[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It all started with the 1962 Shelby Cobrawhich was born with the express purpose of beating the cars that a certain Enzo Ferrari built in Maranello, Italy. It was a veritable war machine, armed with a 4.3-litre V8 engine, an essential chassis dressed in a hand-rolled steel body. A car capable of flying at almost 220 km/h and taking your breath away under acceleration. Thus was born the category of muscle carwhich would quickly become the very emblem of the US-made automobile industry.
The basic concept was simple: not too sophisticated cars, designed to enjoy the thrust of the many horses that the big American V8s provided. With almost always two-door bodywork (exceptions are rare), rear-wheel drive, little attention paid to chassis and suspension, tailor-made for the long, straight American highways.
For us Italians, it's those big cars that skidding and skidding in corners, difficult to hold with countersteerseen so many times in typical detective movie chases. For example, the companion car of the renowned Starsky and Hutch (a 1975 Ford Torino) and the real star of the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard (a 1969 Dodge Charger).
For some twenty years the muscle car was so successful overseas that it also spawned a second type of car, slightly more compact and with smaller engine capacities: the pony car. In addition to the Ford Torino and the Dodge Charger The most successful models in the US market, of both types, were: Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Chrysler 300, Chevelle SS, Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Impala, AMC AMX, Pontiac Catalina, Mercury Cyclone GT, Dodge Dart Sport, Ford Maverich Grabber, AMC Hornet SC, Pontiac Grand Am, Buick Grand Sport, Oldsmobile 442, Pontiac GTO, Pontiac Firebird, Plymouth Road Runner, Buick GSX, Plymouth Hemi Cuda.
Models from the years 1964 to 1978 are among the most sought-after by collectors all over the world. A 1966 Shelby Cobra recently went to auction for USD 5.5 million.
Over the years the mass success of the muscle car has waned, but a hard core of thrill-seekers has remained. For this audience, the major American car manufacturers today produce models that have been modernised, without losing sight of the original philosophy. Dodge Challenger, Dodge Viper (with even an 8.4-litre V10), Dodge Charger, Ford Mustang (also in the Shelby GT500 version) and Chevrolet Camaro are the car models that today represent this unrational and very hormonal idea of a car, which in the age of green, hybrid and assisted driving perhaps generates some nostalgia. Understandably so.
Sources: zeroto60times.com
In this gallery some historical models that well represent the concept of muscle car.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_fullwidth_slideshow padding=”0″ images=”7083,7084,7085,7086,7087,7088,7089,7090,7091″ stretch_images=”true”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_button dimension=”outline” corner_style=”full_rounded” size=”medium” icon=”mk-icon-home” url=”/” align=”center” margin_top=”30″ margin_bottom=”0″ margin_right=”0″]Torna alla Home[/mk_button][/vc_column][/vc_row]
