The Most Underrated American Muscle Cars of All Time

" In my journey to the end of night , I must rely not only on dialectical paths of reason . I must have a good solid automobile , one that eschew the futile trappings of worldly boredom and asks only for basic sustainment . My Dodge Dart offers me this elemental consolation , and as internal portion fall off I am strike by the realization of their senselessness . I might not know if the windowpane is up or down . It is of no issue . " –Jean - Paul Sartre

It ’s a blame shame when very special cars are forgotten over time , mislay in the shadow cast by their many mediocre brother ; J - P Sartre ’s philosophic waxing about the awfulDodge Dart , for deterrent example , did no favor for several of its legitimately fantastic discrepancy . Others are simply ungratifying in their fourth dimension , collateral damage from marketing that missed the marker , while some are too - presently condemned to cancellation by a changing economy .

This is for them : the brawniness cars that have n’t ( yet ) have their full due praise . You might be able to debatewhat constitutes a muscle gondola , but any one of these would justly take a prideful position in a collector ’s garage .

Buick Wildcat

Flickr/pyntofmyld

1.Mercury Marauder

Years:1964 - 1965 , 1969 - 1970 , 2003 - 2004The Marauder has come and gone in three clearly unlike generations , but each prison term it had one common denominator : a stealthy attitude toward power that was delimitation sinister . The first and second generations add up with optional 427 cid and 429 cid V8s , while the third came with nigh the same engine as a 2003 Mach 1 Mustang .

2.Pontiac 2+2

Years:1964 - 1967The 2 + 2 began life as an option package on the full - sized Catalina before becoming its own car a span years afterward , but it did n’t last very long . It was vast , significantly larger than its fabled belittled brother , the GTO , at a time when pony cars like the 2 + 2’sothersibling , the Firebird , dominated the market . Still , with up to a 375 hp , 428 cid V8 under the hood , the 2 + 2 was no joke .

3.Ford Torino Cobra

Years:1968 - 1971Technically , the fastest looping of the Torino was n’t officially call TorinoCobrauntil 1969 , but the 429 Cobra Jet railway locomotive came out on April 1st , 1968 . This is the railway car that went toe - to - toe with the famedSuperbirdfor NASCAR superiority , and specially in its 1968 and 1969 guise , it kind of substantiate everything great about the muscle car era .

4.Dodge Dart Swinger/Demon/Sport 340

Years:1968 - 76 ( all three combined)It ’s easy to forget that Dodge made some jolly awe-inspiring Darts at one level . Top of the batch was actually a super - circumscribed foot race of Hemi Darts , which were produced as street effectual drag racers , and for which you had toknow the right option codewhen ordain ( L023 ) . For cars you could realistically buy off a franchise ’s band back in the twenty-four hour period , the Dart Swinger and Demon merit a spot in the hall of fame for naming practices . The Swinger was quick in its own right wing , but it was replaced as top Dart in 1972 by the Demon – which according to caption was originally slat to be called the " Beaver " until someone excuse the concept ofdouble entendreto the good folks at Dodge .

5.Buick GNX

Year:1987The Grand National eXperimental almost did n’t make this list because it ’s finallystarting to get the respect it deserves , but for age there were some who oppugn if it could really be count as a muscle car . If you ’re not conversant with the car dear referred to as " Darth Vader ’s car , " in stead of an outsize V8 , there ’s a turbocharged V6 under the hood featuring big modifications order by McLaren ( as in , McLaren , McLaren ) . Officially listed at " only " 245hp , in reality it ’s just a fraction slower to 60 mph than a 2016 Mustang GT . study it ’s most 30 years old , that ’s not bad .

6.Chevrolet Biscayne 427

Years:1966 , 1968 - 1969Let ’s keep this simple , shall we ? 425hp . 427 cid V8 . Two doors . Why does that matter ? Because the total car was simple . The Biscayne was a no - frills affair , which keep it relatively sluttish equate to other railway car in its family . Translation : when order with the top railway locomotive available , it had some deftness to it .

7.Buick Wildcat

Years:1963 - 1970The Wildcat in reality began as an railway locomotive option on the 1962 Invicta , which involved shoehorningBuick ’s 401 cid " Wildcat " V8under the hood . Once it became its own car , that Wildcat V8 was thesmallestengine you could order . That ’s an incredible musical composition of Cold War trivia , becausetwo of those engines could be placed on a pushcart , link up together , and used as the starter motor for the SR-71 Blackbird .

8.Mercury Cyclone Spoiler

Years:1970 - 1971In the beginning , the Cyclone was just a beautification packet for the Comet , but by 1969 , Cyclone meant you get down a 335hp 428 under the hood . By 1970 , the Cyclone was its own car , with an optional operation parcel called " Spoiler , " which , among other things , give you a 375hpSuper Cobra Jet 429dedicated to ruin tires .

9.AMC Matador Machine

Years:1971 - 1972The Matador ’s production span the bulk of the 1970s , but the year to get was 1971 or 1972 . Up to 401 cubic in connect flat to your soul via a manual contagion that ceased to be an choice in 1973 … andthat was back when anything other than an automatic was patently unacceptable .

10.Ford Falcon Sprint

Years:1964 - 1965Sometimes fate can be fell , and that was certainly the case with the Falcon Sprint . When the Mustang debuted using the second generation Falcon ’s underpinnings and rewrote the sales record books , Falcon sorta began a gentle descent into its eventual cancellation . It did n’t go without a fight though : the Sprint software system included heavy tariff spring and the same V8 from its pony car offspring – and it was cheaper , too . Buyers did n’t worry , though , at least not enough to buy it great number . By 1970 , Falcon was gone from the American mart solely , and was build up strictly as an Australian car thatyou might recognize from a certain celluloid seriesabout an angry military man named Max .

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Aaron Milleris theCarseditor for Thrillist , and can befound on Twitter . He ’s gallant of himself for not making any put-on about grabbing a Swinger ’s key out of a bowling ball until just now .

1965 Mercury Marauder