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The Coyote versus Hemi debate gets settled the only way that actually counts on Modern Muscle: an owner-driven 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 lines up against the host’s own Dodge Challenger R/T 5.7 for a street race, followed by burnouts. Both cars chase the same goal with completely different engineering philosophies, and both have loyal owners ready to argue their case. See which naturally aspirated V8 actually wins the straight line.
The 1967 Plymouth Belvedere lived a double life — one version chased down traffic violators for the LAPD and starred in Adam-12s pilot episode, while another, ordered with the rare 425 horsepower 426 Hemi option, could out-muscle nearly everything else on the road. Only 720 buyers checked that Hemi box that year, making it one of the most overlooked factory Hemi cars Mopar ever built.
The Dodge Charger R/T and Challenger R/T share a platform and the same 5.7-liter HEMI V8, so which one actually wins on the street? Modern Muscle lines up a 2017 Charger R/T against the host’s own 2015 Challenger R/T for a straight-line matchup that comes down to weight, wheelbase, and launch technique more than spec-sheet bragging rights. The result isn’t as predictable as you’d think. Watch the race to see who takes it.
The AC Cobra didn’t start out as the V8 icon everyone remembers — Carroll Shelby had to rip out its underpowered straight-six and drop in a Ford V8 to make the legend happen. Only 998 originals were ever built. This modern replica carries the same shape forward in carbon fiber over a tubular steel frame, shedding weight the original engineers never could.
This 1956 Ford Fairlane Sunliner convertible carries Ford’s top-tier P code, the 312 cubic inch Thunderbird Special V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, rated 225 horsepower, the strongest engine Ford offered that year. Ford built 58,147 Sunliner convertibles in 1956, making it the country’s best-selling ragtop, but survivors with the correct engine code and documented factory colors are far scarcer today.
Can an electric car be a muscle car? Tesla’s 2013 “S” Sedan says, “Hold my charging cable!” With 416 hp and 443 ft-lb of torque, it zooms from 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds. It’s like a speed-dating event for electrons! Starting at $49,900 (after rebates), it’s a steal when you consider the fuel costs are, well, electrifyingly zero. Elon Musk’s brainchild, the Roadster, once set a 311-mile range record in Australia. So, whether in the outback or the suburbs, Tesla is sparking a revolution.
Beneath the plain sheetmetal of this mid-size Plymouth sat one of the rarest engines Chrysler ever sold to the public: the 425-horsepower Street Hemi, built for NHRA stock classes and barely civilized for the street. Only 677 Belvederes were built with it in 1966, a year before the GTX name even existed to advertise what was under the hood. Buyers got forged internals, dual four-barrel carburetion, and a torque curve that demanded a reinforced rear axle. It’s the missing chapter most muscle car fans skip straight past.
Carroll Shelby’s original pitch was simple: take a British roadster nobody in America had heard of, drop in a big V8, and build something that could embarrass cars costing three times as much. Ford said yes after Chevrolet turned him down, unwilling to create a rival for the Corvette. Only 126 Mark I Cobras were ever built, split almost evenly between two different V8s. Here’s the story behind the bloodline that started it all.