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Chevrolet’s 1972 Nova SS shipped with a single 350-cubic-inch small-block rated at 200 net horsepower — a far cry from whatever combination is making this particular example claim 700 horsepower today. As the last Nova SS built before the muscle car era wound down, it’s become a favorite blank canvas for builders chasing numbers Chevrolet’s engineers never imagined. Read on to find out how a factory economy car became a supercharged monster.
This ’57 Chevy wears the Pro Street look, tubbed rear and all, but underneath it runs on an Art Morrison chassis, Wilwood brakes, and a twin-turbocharged aluminum Brodix engine built by Bryant Boats with design work from Eric Brockmeyer. Instead of chasing raw drag-strip violence alone, this build blends genuine driveability with serious horsepower. It’s proof Pro Street doesn’t have to be rough around the edges.
The 1972 Chevrolet Nova spent decades as the muscle car nobody fought over — overshadowed by flashier Camaros and Chevelles wearing louder graphics and bigger reputations. That’s changed fast, with clean, numbers-matching examples climbing from bargain-bin prices into serious five and six-figure territory. Built on the same platform as the Camaro and packing a genuine Chevy V8 under its unassuming body, the ’72 Nova never needed to shout to earn respect. Read on to find out why collectors finally caught up to what this sleeper always offered.
This 1959 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible wears some of the most extravagant tailfins Harley Earl ever signed off on, only now it’s been dropped down low on an air-bag suspension for a custom stance nobody at GM would have approved in period. Just 11,130 of the roughly 70,736 Series 62s built that year were convertibles, making the body style itself a minority even before anyone touched the ride height. Factory power came from a 390 cubic-inch V8 in 325 or 345 horsepower tune, though this one’s clearly built for style over stock spec sheets.
In the world of American automobiles, the muscle car reigns supreme, embodying power and legacy. But what truly makes a car a muscle car? It’s more than just being a classic; there’s a blend of aggression, speed, and that unmistakable V-8 growl. Picture a 1985 Pontiac Trans Am Kammback, a muscle coupe with the quirkiness to match its power. And if you’re struggling with muscle car lingo, fret not—it’s as colorful as the cars themselves, making it a language worth revving up for.
Matt Barczak was driving to inspect a rare Hemi Road Runner when his father read a strange trim code off a classified ad from the back seat: what’s an X33 Camaro? That single question sent Matt three and a half hours across Pennsylvania in the middle of a January night — and what waited in the barn wasn’t just one forgotten Trans-Am homologation car. Read on to find out what a documented 1969 Z/28 and a 1970 AAR ‘Cuda were doing under the same dusty roof.
A Plymouth engineered to win NASCAR races before it ever had to satisfy a single customer, this 1970 Road Runner Superbird hides a nineteen-inch nose cone and a factory explanation that wasn’t the real one. At the Volo Auto Museum, director Brian Grams walks through the Alpine White, 440-powered example on camera, tracing the aero-war engineering Plymouth built in genuinely limited numbers before NASCAR changed the rules for good. The scoops, the wing, and the vinyl top all had a job to do.
Chevrolet made a bold claim about its own history: that the 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE could out-drive the beloved fifth-generation Z/28, a $75,000 track special worshipped for its naturally aspirated 505-hp LS7, and do it for less money. The new car’s supercharged 650-hp LT4 and a Nurburgring time that beats the old benchmark before even adding the priciest option package make the comparison worth a closer look. Read on to see whether the numbers hold up.
If you’re a fan of American classics, gear up for Mecum’s jaw-dropping auction in Kissimmee this January. With over 3000 cars, including legendary Daytonas, Cobras, and Corvettes, it’s a muscle car lover’s paradise. Highlights include early muscle cars and vintage dragsters from Don Fezell and the Runyon collection. It’s like a car lover’s dream buffet—minus the greasy fingers!
This 1966 Dodge Coronet claims to be one of just seventeen 426 Hemi cars ever built — a number worth digging into before you take it at face value. Mopar’s own Hemi Coronet production records are murkier than you’d expect. Here’s what the real numbers say, and why it barely matters once you hear it run.
Dodge didn’t just one-up its own 707-horsepower Hellcat, it built a Challenger so quick that NHRA’s own rulebook technically has a problem with it. The Demon’s 840 horsepower, 9.65-second quarter mile, and Guinness-certified wheelstand all come from a Hemi V8 that shares its bones with the Hellcat but carries 25 real engineering changes underneath. This is what happens when a factory stops holding back.
No-prep racing strips away the safety net of a perfectly prepped track and dares drivers to make it work anyway, and this chopped-top Chevy Nova wagon is built for exactly that kind of chaos. A 632 cubic inch big block and two kits of nitrous turn a family hauler into something that launches like a bomb going off. Swamp Thing and crew brought it to Wichita’s No Prep Mayhem to prove it. Traction was optional; horsepower was not.
The 1967 Pontiac GTO looked like just another midsize muscle car in Pontiac’s lineup, but tick the right option box and it hid one of the most underrated engines of the era. Only a fraction of the 81,722 GTOs built that year left the factory with the 360 horsepower HO setup that made this car a genuine giant-killer. Today, those numbers-matching survivors are some of the most sought-after first-generation GTOs on the market. Here’s what made this particular Goat worth remembering.
A federal bumper mandate quietly ended an entire design era for the Corvette after 1972, taking the chrome front bumper, bright eggcrate grille, and fully removable rear window along with it. Buyers that year also faced a genuine three-way choice between very different engine personalities. Take a closer look at the last Corvette built before regulation reshaped the car’s face for good.