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since i discovered it i've been very amused by the Buick Grand National GNX lol, it's just one of those cars that looks like the driver can only be up to no good, not to mention it actually has some decent performance
and i'll throw the 1996 impala SS in here, if this is even considered a "muscle car" but i mostly just like this because my old autoshop teacher ONLY liked to buy mid 90s GM B-bodies (caprice, impala, roadmaster, fleetwood) so i'm never not smiling when i see one of these lol
I wanted one of those Impalas BAD back when I was in college, but man they(and still are) were pricey back then, even for something that was 8-10 years old at that time. So I ended up with that blue Camaro Z28 instead, which had about 100 more horsepower, weighed 800lbs less, was low mile, 3 years newer, and a couple thousand dollars cheaper than Impalas with more miles on them that weren't as nice. When I went through my land yatch phase a few years ago, I bought a 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood, pretty much the same car under the skin, same LT1 V8 engine, longer wheelbase, marshmallow suspension, Cadillac body. Pretty quick for something that was longer than a Suburban(way faster than any Suburban, including new ones), had great off idle torque.
Anyways, what I love about the V8 Chargers is they kind of brought back the same sort of vibe as the discontinued Impala SS. Big muscle sedan, fast in a striaght line, decent(not great) handling, good ride, great styling, and mainly that sort of aggressive, badass vibe, but they can still fly under the radar if you don't order it in red or purple for example.
Anyways, what I love about the V8 Chargers is they kind of brought back the same sort of vibe as the discontinued Impala SS. Big muscle sedan, fast in a striaght line, decent(not great) handling, good ride, great styling, and mainly that sort of aggressive, badass vibe, but they can still fly under the radar if you don't order it in red or purple for example.
Well, radar or no radar, Chargers and Challengers lose their character without the classic early-70s retro-colors.
No. They don't call a Supra a muscle car in Japan.
But I'd argue most things Japanese with a turbocharger is the American equivalent to a V8(like American V8's, there are some lame, low output japanese turbo motors). Those twin turbo terrors of the 1990's, like the GT-R Skyline, Supra, RX-7, 300ZX, 3000GT VR-4, I'd argue those things were like the big block muscle cars of old, heavier car, lot more horsepower than most single turbo stuff back then(or today)
I don't think a powerful and huge or heavily boosted engine in a smaller frame always has to be cheap in order to be considered a muscle car. A few turbo front drive cars would technically fall into that category today... but I don't really think of those in the same way I do rear-drive muscle cars of any kind.
Three other good ones I just remembered:
1977-1981 Mercedes 450 SEL sedan. 6.9L SOHC V8. 286hp, 405lb-ft. Hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension. This was the big Merc chase car in "Ronin".
1987 Mercedes AMG Hammer. Fuel injected 6.0L DOHC V8 with 385hp, 400ft-lbs torque in a W124 sedan chassis. Measured max speed supposedly 187mph.
1990-1992 Lotus Carlton. RWD Opel Omega sedan chassis. Cosworth modified the standard 24V inline-six iron block by stroking it to 3.6L, adding twin Garrett T25 turbos, a water-to-air intercooler, ZF 6-speed manual transmission from the Corvette ZR-1, LSD rear end from a V8 Holden Commodore and AP four piston brakes up front and AP two piston brakes in rear. All of that hardware was standard from the showroom. 377bhp, 419lb-ft. 177mph top speed. It was considered so powerful and fast a four door sedan at the time that some people wanted it banned for sale in the UK or at least speed limited from its un-governed top speed. Those folks did not get their wish. But less than 1,000 were made anyway.
First generation Mustangs are always high on my list. I'm also a fan of the old '69 GTO from Pontiac. On rare occasions there is a gentlemen in my area that takes his 70's Plymouth Roadrunner out of the garage, usually on warm summer evenings, stunning presence. The 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator is truly one of my favorites!
I don't think a powerful and huge or heavily boosted engine in a smaller frame always has to be cheap in order to be considered a muscle car. A few turbo front drive cars would technically fall into that category today... but I don't really think of those in the same way I do rear-drive muscle cars of any kind.
Three other good ones I just remembered:
1977-1981 Mercedes 450 SEL sedan. 6.9L SOHC V8. 286hp, 405lb-ft. Hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension. This was the big Merc chase car in "Ronin".
