Automotivation: Muscle... With no Protein...

Muscle Cars

Muscle car doesn't mean a huge sports car... Its basically a small two or four seater car with a large displacement engine it (Generally a V8 engine).

Pontiac GTO Firebird 1969

Pontiac GTO Firebird is regarded as one of the best American muscle cars built ever.

History of muscle cars dates back to 1949 when Oldsmobile built the Rocket 88 model with a 5.0L V8 engine with a transmission: 4-speed automatic Hydramatic

3-speed manual.

1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88

Jack Nerrad wrote in Driving Today, "the Rocket V-8 set the standard for every American V-8 engine that would follow it for at least three decades[...] With a displacement of 303 cubic inches and topped by a two-barrel carburetor, the first Rocket V-8 churned out 135 hp (101 kW; 137 PS) at 3,600 rpm

Hudson Hornet

and 263 pound force-feet (357 N·m) of torque at a lazy 1800 rpm [and] no mid-range car in the world, save the rival Hudson Hornet, came close to the Rocket Olds performance potential..."

Chrysler 300

Chrysler 300 was the most powerful car of the 1950's.

Specs:

Engine: 331 cu in (5.4L) 300 hp (220kW)V8

Transmission: PowerFlite 2-speed automatic

The popularity and performance of muscle cars grew in the early 1960s, as Mopar (Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler) and Ford battled for supremacy in drag racing. The 1962 Dodge Dart 413 cu in (6.8 L) Max Wedge, for example, could run a 13-second 1/4-mile dragstrip at over 100 miles per hour (161 km/h). By 1964, General Motors' lineup boasted Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, and Pontiac muscle cars, and Buick fielded a muscle car entry a year later.

Pontiac GTO 1967

The Pontiac GTO is an American automobile built by Pontiac Division of General Motors from 1964 to 1974. It was a muscle car classic of the 1960s and 1970s era. Although there were earlier muscle cars, the Pontiac GTO is considered by some to have started the trend with all four domestic automakers offering a variety of competing models.

Specs:

Engine: 400 cu in (6.6 L) V8
Transmission: 3-speed manual
4-speed manual
2-speed automatic
3-speed automatic

Ford Mustang 1967 Fastback

The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company.

1967 fastback was a very close competitor of the Pontiac GTO And the Plymouth Barracuda.

Specs:

Engine: 428 cu in (7.0L) Cobra Jet V8

Transmission: 3-speed manual
4-speed manual
3-speed automatic

Plymouth Barracuda 1967

The Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door car that was manufactured by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1964 to 1974

Specs:

Engine: 426 cu in (7.0 L) 2x4bbl HEMI RB V8

Are Americans the only muscle car manufacturers in the world?

Take a look at Australian Muscle Cars

Australia developed its own muscle cars around the same period, the big three manufacturers being Ford Australia, Holden or Holden Dealer Team (by then part of General Motors), and Chrysler Australia.

Ford Falcon GTR 1967

Ford produced what is considered to be the first Australian muscle car in 1967, the 289 cu in (4.7 L) Windsor – powered Ford Falcon GTXR.
Specs:
Engine: 289ci (4.7L) "Windsor" V8
Transmission: 3spd manual
3spd auto
3spd Cruisomatic

Holden Monaro 'GTS'

Months later, in 1968, Australia would see its first homegrown two-door muscle car, the Holden Monaro GTS 327.Named after the Monaro region inNew South Wales (although pronounced differently), the Monaro was introduced in July 1968 as a two-door pillarless hardtop coupe available in three models: the basic Monaro coupe, Monaro 'GTS' coupe and Monaro 'GTS 327' coupe.

mmm... Yeah... The South African Muscles

Capri Perana

Firenza Can Am

In South Africa, Chevrolet placed the Z28 302 Chevrolet smallblock into a Vauxhall Viva coupe bodyshell and called it the Firenza CanAm. Basil Green produced the 302 Windsor–powered Capri Perana.

The British Muscles

MGB GT V8

Ford fitted V6 engines to the Dagenham-built 2944 cc Capri 3000GT (designated 3000E in more luxurious trim) and the Capri 2600GT, which was produced at Ford's plant in Cologne. In Europe, GM responded with the six-cylinder Opel Commodore GTE Coupe. Based on the mid-size Opel Rekord, it matched the Fords for performance. Later, both Ford and Vauxhall produced high-performance versions (known colloquially as Q-cars) of their family cars for the UK market.

The MGB GT V8 began production in 1973 is often thought of as a British muscle car