Welcome to Muscle Car Fan. Every muscle car has a backstory, and some of them are stranger than the cars themselves. Today I have twelve cars with wild stories: a name borrowed from a Ferrari, […]
Welcome to Muscle Car Fan. Every muscle car has a backstory, and some of them are stranger than the cars themselves. Today I have twelve cars with wild stories: a name borrowed from a Ferrari, a name found in an old French dictionary, a movie star in a black Trans Am, and an engine that was banned for being too good. You do not need to know a thing about engines. You just need to enjoy a good story. Here is car number one.
#12: 1964 Pontiac GTO
Car number one broke a rule, and then named itself after a Ferrari. In early 1963, General Motors management banned its divisions from factory racing. Pontiac did not stop caring about speed.
#11: 1967 Chevrolet Camaro
Car number two has a name from a dictionary, and a press line that Ford did not enjoy. In June 1966, General Motors held a live press conference that linked fourteen cities by telephone to reveal a new Chevrolet. Ford’s Mustang was dominating the market, and Chevrolet needed an answer.
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#10: 1964 Plymouth Barracuda
Car number three won a race that almost nobody remembers. Everyone knows the Ford Mustang arrived in April 1964. Fewer people know that Plymouth got there first.
#9: 1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Car number four was almost named after a school bus company. In March 1969, Pontiac introduced a handling package for the Firebird, named after the Trans Am racing series. The package was originally going to be called the Bluebird.
#8: 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Smokey and the Bandit
Car number five is the black Trans Am that Hollywood made famous. Smokey and the Bandit arrived in 1977 starring Burt Reynolds. The plot is simple.
#7: 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT
Car number six comes from the other side of the world. In 1979, an Australian film called Mad Max introduced the Pursuit Special, a black muscle car that looked ready for the end of civilization. The car was a modified 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT hardtop with a 351 cubic inch V8.
#6: 1967 Shelby GT500 Eleanor
Car number seven has a woman’s name and a talent for stealing scenes. In the 2000 movie Gone in 60 Seconds, Nicolas Cage plays a reformed car thief who must steal fifty cars in a single night. He leaves one for last, a 1967 Shelby GT500 code named Eleanor, which he has tried and failed to steal before.
#5: 1969 Ford Torino Talladega
Car number eight was built to win a race, and it was named after the racetrack. In 1969, a huge new superspeedway opened in Alabama, and Ford needed a car that could handle the speeds. The answer was the Torino Talladega, a fastback with a unique front end that stretched the car by about five inches.
#4: 1963 Chevrolet Impala Z11
Car number nine is the Chevrolet that showed up with a secret. In early 1963, General Motors told its divisions to stop racing. Chevrolet still wanted to win, so it built a special 427 cubic inch version of its 409 engine for the 1963 Impala.
#3: 1966 Plymouth Belvedere Street Hemi
Car number ten is the engine that got banned for being too good. Chrysler’s 426 Hemi, nicknamed the elephant engine, raced in NASCAR in 1964. Ford complained, and the race Hemi was banned from the 1965 season because it was not available in production cars.
#2: 1970 Dodge Charger R/T
Car number eleven is a Dodge that became a movie hero. In the 2001 film The Fast and the Furious, the character Dominic Toretto drives a black 1970 Dodge Charger, and the car returns again and again in the franchise. The first movie was mostly about tuned import cars, which is what makes the Charger so interesting.
#1: 1968 AMC AMX
Car number twelve is the muscle car from the underdog. American Motors was the small company in Detroit, and in 1968 it built a two seat sports car called the AMX. It was based on the new Javelin, but with a shorter wheelbase and no back seat.
That is twelve muscle cars with wild backstories. Share the one that surprised you most with a friend who loves cars. Which car should I cover next? Leave it in the comments, and follow Muscle Car Fan so you never miss one.
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