Fastest and meanest stock Mustang in Muscle Car Era

[millclar]

These are the fastest muscle cars of all time, as ranked by Muscle Car Review Magazine, the source on muscle cars. This ranking was developed by comparing muscle cars as measured by different, respected sources, which were then ranked by their respective quarter mile elapsed times.

50 FASTEST MUSCLECARS

#

YEAR/MODEL

ET/MPH

ENGINE

HP

TRANS

GEAR

SOURCE

1

1966 427 Cobra

12.20@118

427 8V

425

4-Speed

3.54

CC 11/65

2

1966 Corvette 427

12.8@112

L72 427

425

4-Speed

3.36

CD 11/65

3

1969 Road Runner

[email protected]

440 Six BBL

390

4-Speed

4.10

SS 6/69

4

1970 Hemi Cuda

[email protected]

426 Hemi

425

4-Speed

3.54

CC 11/69

5

1970 Chevelle SS454

[email protected]

454 LS6

450

4-Speed

3.55

CC 11/69

6

1969 Camaro

[email protected]

427 ZL1

430

4-Speed

4.10

HC 6/69

7

1968 Corvette

13.30@108

427 6V

435

4-Speed

3.70

HC 5/68

8

1970 Road Runner

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426 Hemi

425

automatic

4.10

SS 12/69

9

1970 Buick GS Stage I

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455 Stage I

360

automatic

3.64

MT 1/70

10

1968 Corvette 427

[email protected]

L72 427

425

4-Speed

3.55

CD 6/68

http://www.musclecarszone.com

[MrPbody]

At the risk of beating a dead horse, Cobra, Corvette, Camaro and Cuda are NOT muscle cars. Cobra and Corvette are "sports cars", Camaro and Cuda are "Pony cars"... I know... I know... But let's keep it real. And while we're at it, include certain models of Viper with Cobra and Corvette. BTW, the '93 AND '08 ZR-1s aren't in your list, either. Both of those go into the 12s, easily.

And none of this has any bearing on the hottest Mustang...

Jim

p.s. I couldn't care less how Wikipedia (or any other self-proclaimed "authority") "defines" muscle car. The guys that invented it (John Z. DeLorean and Jim Wangers) defined it in 1963 (when Wikipedia didn't exist), as "intermediate body with big-car engine", and GTO was the result.

[maxwedge]

2cnded , plus everyone of those cars tested may or may not have been tweaked by a magazine or the factory test teams, for all out et and mph there are too many variables to really compare, but certainly the Cobra would be the fastest based on weight vs hp only.

[millclar]

I don't claim to be a muscle car expert, but I have visited a lot of sites and I see a lot of muscle cars that don't fit into any classic definition. I would define the previous poster's definition of a muscle car as too narrow, and that might fit the definition of a classic muscle car.

I would say it is all about form and function. If the form of the car is purposely simple, and the function of the car is purposely muscle, then it is a muscle car. Built for speed, as opposed to comfort.

I drive a stock 05 Mustang GT, and I consider it a muscle car. Prior to that I drove an 06 BMW Z4 SI. The BMW was as fast as the muscle car, but I certainly don't consider a Z4 to be a muscle car.

Years ago my roommate in Atlanta had a 1968 corvette with a 427 engine and I believe a 390 HP. The car had no power steering and no air conditioning. It was like driving a truck!! Top end was 120, but it would go 0-60 faster than anything I have ever driven. If that isn't a muscle car, then I don't know what is. JMHO.

[MrPbody]

You're missing the point, either purposefully or not. If a car is a sports car, it is not a muscle car, it is a sports car. If a car is a pony car, it is a PONY car. And NO muscle car EVER had a "small block" (never send a boy to do a man's job!). As John Z. DeLorean (turn toward Pontiac, Michigan and bow) INVENTED THE CAR AND COINED THE TERM "Muscle Car", I think what ANYONE else "considers" a muscle car (regardles of how much "muscle" the car has) is irrelevant. You can add the word "classic" if you prefer. Only one car since 1972 has been produced that actually "fits" in the definition set forth in 1963. And even it is "suspect", as the engine could be considered a "small block" (though it bears no resemblance to any small block produced before it, but block dimensions make it "small"), and that is the '04-'06 GTO. With it's longer wheelbase, base model is "intermediate" (Holden Manaro) and the engine is a "big car" engine (largest V8 GM produced during the time), it sorta fits, but not truly. ANY and EVERY Mustang, again, regardless of how powerful, is a PONY car, in a class specifically named for it (a misnomer, too, as Barracuda arrived before Mustang, but "fishy car" doesn't have the same ring to it...). You can't always have it your way. Revisionist history may "fly" in some realms, but not this one. The '73 and '74 SD TransAms were the last of the MONSTER V8 cars from Detroit, but they weren't muscle cars, they were still pony cars... Did they have muscle? YOU BET THEY DID! Same with the Buick GNX. 6-cylinder eliminates it from the list, no matter how quick.

And for the full-size car crowd, the SD Catalinas, RamCharger Dodges, 406 and 427 Galaxies, 409 Chevys, etc. were NOT muscle cars, either. They were designated "Super Car" before muscle cars arrived. It has been said, the first of these was the Chrysler 300. '56, I think. The Hemi cars and Catalinas are defintiely the class of THAT field...

Like I said, we're beating a dead horse...

PAX

Jim

[GaryBranson]

Look at the photo. Need I say more?