Our rankings are arrived at from the results of our extensive instrumented testing of more than 400 vehicles each year and from our expert editors’ subjective impressions gained in real-world driving. We’ve ranked the Best Muscle Cars based on roughly 200 data points encompassing acceleration, handling, comfort, cargo space, fuel efficiency, value, and how enjoyable they are to drive. We take rankings seriously because we want you to know everything about the vehicles that you’re interested in.
2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- HIGHS: Beautiful way to burn gasoline, street legal race car, plenty of performance for the money.
- LOWS: Lacks outward visibility, 1LE suspension may require the use of a mouthguard, Chevy is killing one of its best ever.
- VERDICT: The Camaro ZL-1 is an old-school muscle-car in a digital world, and it will be missed when it thunders into history at the end of this model year.
Overview
In a segment full of burbling American muscle, the Chevy Camaro ZL1 proves stereotypes are as good as garbage thanks to its great handling, sharp steering, and stonking powertrain. Beneath the hood is a 650-hp supercharged pushrod V-8 borrowed from the last-generation C7 Corvette Z06. Rear-wheel drive is standard, but the ZL1 and zanier ZL1 1LE are each offered with either a six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic transmission. While a convertible is available with either transmission, only the ZL1 coupe is eligible for the 1LE track performance package that adds an adjustable suspension, extreme performance tires, and carbon fiber goodies—and even goes as far as deleting the rear seats. This is a Camaro on steroids but it won’t be around for much longer, as Chevy announced production of its storied muscle car will end January 2024. Despite its short run of 2024 models, we still saw fit to honor the Camaro ZL1’s excellence with an Editors’ Choice award.
2024 Ford Mustang
- HIGHS: Controlled ride, comfy seats, meaningful updates over previous-gen Mustang,
- LOWS: EcoBoost is only available with 10-speed automatic transmission, some interior material smudges easily, 10-speed auto too eager to shift.
- VERDICT: Without doing too much to change what made the last Mustang good, the new pony car still runs wild.
Overview
Ford has delivered its seventh chapter of its storied Mustang muscle car with reworked-but-familiar styling, revised chassis hardware, an all-new interior, and two improved powertrains. While the new pony is saddled up for the future with a bevy of upgrades, the long-term fate of its closest competitors, the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger, isn’t as rosy. The new-gen car continues to be powered by a 5.0-liter V-8, this time with output cranked to 480 horsepower. A 315-hp turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost is also an improvement over last, but only slightly. Both powertrains come with a 10-speed automatic, but only the V-8 can be optioned with a six-speed manual transmission. Hardtop coupe and soft top convertible bodystyles are available too. The Mustang’s rethought cockpit and beefed-up engine choices keep the muscle car story alive. After driving all of the new Mustang’s variants, we’re convinced it’s Editors’ Choice material.
2024 Chevrolet Camaro
- HIGHS: Great thrills at a good price, pure muscle, meaningful 1LE track package.
- LOWS: Underwhelming rear visibility, rear seat is a jail sentence, overdue for a revamp.
- VERDICT: In what could be the last gas-only Camaro, the final year of the sixth generation is the end of an era.
Overview
After more than eight years of the current sixth-generation Camaro, Chevrolet is getting ready for something new. While we pick at our fingers waiting for details on what’s next, the current iteration of one of our favorite muscle cars lines up for slaughter. Every 2024 Camaro is rear-wheel drive and offered with two body styles: coupe and softtop convertible. Powertrains include a 335-hp V-6 and a heart-pounding 455-hp V-8. The high-performance 650-hp Camaro ZL1 is reviewed separately. The Camaro’s crosstown rivals have gone separate ways, with Ford introducing a new Mustang and Dodge burying its beloved Challenger. Chevy says the Camaro will return at some point, and we expect that to include some form of electrification. Meanwhile, we’ll happily bask in the thunderous wake of its pushrod V-8.
10 BEST AMERICAN MUSCLE CARS OF ALL TIME
Here is our pick of the top 10 muscle cars:
- Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird- 1970
- Pontiac GTO- 1964
- Dodge Charger- 1968
- Dodge Coronet- 1970
- Chevrolet Chevelle SS- 1970
- Ford Mustang Fastback- 1968
- Pontiac Firebird Trans Am- 1977
- Dodge Challenger Demon- 2015
- Chevrolet Camaro ZL1- 2017
- Plymouth Hemi Cuda- 1970
1970 Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird
- 7.0-litre V8
- 425hp
- Value: £150,000
There’s no denying that the Plymouth Superbird looks pretty special. That unique nose cone on the front and the gargantuan rear wing make it look like it means business, probably because it does.
