There were many icons of the muscle car era. One Icon was, what is considered by many as the very first muscle car, the Pontiac GTO. The very first one came out in 1964. Then there is the Shelby Cobra which was a true sports car and not really a Muscle car. Of course the Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro, Plymouth Barracuda, Oldsmobile 442, Buick Gran Sport, & American Motors Javelin. There were others but these are the main icons.
Chevelle was probably the Chevrolet Model that best fit the "Muscle car" Description. Corvettes were always first considered a "Sports car" and the Camaro was a "Pony car" a compact version of a Muscle car.
It's gotta be the Dodge Charger
1964 pontiac gto, considered the car that started the muscle car era... even thou there were hi performance domestic cars being built back in the late 40's(buicks), early 50's (hemi's), etc.
The Pontiac GTO started the Muscle car era/ craze with it's big sales in 1964, even thou there were faster, "performance models" before it.The 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 actually was the first Muscle car.
There will be plenty of opinions here but I credit Oldsmobile for coming out with the Oldsmobile Rocket Overhead Valve V8 Engine in 1949 as the start of the muscle car era.
Cars were, for the most part larger and less fuel efficent than they are today. There were a few small cars but they did not sell well. The late 60s was considered the Muscle Car era.
The 1964 GTO was the car that started the Muscle car era (intermediate/mid size car with an engine originally limited to full size car), mainly because of the quantity sold. There were faster cars sold before that, chevy 409, pontiac super duties, plymouth 413/426 wedge car, 1949 fireball considered by some to be the first(had 65% more power than a comparable ford)
That depends on your definition of muscle car. Many consider the 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 to be the first muscle car, but others consider it to be a "precursor." Debuting in 1964, the Pontiac GTO is another car widely referred to as the original muscle car. The GTO's success helped jumpstart the high-performance market and ushered in the era of the vehicle as status symbol.
that was a slang term in the era of muscle cars meaning it had 3 - 2bbl carbs on the engine.
Fords- shelby mustangs, boss mustangs, mustangs with cobra jet engines, fairlane 500s chevy- ss cars (camaro, chevelle, nova), z/28, zl1 Dodge/Plymouth- Hemi, 440/440 sixpack, 340 six pack cars- road runner, Super Bee, challenger, cuda, duster Pontiac- GTO, trans am Buick- GS stage I , GSX
It is really no longer legal to do so unless it predates the emission control era and is considered a classic car.
It depends on the car and the equipment used to drive it. Most muscle cars lack a governor or a speed-control device, which allows the car to reach its max speed potential. The typical top speed of a muscle car during their prime era, was around 130-135mph. This is all the engine could push the car with the stock transmission without over-revving and damaging the motor. The cars were not meant for top speed as much as they were made for quickness and throttle response.