History of the American Muscle Car
A Muscle Car is basically a high performance car - these cars came to prominence in America (and to a certain extent in Australia and South Africa) in the 1960s and 1970s.
In basic terms a Muscle Car will have certain characteristics. For example, it will have a powerful engine (V8) with specially adapted torque and will often be a two-door model with rear wheel drive. Muscle cars can be used for general purposes or for drag racing. Their design gave them fantastic acceleration and power.
Many experts believe that it was developments in the American car industry in the 1950s that saw the birth of the Muscle Car. Car manufacturers at this time started to experiment with putting a more powerful engine than usual into regular sizes of cars.
Putting a high performance engine into a regular car allowed younger consumers to own a more powerful vehicle at a more affordable cost.
During the 1960s and 1970s more cars with Muscle Car characteristics were being produced - popular models included the Dodge Dart, the Ford Thunderbird, the Buick Skylark and the Pontiac GTO and Tempest Le Mans.
Production of Muscle Cars declined at this point somewhat although there was a resurgence in interest in the 1980s which lingers on until the present day. Now modern technology is being used to iron out some of the problems that came with the original Muscle Cars. Ironically enough, given their cost at the time, the original models can now sell for phenomenally high sums if they are in good condition.
Special Thanks To Oldcott Motors, Stoke-on-Trent
For allowing us to photograph their great collection of american muscle cars