The greatest muscle car of all time?

The 60s and 70s are famous for many things, but these years also saw the creation of the muscle car. Massive V8 engines were squeezed under the bonnets of relatively small and ordinary-looking cars. Manufacturers Ford, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler were among the first to offer such power and performance at prices that weren’t only for the super-rich. The 1980s saw new regulations for manufacturers to reduce emissions and the muscle cars of that golden era soon became classics for fans of speed.

The greatest muscle car of all time?

Petrolheads among you may often debate this very topic. So what is the greatest muscle car and does it have to be a classic? AutoExpress.co.uk argues the best-known muscle cars today are the likes of the Ford Mustang and the Pontiac Trans Am, thanks to films such as Bullitt and Smokey and the Bandit. That era of classic muscle cars is also famous for the Pontiac GTO, the Hemi ‘Cuda and the Plymouth Superbird.

The 10 best muscle cars

1. 1964 Pontiac GTO
2. 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454
3. 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird
4. 1967 Chevrolet Camaro X/28
5. 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88
6. 1965 Shelby Mustang GT-350
7. 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88
8. 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt
9. 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat
10. 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda

This list by Auto Express ranks the 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS (Super Sport) second behind the Pontiac GTO. Chevrolet first introduced the Chevelle SS 454 in 1964 as the company’s first offering to the muscle car world. By the 1970s, Chevrolet had had to up their game on the specification after being initially left behind by the Pontiac GTO. We think this is the reason the Chevelle ranks second in this particular top 10.

The 1970 Chevelle SS was one of the fastest cars in the world. It could reach 0-60 mph in just over 5 seconds. The massive 454 (7.5 litre) V8 engine achieved 450bhp and 500lb of torque according to the advertising of the day and we can vouch for its ability to raise goosebumps when its huge engine fires up!

A muscle car renovation at Car Magic

This Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 is almost 50 years old and can’t help but stand out in our workshop. Next to the usual body repairs, paint jobs and accident damage we see here in Chesham, the Chevy is a long term project first started back in February. From a distance, this beast of a car looks in pretty good condition and it’s certainly not giving up anytime soon, but when you look closer you can see some signs of age and general wear and tear. Here’s the impressive front view of the bonnet that holds the huge V8 engine. The iconic Hugger Orange colour that was used in the original models back in the 1970s is part of the charm of this original muscle car.

A close up of the rear featuring the black on orange stripes.

A look at one of the many areas in need of repair. This one showing the Chevelle By Chevrolet rear badge.

The front wing has some areas of concern for the team to work on, in fact the rest of the car paints a similar picture.

A view of the offside before we got to work on the body repair of this Chevy Chevelle SS.

We’ll be documenting our progress on this Chevrolet Chevelle Muscle Car on our blog under the category ‘Renovation’ where you can also find our work on projects including a 2009 Land Rover Defender, a VW Camper, a VW Transporter and a 1970s Triumph Spitfire. Renovations and restorations are the projects we love to throw ourselves into, but we get as much of a thrill from a 5* customer review on Google as we do from the roar of this engine!

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