Unpopular Carpinion: Muscle cars doesn't need to have a V8 under the hood.
Can't muscle cars have another engine like a V10?
Remember when I make a poll named, "which European Muscle Car is the best?" and put a non-V8 car on the poll called Bentley Continental GT. If you do, you might know, why is the Bentley in the poll even it doesn't have a V8. Well, that's a good question.
So what are Muscle Cars?
Muscle cars are originally made from America called Oldsmobile Rocket 88 made in 1949. It looks like a normal city car but it has a stupidly powerful V8 engine but has 97 mph which is damn slow and take 0-60 for 12 seconds. It was the era of slow muscle cars until Ford made a really fast muscle car named, the Mustang. It also has a powerful V8 on it but it goes 0-60 in 9 seconds and has a top speed of 110 mph. Dodge, Pontiac, Plymouth and Chevrolet joined the Muscle Car era and that's how Muscle Cars are made today. Fast, heavy and have a V8, well probably.
Back to the question, why Most Muscle cars don't need a V8?
Well something tell me about one thing, and it's called Power. Most power needed to make the car go faster even when it's heavy like the Dodge Caravan. Just take an example of the SRT Viper (Or my second favorite car). American I know but it has a V10 under the hood. It's only a V10 supercar in America while others say it's a V10 muscle car. Same like the Bentley I mentioned it. It has a lot of power and has a big W12. But it doesn't matter whether it's called a Super-GT or a Muscle car.
So are you saying that different engines can be Muscle Cars?
To me, if the engine was really big as Bentley's W12 engine, it may work but I don't think that a 3 cylinder or a 4 cylinder works as a muscle car despite it has less power. Some cars like the Smart Roadster or the Porsche 718 Cayman. I could say that a 6 cylinder engine can also be a Muscle Car like the Alfa Romeo GTV, BMW M4 F82 or maybe the TVR Tuscan. They both have 6 cylinder I know but their engine are as big as hell. A 12 cylinder car also can a Muscle Car like the Plymouth Superbird said it's the Aston Martin V12 Vantage or a Bentley Continental GT.
Join In
Comments (32)
As a concept, yes. Brutal power and simple engineering.
But, as a car culture, no. Muscle cars as a niche enthusiast cars have 50-60 yeard of cult behind them, al sorts of aftermarket variations - restomods, customs, etc. and that really only works with engines that share the same history. So, V8 only.
It's like a Harley culture, isn't the V2 only way to go?
Do you mean V12?
No. Harley V-twin.
A v8 makes a muscle car
A burbling pushrod
I think a muscle car has nothing to do with whether it comes from the US or has a V8. For me it is a set of characteristics, a mundane car made exciting with motorsport influences and an attractive styling package. Now this does not mean things like the Sierra RS500 as that is a super saloon, but I do mean things like the Sunbeam Rapier H120, it could probably match the performance of a traditional muscle car, if not surpass it, and have enough spectacle to draw attention. Muscle cars were never sports cars really, and seem to be about looking good with lots of noise, even if the performance is not exactly amazing, it is about the spectacle of the car, and that is subjective. In my view, the example of the H120 is quite demonstrative of this, while it is quite understated, there is no mistaking it
Unless the engines are big and have 8 or more cylinders, they are Muscle Cars Imo
V6, V8 and V10 you could classify as being in muscle cars I think.
Maybe not V6.
Buick GNX