MUSCLE CAR SUMMARY
The “Muscle Car” has roots dating back to the late 1940’s, evolving out of hot rod culture and into a segment all its own. By the 1960’s and 1970’s, the term was broadly given to 2-door, 2-row American sport cars that boasted powerful V8 engines that sent power to the rear wheels. In true American spirit, muscle cars tended to carry relatively affordable price tags for their performance, especially in the straight line. It’s no wonder why muscle car culture is the backbone for several racing leagues, such as NASCAR, NHRA and even the SCCA, even to this day.
Presently, the muscle car genre continues to evolve, with current examples on sale shifting from the bare-bones take-it-or-leave it bar brawlers of the past to more refined grand touring cars with incredible duality. The result of which is that these cars can accelerate like never before, but can also corner exceptionally well, with the overall ride and interior refinement being exceptionally plush. They have also become considerably more expensive, with some of the most capable examples exceeding $70,000. Some even $100,000 when fully optioned. A far cry from their humble beginnings.
MUSCLE CAR HISTORY
Muscle car production began in the 50’s with the Oldsmobile Rocket 88, which was the first time a V8 was put into a smaller lighter chassis. Producing 135 horsepower and 263 lb-ft of torque the 88 won 8 out of 10 NASCAR races in the 1950 season. Ever since then, the muscle car has been developing from year to year. As time went on the cars got more and more of a racing pedigree, with the peak of the muscle car coming in the late 1960’s to the early-70’s. In that brief period of time, Detroit automakers gave us cars like the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, and the Plymouth Road Runner. All of these vehicles were an answer to the Ford Mustang, which hit the market in 1964.
PONY CAR VERSUS MUSCLE CAR
The Mustang is the original “Pony Car,” and several automotive historians will vehemently agree that there’s a difference between the venerable Muscle Car and the sportier Pony Car. But as the segments have evolved, they have also blended, and customers that would have otherwise shopped one segment or the other are now assimilated into a single demographic, as evident by buyers cross shopping vehicles like the Ford Mustang with the four-door Dodge Charger.
FALL AND RISE OF THE MUSCLE CAR
In the 70’s muscle cars began to see a decline, insurance rates going up, the 1970 Clean Air Act, and the OPEC Oil Embargo of 1973. by 1974, the muscle car segment was a shell of itself, with vehicles such as the Dodge Challenger being discontinued, and engine output in available cars otherwise being drastically reduced. Collectively, the 1970’s and 1980’s are considered to be the darkest time for American muscle cars due to damage done by stricter government regulations, fuel shortages, and regrettable corporate planning. Nevertheless, vehicles like the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro continued to soldier through the Malaise Era.
In the late 1980’s, new technology such as electronic fuel injection systems, turbochargers and advanced engine management controls helped pull muscle cars out of the dark ages by allowing for more power to be extracted from each drop of gasoline. For instance, the G-Body 1987 Buick Regal GNX used a turbocharged V6 engine that rivaled the performance of V8 engines at the time, even leapfrogging the Chevrolet Corvette as the quickest car in the GM fleet. By the 1990’s, the muscle car mojo was really starting to come back, with the introduction of engines such as the LT1, which helped the Camaro Z/28 at the time run a 14.2 second quarter mile from the factory. The pushrod small block V8 was also a highly tunable engine, and thus began to attract performance and aftermarket companies to the market shortly after.
By 2010, a new “golden age” of muscle cars was in full swing, thanks to the return of the Dodge Challenger, and the launch of the fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro (after a brief hiatus) to do battle with the never-discontinued Ford Mustang. Supporting the Mopar fleet is the Dodge Charger, which is considered to be the world’s only four-door muscle car on sale today. Sales wise, the segment as a whole appears to be shrinking, but the halo effect that muscle cars continue to bring to the showroom serves as a valuable marketing tool.
THE MOST POWER MUSCLE CAR EVER BUILT
The most powerful muscle car so far ever created is the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. When properly set up, the Dodge Demon could accelerate from 0–30 mph in 1.0 second, 0–60 mph in 2.3 seconds (2.0s with a rollout), 0–100 mph in 5.1 seconds, and the quarter mile in only 9.65 seconds at 140.09 mph. It featured a factory-limited top speed of 168 mph. Its 6.2-liter V8 “Demon” engine featured a 2.7-liter supercharger, rated at 808 hp with 91 octane gasoline and 840 hp and 770 lb-fto of torque with 100 octane fuel or higher. Only 3,300 Dodge Demons were made.
THE FUTURE OF MUSCLE CARS
For better or worse, future muscle cars will likely have electric variants to balance out their fuel-heavy V8 performance variants that remain sought after by customers. The first hints of this are the Mustang Lithium Concept, an potential Chevrolet Camaro EV teaser, and comments from FCA executives that electrification is coming to the space. For now, the most powerful muscle car variants on sale today are the 650 horsepower sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, 717 horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition, the 760 horsepower S550 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, and 797 horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye.
2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody. Photo copyright MuscleCarsandTrucks.com
MUSCLE CAR CONCEPTS
List to be updated.
Chevrolet Camaro Concept (2006)
Chevrolet eCOPO Camaro Concept (2018)
Ford Mustang Lithium Concept (2019)
Dodge Super Charger Concept (2017)
Dodge Challenger Shakedown Concept (2018)
MUSCLE CAR NEWS
Please visit our Muscle Car News page.
CURRENT MUSCLE CARS BY AUTOMAKER
Chevrolet Camaro (Sixth-Generation)
Ford Motor Company
Ford Mustang (S550)
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Chrysler 300 (LX)
Dodge Charger (LX)
Dodge Challenger (LX)
Independent
Equus Bass 770
FUTURE MUSCLE CARS
General Motors
Seventh-Generation Chevrolet Camaro
Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
Ford Motor Company
S650 Mustang
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Next-gen Charger
Next-gen Challenger
PAST MUSCLE CARS
List to be updated.
General Motors
Buick Gran Sport & GTX
Buck Grand National & GNX
Cadillac CTS-V
Chevrolet Chevelle
Chevrolet El Camino SS
Chevrolet Impala
Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Chevrolet Nova
Chevrolet SS Performance Sedan
Oldsmobile 442
Oldsmobile 88
Oldsmobile Toronado
Pontiac G8
Pontiac GTO
Pontiac Firebird & Trans Am
Pontiac Tempest
Pontiac Catalina
Ford Motor Company
Ford Galaxie
Ford Fairlane
Ford Torino
Ford Thunderbird
Mercury Comet Cyclone
Mercury Cougar
Mercury Marauder
Chrysler/FCA
Dodge Dart
Dodge Challenger SRT Demon
Plymouth Barracuda
Plymouth Hornet
Plymouth Roadrunner
AMC AMX
AMC Javelin
MUSCLE CAR ENGINES
For more information, visit our Engines page.
MUSCLE CAR SALES
For more information, visit our Muscle Car Sales page.
NOTABLE MUSCLE CAR AFTERMARKET COMPANIES
Callaway Cars
Hennessey Performance Engineering
Lebanon Ford Performance
Lingenfelter Performance Engineering
Mallett Cars
Roadster Shop
Roush Performance
Shelby American
Specialty Vehicle Engineering
Speedkore Performance
Trans Am Depot
NOTABLE MUSCLE CAR EVENTS
Camaro Fest
LX Spring Fest
One Lap Of America
Power Tour
PRI Show
Roadkill Nights
SEMA Show
Sturgis Mustang Rally
Texas Mile
Woodward Dream Cruise
For information on American pickup trucks and SUVs, visit our Muscle Cars & Trucks page.