Just hearing the word muscle car brings images of iconic cars of the past and the sounds of a high performance V8 rumble.

There are a lot of definitions of what a muscle car is, but generally speaking most agree it’s

  • American built
  • Usually from the 60’s through early 70’s
  • Rear-wheel drive
  • Has 2 doors
  • Classified as either a full-size or mid-size car
  • Powered by a large cubic inch, high-horsepower engine
  • Typically has a 4-speed manual transmission

While different from cars classified as performance or super cars that often have a focus of powerful yet excellent handling cars, muscle cars often prioritize high performance engines and spending time at the drag strip and the street.

Muscle car enthusiasts will often disagree on the actual makes and models that are classified as a muscle car, but here is our list of muscle cars.