200 cars, the L88 was sold in both coupe and convertible form. The rarest cars are 20 1967 L88 Corvettes. Due to stringent emissions standards, the L88 was forced to be canceled in 1969.
7. 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt
Built for the 1964 model year in just 100 units, the Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt is arguably one of the rarest and most desirable muscle cars from the era. These cars are known to fetch well beyond $200,000 at public auctions.
There's an untold fact about muscle car enthusiasts which says: "the rarer the car, the cooler it is." And imagine how one can feel about the one and only Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt, a vintage lightweight drag racer that was made as only the '64 model year.
And while it was built for the singular purpose of dominating the competition at the drag strip, the Thunderbolt was technically street legal, though it wasn’t exactly ideal for use on public roads – particularly with the racing gear ratios out back.
Just one hundred examples of the Thunderbolt were produced for the 1964 model year, with the first eleven cars painted in Ford’s Vintage Burgundy while the remaining eighty-nine cars were painted Wimbledon White.
6. 1965 Shelby Mustang GT-350
The 1965 Mustang GT 350, one of the best muscle cars ever, was hand-built by Carroll Shelby. He took a normal Ford Mustang and made it into an amazing fastback, a race car for streets. The GT 350 is also considered very sacred in Ford's history and has appealed to enthusiasts over the years.
The Ford Mustang ‘pony car’ took the US by storm in 1964, selling two million examples in its first two years for production. A 289 cubic inch (4.7-litre) V8 was soon introduced with up to 271bhp, but it’s the Shelby GT-350 versions of those early cars that really get collectors fired-up.
The 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 was made in limited numbers and was a very exclusive car. What is worth noting is that in 1965 only 562 of these vehicles were made. A 1965 GT350 in decent shape is worth almost $300,000, while a show car-quality example could command nearly $600,000 or more.
5. 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88
Its top speed was just 97 mph, and it took a full 13 seconds to accelerate to 60 mph from a standing start. Still, it was arguably America’s first muscle car. The 1949 Oldsmobile 88 combined a new overhead valve Rocket V8 engine with a lighter, more streamlined design to offer a truly exhilarating ride. Compared to the big 98 series cars of the time, the 88’s proportions were decidedly more modest. America’s first muscle car was just 202-in long and 75.2-in wide.
For the Rocket 88, Oldsmobile came up with a 303 cubic inch V8 capable of a maximum 135 hp and 283 lb-ft of torque. The overhead valve engine concept offered both power and efficiency, with an improvement in fuel economy. That’s the reason many muscle car fans deem the Rocket 88 to be the first of the muscle car breed, although in spite of its high-tech for the time high-compression V8, the performance was hardly earth-shattering by later muscle car standards.
4. 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
The Chevrolet Camaro was produced in answer to the runaway success of the Ford Mustang, which had been launched in 1964. Arriving three years later, the Camaro was a sporty coupe and convertible based on the Chevy Nova platform, but with some meaty engine options including a 396 cubic inch V8 making up to 375bhp.
Chevrolet called the Z-28 "the closest thing to a 'Vette, yet," and not without reason. Of course, the Z-28 has since seen far higher volume, but only by becoming more and more like other Camaros. Happily, it got a lot more exciting as time went by. But later Z-28s could never cast the same spell as the 1967-1969 originals.
3. 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird
The 1970 Plymouth Superbird was undeniably one of the most radically designed muscle cars to enter the NASCAR racing scenario. The Superbird, in essence, was a modified version of the revered Plymouth Road Runner, with its overall design language inspired by the likes of the Charger Daytona.
The Superbird's manic performance dynamics were complemented further with its superior aerodynamic capabilities. The purpose-built race car featured a huge nose cone at the front, as well as a massive rear spoiler that worked in tandem to make it as 'slippery' as possible.
There were three engine options ranging from a 375bhp 440 cubic inch (7.2-litre) V8 to the famous 426 cubic inch (7.0-litre) ‘Hemi’ making 425bhp. While the Superbird's divisive shape meant some cars remained unsold for a couple of years, today it's seen as a hugely desirable model of the Muscle Car era, and cars frequently sell at auction for six-figure sums.
2. 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454
The LS6-powered 1970 Chevelle SS 454 had none of the conveniences that 21st century muscle car enthusiasts have come to expect. It's 450-hp rating even falls five short of the current SS Camaro's 6.2-liter V-8.
But, for legions of Chevrolet fans, this car has it all: limited production, the baddest engine available, and enduring styling. The 454 was the biggest engine Chevrolet ever bolted into a production passenger car and, in LS6-tune, it made effortless horsepower and torque.
With a 0-60mph time of a little over 5 seconds, the 1970 Chevrolet Chevrolet SS 454 was one of the fastest accelerating road cars in the world, and is hugely collectable today.
1. 1964 Pontiac GTO
The Pontiac GTO is widely acknowledged as the car that really kicked off the 1960s Muscle Car era. It was initially offered as an optional package on the mid-size Pontiac Tempest and was the first truly mass-market high performance model to follow the big displacement engine route, using a tuned 389 cubic inch (6.4-litre) V8 engine in place of the entry-level Tempest’s 140bhp six.
The top-spec GTO package included triple carburettors giving 348bhp, a four-speed manual gearbox, uprated suspension, wider wheels and bonnet scoops and would race from 0-60mph in just 5.7 seconds.
Not bad for a car in terms of performance for its day and for the price that was so astonishing that magazines of the period tested the GTO against its namesake, the Ferrari 250 GTO just to see what it could really do.