1987 Mercedes AMG Hammer. Fuel injected 6.0L DOHC V8 with 385hp, 400ft-lbs torque in a W124 sedan chassis. Measured max speed supposedly 187mph.
1990-1992 Lotus Carlton. RWD Opel Omega sedan chassis. Cosworth modified the standard 24V inline-six iron block by stroking it to 3.6L, adding twin Garrett T25 turbos, a water-to-air intercooler, ZF 6-speed manual transmission from the Corvette ZR-1, LSD rear end from a V8 Holden Commodore and AP four piston brakes up front and AP two piston brakes in rear. All of that hardware was standard from the showroom. 377bhp, 419lb-ft. 177mph top speed. It was considered so powerful and fast a four door sedan at the time that some people wanted it banned for sale in the UK or at least speed limited from its un-governed top speed. Those folks did not get their wish. But less than 1,000 were made anyway.
AMG Mercedes are definitely "muscle", but I wouldn't call them "muscle car" in the traditional American sense. The big thing is price, they've always been insanely expensive when new, the traditional muscle car was something the average middle class person could afford.
Although since we are mentioning AMG Mercedes, I've always had a fondness for their cars from the early-mid 2000's with the 5.4 liter supercharged V8. That engine really redefined what it meant to be "fast" for a four door car, as a heavy E55 AMG sedan was running a comparable quarter mile time to Chevy's 405hp Z06 Corvette. The main thing I love though is the sound and instant throttle response from that engine. Not only is it fast, it "feels" fast, as there are no torque management/turbo lag/weird throttle mapping/laggy transmission programming/computer tricks that can make newer cars feel really slugglish in certain situations. Also the 1st gen CLS 55 AMG Benz was drop dead gorgeous and stupendously fast, but I also like the wonky wagon E55 variant as well, just because it proves the Germans do have a sense of humor.
AMG Mercedes are definitely "muscle", but I wouldn't call them "muscle car" in the traditional American sense. The big thing is price, they've always been insanely expensive when new, the traditional muscle car was something the average middle class person could afford.
Although since we are mentioning AMG Mercedes, I've always had a fondness for their cars from the early-mid 2000's with the 5.4 liter supercharged V8. That engine really redefined what it meant to be "fast" for a four door car, as a heavy E55 AMG sedan was running a comparable quarter mile time to Chevy's 405hp Z06 Corvette. The main thing I love though is the sound and instant throttle response from that engine. Not only is it fast, it "feels" fast, as there are no torque management/turbo lag/weird throttle mapping/laggy transmission programming/computer tricks that can make newer cars feel really slugglish in certain situations. Also the 1st gen CLS 55 AMG Benz was drop dead gorgeous and stupendously fast, but I also like the wonky wagon E55 variant as well, just because it proves the Germans do have a sense of humor.
i LOVE that supercharged 5.4 liter V8, easily one of the coolest engines ever. way more exciting and awesome sounding than the current biturbo V8. i plan to get an E55 by this summer, such a kickass ******in car, and with a mere pulley upgrade and tune you're getting nearly another 100 hp / tq for like under $2k, they're crazy good value once they've depreciated. of course you realize why they're so cheap when it comes time to replace one of the air shocks lol... but eyyy lets say you get the car for $13,000 (very doable) and spend $6,000 on repairs and maintenance in the first year, you're still getting a 500hp autobahn missile that will destroy almost anything it'll come across in day to day traffic for less than the price of a new corolla, so it's a hell of a car for the money. not to mention this is the engine used in the SLR which is still one of my favorite cars. and yes that SOUND it makes is incredible, very unique and easily recognizable. it just felt and sounded like a proper beast of an engine. and unlike modern cars which are tuned to sound a certain way, it just made a huge ruckus lol... ughhh i can't wait
^ Yeah I think as 2nd fun car, one of those supercharged AMG Benzes would be great. If you have a garage, tools, and some mechanical inclination, they are pretty cheap to own as well. There are other sources for cheaper M-B parts, the internet makes finding parts so much easier and affordable than in the past. I think the real secret to buying an AMG Benz is to spend a few more $$$$ on a good one with documented service history.
01-30-17, 01:25 PM
Hahaha at least a turbo manual SC got a mention. I do enjoy that one quite nicely.
