High-end Price List For American Made Muscle

This is a list of muscle cars, but there are many other collectible antique vehicles commanding far higher prices than any of the vehicles listed here. The amount people will pay for what they want is reflected in the prices here which is indicative of where the price of all internal combustion engine powered vehicles is going in the future. These cars are all worth big money when they are brought back to original condition; they will now and forever be a hedge against inflation for the owner.

The Chevrolet Corvette with the L88 engine option was available from 1967 through 1969 and is the most highly prized by Corvette enthusiasts. However in its original factory condition the powerful option is not equipped with a radio or a heater, to discourage “casual” buyers. The performance division of Chevy claimed that the L88 engine would develop up to 430 hp, but dyno tests done over the years by many enthusiasts put the actual horse power rating closer to 560 in all counts. Gooding’s and Company auctioned off a 1969 for $825,000.00 in 2013. This car is in original condition, unrestored, and had 20,000 miles on the odometer when it was auctioned. Chevy produced only 116 Corvette’s with the L88 in 1969 and this one came with the original bill of sale and a statement of origin included.

There was a 1968 Corvette with the L88 engine option sold by Barrett-Jackson at auction for $880,000.00. This is a show car with 13,000 miles on it and also came with the original bill of sale, the original owner’s manual, window sticker and, tank sticker were also included. There were only 80 of the L88 engine option produced by the Chevrolet plant in 1968, making this a very rare and highly coveted unit.

In 1967 there were only 20 Corvette’s produced with the L88 engine option and one of these was sold by Mecum auction in 2013 for $3,200,000.00. A red one sold at auction in 2014, this time by Barrett-Jackson, fetched $3.850.000.00. This car was originally built for racing and had been completely destroyed, but was rebuilt using the original body panels. This is most likely the only example left from that year that has its original panels and it has been meticulously restored from the ground up. This particular vehicle has been adopted by the National Corvette Restorers Society as the correct way to rebuild a classic Corvette.

This is not an image of the car below.

A 1966 Shelby Cobra Roadster sold for $1,000,000.00 at auction by Mecum in 2014. This unit was fully restored to precise factory specifications in 1991. The odometer had been reset when the restoration was done. This Shelby Cobra was chosen as the “Best of Show” in 1993 at the Carroll Shelby Awards gala. This particular unit was also featured in two issues of Shelby American Magazine and its history is fully documented in the Shelby auto registry.

This is NOT an image of the car below.

The Camaro produced in 1969 could have been purchased with an ultra-light weight all aluminum ZL1 engine, a variation of the L88. There were only 69 Camaro units leave the assembly line with this engine and this is the last year for the ZL1 as well. The engine was considered too powerful for normal driving by Chevrolet and had to be special ordered through a dealer. This was one of the best engines ever produced by Chevrolet Division. One of these sold at the Mecum auction for $1,000,000.00 in 2013, possibly double the price one would expect to pay for a Camaro so equipped, but this particular unit is a little different. This 1969 Camaro, not only is from the most desirable Camaro year, but had also been restored to factory specifications by Barry Bernstein, one of the original ZL1 engine builders at the Chevy plant in St. Louis, Missouri.

Not the LS6 427 engine

A numbers matching 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS equipped with the LS6 427 engine was sold for $1,150,000.00 in 2013 at Mecum auction house. There were only 20 of these prized Chevelle’s built in 1970. Any Chevelle SS is a sought after collector item, but this one had been completely restored by Car Connections, correctly to factory specifications. The Chevelle owners Association had also verified the matching numbers as being authentic ones. The original build sheet was also included with the sale, and, by forensic analysis, was determined to be authentic.

The 1967 Shelby GT500e Super Snake is in original condition and the only one of its kind in existence, although Shelby had originally planned to build 50 of them. Prior to 1967 the Super Snake is a race car making ‘67 the only year a street legal version was available. Shelby new it would not be a big seller with a price of almost double the base GT500e. The high cost of its manufacturing does place a limit on the market and, although not one unit was ordered, it is still considered a production car. This is the only Ford Mustang to have the same engine as the LeMans winning Shelby GT40 Mk II under the hood. This engine was custom made for the Super Snake. The prototype was originally purchased by Goodyear for $5,000.00 in August, 1967 and specifically built for the Thunderbolt tire testing. The new owner paid $1,300,000.00 and this is the highest price ever paid for a Mustang. The car was driven for 500 miles at an average speed of 142 mph and still retained 97% of the original tires tread at the time of sale. The car is distinctive with the LeMans blue striped hood. The Goodyear test photos, The Goodyear Thunderbolt 7.75×15 inch white wall tires, MSO and the original Shelby invoice are all included in the package deal.

In 1970, convertibles were not selling and there were only 14 Barracuda units with a convertible top produced that year, but only nine of those were ordered with the 727 three speed transmission tailored for the Hemi. One of these sold in 2011 for $2,000,000.00 at a Russo and Steele auction. The car has the factory installed red interior and had been repainted as original, in white, to match the VIN. The matching numbers car only had 19,000 miles on it when auctioned.

© Raytags | Dreamstime.com – 1971 Cuda Front Grill Photo

Barrette-Jackson auctioned off a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda for $2,200,000.00 in 2007. The only flaw in this car is the original engine had been replaced, but it does have an original equipment 427 Hemi from the same year under the hood. There were only eleven of the convertible Hemi to leave the assembly line,

Another 1971 Plymouth Barracuda convertible is the only one of two Hemi’s produced with a factory installed Hurst shift kit and coupled to a four speed standard transmission. The sister vehicle is still functional but has had the engine and transmission changed, making this the only original example to exist. Mecum auctioned the unique vehicle for $3,500,000.00 in 2014 and this is the highest price paid to date for any Chrysler product.

Two car listed below are both non-production automobiles but have been put here because of the prices paid for them.

The Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe CSX 2601 is the car that beat a Ferrari to win the world Manufacturers Championship in 1965. This car sold for $7,250,000.00 during the Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance in 2009.

The 1968 Ford GT40 Gulf/Mirage was never in production, but is listed because of the $11,000.000.00 price tag it now carries, as of 2014. The lightweight race car proved itself in a first place finish at Spa in May 1967, then went on to be a feature car in the 1971 film, Le Mans with Steve McQueen after its successful racing career..

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