You see, the Superbird was designed for the world of NASCAR racing. Under NASCAR rules, any car which competes must be a roadgoing production car and so the Superbird was made available to the public.
1964 Pontiac GTO
- 6.4-litre V8
- 325hp
- Value: £50,000
When the iconic GTO name was first introduced, it was an option package for the Pontiac LeMans. It cost an extra $295 when the car was new and for this you got a 6.4-litre V8 with 325hp. It wasn’t until 1966 that the GTO became its own model.
In addition to the bigger engine, the GTO upgrade also brought firmer suspension and sharper steering. The timeless styling was well received when the GTO came out, and it still looks good today.
1968 Dodge Charger
- 7.0-litre V8
- 425hp
- Value: £30,000
The Dodge Charger has cemented itself as a muscle car icon after being Dom Torreto’s go-to car in the Fast and Furious franchise, among other TV and film appearances.
The Charger was available with a variety of engines, but the car in the show had the iconic 7.0-litre Hemi V8. The styling was a hit as well, with the flip-up covers over the headlights and the wide grille giving it real road presence.
1967 Dodge Coronet
- 7.2-litre V8
- 375hp
- Value: £70,000
The Dodge Coronet was offered in a variety of body styles throughout its production run. Buyers could have an estate, a convertible or, arguably the best, the coupe. The styling is so ‘60s with the long bonnet and bold curves everywhere.
There was a huge range of engines as well, starting with an “economical” straight-six and working all the way up to the 7.0-litre Hemi V8.
1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS
- 7.5-litre V8
- 450hp
- Value: £70,000
The Chevrolet Chevelle SS (Super Sport) was Chevy’s first effort at a muscle car. When it was revealed in 1964, it lagged quite a way behind the Pontiac GTO, so Chevrolet set to work fixing that.
By 1970, they had given the Chevelle SS a 450hp 7.5-litre V8 engine, which could push it from 0-60mph in just five seconds. In fact, it was among the fastest accelerating road cars in the world when it was on sale.
1968 Ford Mustang Fastback
- 6.4-litre V8
- 320hp
- Value: £70,000
The Mustang is arguably one of the most instantly recognisable muscle cars in the world, it’s one of the only ones that are available in the UK today. The 1968 Fastback is particularly special thanks to its starring role in the movie Bullitt.
The car used in that film was finished in Highland green and featured a 6.4-litre V8 with 320hp. It was such an iconic car that Ford released a modernised tribute for the current model.
1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
- 6.6-litre V8
- 200hp
- Worth around £20,000 now
Featuring in a film is a sure-fire way to give a car cult status, and this applies to the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am driven by Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit. It doesn’t really get much cooler than that.
The Trans Am was part of the Pontiac Firebird range with a 6.6-litre V8 engine putting out around 200hp. It was also available with a T-Top removable roof and distinctive gold graphics.
2017 Dodge Challenger Demon
- 6.2-litre V8
- 840hp
- Value: £137,000
Time for the first modern muscle car on the list, and with a name like Demon you know it’s going to be a good one. It’s based on the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, which had 707hp, but Dodge decided that buyers wanted something more extreme.
They brought out the Demon as a car designed for the drag strip. It has 840hp and is a fair bit lighter than the standard Hellcat on which it’s based. Weight-saving measures even stretched to the lack of a passenger seat as standard.
Watch a Dodge Demon drag race a Porsche 911.
2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- 6.2-litre V8
- 650hp
- Value: £70,000
The ZL1 is towards the more extreme end of the Camaro range, in fact, it can almost touch 200 mph given enough space. The Camaro has always gone head to head with the Ford Mustang but lags just behind the blue oval in terms of sales.
This won’t have been helped by the fact that the ZL1 was recently banned from sale in California and Washington due to the amount of copper used in the brake pads. However, this exclusivity may be what makes it so cool.
Check out our American muscle car drag race.
1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda
- 7.0-litre V8
- 425hp
- Value: £300,000
The Plymouth Barracuda was introduced just weeks before Ford unveiled the Mustang, however, it never reached the same level of sales. This has led to it becoming one of the most desirable classic muscle cars on the market.
The most sought after model however is the 7.0-litre Hemi engined car. It made 425hp, could do 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds and looked the part with its bold colours and ‘shaker’ hood (so the engine’s air intake pokes through the bonnet). Just 115 of these cars were built after it was cancelled due to tighter emissions regulations.
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