American vehicle manufacturers hit the jackpot with the first design of muscle cars. Muscle cars were innovative, powerful, and stylish, and everyone wanted to get their hands on them. As a matter of fact, the popularity of muscle cars is still strong among American customers. With a history spanning more than 70 years, muscle cars have found their way through different challenges. However, muscle car manufacturers have created some of the super rare gems that are difficult to find in real life today.
Let us check out some of the top muscle cars that you would never see in real life.
1968 Dodge Hemi Dart Super Stock
Dodge had made some remarkable improvements in the compact Dart with different types of engines. However, it changed the narrative with a unique 426 Hemi engine for the Dart and created a powerful machine. On top of it, Hurst Performance made the 80 partially assembled Dodge Dart GTS hardtop chassis lighter by removing anything not required on the drag strip. Even if the Dodge Hemi Dart was legal for the streets, Dodge asked people not to drive it on the streets. Out of the 80 cars that were made, many were destroyed in racing crashes, thereby making it a super rare muscle car today.
1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 Super Snake
After the first year of the arrival of the Mustang, Shelby started work on the modification of the renowned pony car. The GT350 and GT500 had become popular favorites among American car enthusiasts by 1967. Interestingly, Shelby came up with an important trick. With the 1967 GT500 Super Snake, Shelby brought a huge 428 V8 engine that powered the vehicle to a top speed of 170 mph. However, the higher manufacturing costs created obstacles, and only one car was completed, thereby making it a super rare muscle car.
1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
The 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona is another super rare muscle car, with only 550 cars ever produced. Dodge had created the muscle car to become a top performer in the NASCAR racing series. One of the key highlights in the design of the Charger Daytona is aerodynamics. It empowered the Charger Daytona to increase its top speed on NASCAR tracks. On top of it, Dodge also packed the car with different engines, such as the 440 Magnum and 426 Hemi, to achieve better power and speed.
1970 Ford Torino King Cobra
There was a time when race cars were designed along the lines of actual vehicles that a general customer would purchase. During the 1969 and 1970 seasons, the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird introduced the trend of Aero Specials in NASCAR. The 1970 Ford Torino King Cobra joined the trend with only three prototypes featuring different engines. The prototypes included a 429 Cobra Jet Engine, a Boss 429 engine, and a 429 Super Cobra Jet engine. Ford sold the cars to private owners.
1993 Ford Mustang Saleen SC
Saleen became one of the popular stars in the domain of muscle cars by tuning Mustangs. Ultimately, it created the S7 supercar from scratch. The Saleen SC Mustang came up with impressive improvements with the addition of ‘supercharged’ capabilities. It uses a Vortech supercharger combined with a Mustang 5.0-liter engine to generate 450 horsepower. However, Saleen had sold only 5 of the Ford Mustang Saleen SC cars, thereby making it a super rare muscle car.
1969 Boss 302 Mustang Trans Am
The 1969 Boss 302 Mustang Trans Am emerged as a competitor to the Chevy Camaro z/28 in the Trans-Am racing series. It has earned its name for offering a displacement of 302 cubic inches for the ‘over 2.0-liter’ group. The Boss 302 has also been considered Ford’s best attempt at blending seamless handling with a formidable small-block engine. It featured powerful suspension, a quick-ratio steering box, heavier springs, and power disc brakes. Interestingly, it became the winner of the Trans-Am championship in 1969.
1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator 428 Cobra Jet
The Mercury Cougar was popular as an upgraded version of the Ford Mustang. With the Eliminator package, the 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator 428 Cobra Jet brought a new high-performance engine. It boasts a horsepower of 335, making it one of the high-performance muscle cars. The Eliminator package introduced more than a powerful engine with special striping, front and rear spoilers, a blacked-out grille, and a hood scoop. Only 2,200 Eliminators were manufactured, out of which only 500 feature the 428 Cobra Jet Engine.
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429
Ford had developed 859 units of Mustang Boss 429 to meet certain important homologation requirements. It is still one of the rarest first-generation Mustangs that you are less likely to find on the road today. The Ford Mustang Boss 429 featured a rear sway bar and became the first Mustang to have the unique feature.
1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible
Any muscle car enthusiast would consider it their luck to land up with the 1970 Hemi Cuda Convertible. It is not only super rare but also an iconic muscle car that made waves upon its launch. The car uses the 426 Hemi V8 engine for improved power. Plymouth only made 14 of the cars with unique features that made it the perfect choice for road trips and adventures. People who have one original 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible could now become a millionaire.
1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
The collection of super rare muscle cars would be incomplete without the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Chevrolet introduced the car as a special performance variant of the 1969 Camaro. It featured a 427 cubic inch V8 engine with an all-aluminum construction that can generate more than 500 horsepower. Such a scale of performance and power in the early 1970s was definitely a miracle.
1965 Shelby GT350R
The history of muscle cars remembers the 1965 Shelby GT350R as an important milestone. As a matter of fact, knowledge about this car is your rite of passage into American muscle car culture. It is a super rare muscle car with only 34 units ever built. The origins of the GT350R are rooted in a special collaboration between Ford and Carroll Shelby to create a high-performance machine for SCCA B-Production racing.