If you're the daring type of car-enthusiast who looks for that thrilling ride driven by a dangerously powerful engine, you will love these super rare classic American muscle cars from the 1960s and 70s (ordered below according to rareness). These cars were produced in such little quantities, you've probably never even heard of them.
Typically, muscle cars have 2 doors and a hard top, although they can also have 4 doors and even a convertible roof. What's a must is that these cars are American-made, and that their engines never have less than 8 cylinders. Furthermore, if they're classic cars, they should be between 30 and 49 years old.
Who cares about having top-notch, flashing luxury cars of the top brands, when you have a pure V-8-engine-driven classic car with huge raw power?
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| 1. 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird — Only 135 Produced |
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| After Plymouth's successful Roadrunner line, this stylish car was produced as a highly modified version in 1970. With its high-mounted, wing-like spoiler, fitted with a 426 cubic inch Hemi engine and many MOPAR high performance parts, this car was built purposely for racing. What's probably most characteristic about it is its unique horn, whose sound mimics the sound of Looney Tunes' Roadrunner. |
| Source: classicmopars.net |
| 2. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1 — Only 69 Produced |
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| The Camaro ZL-1 was modeled after the L88 version, borrowing some features but taking them to the next level. For instance, the engine was entirely made of aluminum instead of sheet metal, it only weighs 500 pounds, and it is capable of producing up to 560 horsepower (although it was mistakenly known as being 430). The first 20 cars produced in this model were used for professional racing and the rest were available for sale to the public at a price of $7,200. Although this price drove consumers away at the time, some cars actually found lucky owners. |
| Source: toptenzpictures.com |
| 3. 1967 Ford Fairlane 500 R-Code — Only 57 Produced |
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| The Ford Fairline was a Ford full-size model until, in 1962, it was remodeled into the 500 to fit the growing standards of muscle cars at the time. It became the basis for Ford's Torino and Cobra lines. In 1967, the model 500 R-Code was produced (the R signifying the dual quad carburetors it had), with a horsepower reaching 425. |
| Source: forums.themustangsource.com |
| 4. 1967 Plymouth R023 GTX — Only 55 Produced |
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| After being shadowed by the more popular Roadrunner and the more powerful Barracuda lines, the Plymouth's GTX was upgraded to the RO23 GTX model with powerful specifications. Although it was fitted with a 426 cubic inch Hemi engine, it was around 500 pounds lighter than the regular model as parts that were unimportant for its use were removed, such as hubcaps, radio, heater, body insulations and carpet. Due to its powerful engine, the car was designed with larger hood scoops to make way for more airflow. It was quite a fascinating car for 1967, especially since it could go from 0 to 60 in just 4.8 seconds! |
| 5. 1970-71 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible — Only 21 Produced |
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| This Hemi Cuda was a car like no other - with a choice of 5 different engine options ranging from 340 to 440 cubic inches, this car is classified as one of the rarest and finest of classic cars, especially the superb convertible models. It's a pity that only 21 Cudas were produced, but this poor number may be explained by the increase of $870 in their price, due to the engine upgrade. In fact, many opted for the 440+6 cubic inch model because it was only $250 more than the base model. |
| Source: towallpaper.com |
| 6. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 — Only 20 Produced |
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This romantic Chevrolet Corvette L88 was produced as part of the L88 racing package in 1967 and 1968. It was manufactured in their factory in St. Louis, Missouri and designed for professional racing purposes. It had a 427 cubic inch Chevy big block engine, which was able to produce 435 horsepower (although some say it's actually between 540 and 560).
This was only slightly higher than the regular Corvette, because its makers didn't want consumers to think that it was much better than the everyday Vette. Unfortunately, the L88 stopped being produced due to the reported increase in its emissions. Out of the 196 models made, only 20 were the 1967 models, which were the most unique.
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| Source: blog.hemmings.com |
| 7. 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 — Only 20 Produced |
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| The elegant 454 LS6 are the rarest Chevelles found. In 1970, Chevelle SS came with the option of either getting an RPO225, which had a 402 cubic inch engine, or a RPO215, which had a 440 cubic inch engine. The LS6 was an exclusive model which was only available on RPO215s with an added horsepower of 100, which totaled up to an impressive 560 horsepower. |
| Source: mosingmotorcars.com |
| 8. 1971 Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible — Only 17 Produced |
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| With the Ferrari 250 GTO being its main inspiration, the convertible GTO Judge was designed by John DeLorean as an upgraded package available for the company's Tempest line. In 1966, it was separated from the Tempest and 3 years later, it was available as an upgraded racing package for GTO. Pontiac got rid of as much of the car's weight as possible in order to make it lighter, and fitted it with a 455 cubic inch engine. After having produced 207 GTO Judge Convertible models, the company had to stop producing them due to strict emission standards in the U.S. Only 17 of these fine GTOs were made in 1971. |
| Source: blog.hemmings.com |
| 9. 1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL-1 - Only 3 Produced |
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The Chevrolet Corvette ZL-1 was an very original model, whose 427 cubic inch engine was made from aluminum and a L88 Special Turbo Jet, which could produce 500 horsepower. There were only 3 instances of this powerful ZL-1 engine actually being installed in a Corvette - the first time, it was ordered by the factory workers themselves at Chevrolet's Missouri plant.
No wonder the price of this car model was $10,771 in 1969 - over $3,000 more than a normal Corvette. And by the way, this was only the price given to Chevrolet employees, imagine how much it would have cost the general public!
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| Source: en.autowp.ru |
| 10. 1967/1970 Dodge Coronet R/T 426 Hemi Convertible Only 2 Produced |
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| The very special Dodge, fitted with 487 Coronet R/T (Road and Track) engines, is possibly the rarest model of classic American muscle cars out there. Just two of these were made in 1967 and another two in 1970. In 1967, it was the Coronet's first attempt at being reproduced into R/T (Road and Track) models, and by 1970 it had received a complete makeover, able to produce up to 425 horsepower. Whoever owns one of the two original 1970 Dodge Coronet R/t 426 Hemi Convertibles is one lucky car lover. |
Thursday, July 16, 2015
10 of the Rarest American Muscle Cars
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