Slamming a big engine in a car not originally designed for it is an American tradition, but the USA wasn't the only country to build muscle cars. There were other countries that built muscle cars that were never sold in the USA.
We put together a list of favorites, but these weren't the only ones that fit that description. Truth is there were dozens of muscle cars you never heard of. Here are some of the best. Interestingly we found many of the European models sold were actually built in Australia.
16 1976 Holden Sandman
GM's oldest division (existed before GM as a carriage maker) finally went out of business in 2017. It did build some fine muscle cars that were exported to Asia and shared manufacturing with Opel/Vauxhall and later even Pontiac.
Here we have one of the last panel wagons, but unlike the ones of the '50s, this one wasn't slow. It came with a 5.0-liter V8 engine making 235 HP. If you remember Mad Max, it was the wife's (Jess Rockantansky) car in the movie.
15 Toyota Mark II GT Turbo
This is a domestic market upgrade of the 4 cylinder Mark II which produces well over 250HP because the Japanese Turbo 4s were always tuned to higher output than the American versions because the Japanese export or crush many of their cars after 4 years, so they didn't worry about longevity for their domestic line.
Available in 2 and 4-door, the car is a quite capable rear-wheel-drive with limited-slip differential and 5-speed manual transmission.
14 Renault Alpine A310
A true high-performance car with a mid-engine mounted manual transmission. The car is very lightweight and started out with the high revving 1.6 L SOHC 4, but soon got a bump to a 2.8 l V6 and eventually a 2.8L v6 turbo up to almost 185HP.
The car was 2nd in a series of road racing and rally series competition cars used for European racing. Despite being from the early 1980s there were some versions fitted with anti-lock brakes. Both a 4 speed and 5-speed manual transmission came available.
13 Opel Diplomat A-V8 Coupe
A capable light-weight sedan that was upgraded from a 6 cylinder model to an optional 283 and later a 327 Chevrolet v8 from its parent company GM. Sharing no body parts, but looking much like a first-generation Chevelle from 4 years earlier, this 1967 model is beautiful and appears to be Opel's only large-displacement model until the rebadged Holden and Pontiac models showed up in the late 1990s.
Wikipedia claims the 2 speed Powerglide was the only transmission, but the Diplomat B model got stick shift s an option in 1972.
12 Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T
What is interesting about these Australian muscle cars is that they used a powerful OHV I6 that made 240HP, and not a small block v8. Although many racers have swapped American Chrysler V8s or Chevrolet LS V8 engines usually with turbos, the original 6 had plenty of speed and was also great for tuning.
These cars left the factory being able to run 14s in the quarter-mile. Multiple side draft carbs were often installed by the owners.
11 Valiant CL Sportspack UTE
Not a racer, but a cruiser and sports-ute, this inline 6 powered mini-muscle truck made around 175HP in a light unibody truck. Kind of like a Subaru Brat with 3x the power this thing was still plenty fast.
The 6-cylinder came in 2 sizes and was a much higher state of tune than the American slant 6. The vehicle was also available in a panel van configuration. The police interceptor sedan version came with a 318V8.
10 Firenza CanAm
Sold as a Chevrolet in South Africa and an Opel in Europe this was a limited edition V8 swap in a very light-weight car. This was the only other car to get the famous DZ302 solid lifter 302 engine other than the first generation Z28 Camaro.
The 2,000lb car was meant to stomp the limited-edition Ford Capri Perana in racing, which it did because it was lighter, had more power, and had upgraded brakes. 140mph top speed and 0-60mph in 5.4 seconds was the factory rating, but the car was only produced in 100 units. Those tires are huge for the early 70s.
9 Capri Perana
This was 1 of 2 (non-US) factory Ford V8 homologation fitment setups that were sold for racing. The other series was sold as the English Ford Capri under a different name. How many were actually built is debatable. Our best guess is there were 100 built in South Africa and 100 built in the UK.
The rest of them got the I4 and 60 degree v6 series sold as both Ford and Mercury models for about 9 years. Had these gotten the Boss 302 and not the Windsor 302, they might have taken the Firenza CanAm. Still, the car was wicked fast and because they were light-weight with advanced suspensions for the time they got around the track and street quickly.
8 1972 Holden Monaro GTS
The first revision in the high-performance Monaro series, this one got an upgrade from 5.4 to 5.7liters and is among the best looking. The series continued to be legendary from the 60s to the 90s, but this was among the best looking.
Many of these can be found with blowers or turbos and like the Camaro in the USA, there was both a GTS and SS version similar to RS/SS and Rs/Z28 in a Camaro. The car was more like a Chevelle with the rear bumper and lights from an American Caprice which gave it a wide muscular look.
7 Holden Torana GT XU-I
This is actually a more sedate version of a Torana muscle car. The Torana came with several different engines as I4, I6 and v8, most were high output 4.3 l v8s although some were rumored to be 5.0 Holden engines.
The 5000SLR series was the loud color look at me version of the car, but this is the gentleman's racer version here. Unique to Europe and Australia, the car did share some parts with a Korean GM make and the American Vega and later Cavalier. There was even an A9X option that had 4 wheel disc brakes and a competition suspension.
6 Jensen Interceptor III Convertible
This is a fairly rare car. The Interceptor series ran as a total of 4 series, almost all were coupes that looked very similar to an Avanti. Very few drop-tops were made, and the majority of Interceptors got a Chrysler 360 E53 Police Interceptor Engine at 235 HP.
This car got the soft top and got the R.V. grade 440 RB engine rated at 275 HP but with 350 FT LB of torque. The engine could easily be upgraded to 350 HP with a cam swap and 400 HP with earlier heads. Unlike Mopar products, these cars got a premium suspension and interior.
5 1969 Nissan Skyline GT-R
A light-weight car with a 160Hp 2000cc I6. This car was a true muscle car, having upgraded front disc brakes and a trailing arm rear suspension with drum brakes. The two extra cylinders added 25% more power over the standard Skyline. The engine peaked at 7000 RPM and a 5 speed was the only transmission.
This was a tuner's dream 50 years ago. This one has a roll cage and an upgraded engine. 160Hp isn't a lot, but keep in mind this car weight 200lbs more than a Honda CRX SI which only had 130HP.
4 Ford Falcon FG-X XR6 Turbo
This is the king of the Falcon series in any country. Yes, there were V8 Falcons and derivative cars such as the Montego, Fairlane, Cyclone etc, but this thing put out more HP than a limited production Boss 429 Mach 1. This car was a beast, and it was the last of the Falcon X series.
The little 4-liter Barra I-6 engine seriously stomped every I-6 out there when they built these. The cars came with a competition suspension and brakes set, and roll bar and you had a club racer. Both the patrol car and passenger car were understated, you'd hardly know you were going to lose a race.
3 Vauxhall V8 VXR UTE
This was really a Holden Commodore SS-V with the LS 6.3l v8. The British needed to feel they built a car worth having, so they named it a Vauxhall, but to be honest the only thing made in Britain was the value-added tax.
This was a wicked fast car. Much like an improved LS6 Powered El Camino but it could handle and brake because the parts were prohibitively expensive to build. The sedan series was built to run with a BMW M-series car, which is part of what forced Holden out of business.
2 Vauxhall V8 VXR
This car was also sold as the Pontiac G8 and it was a beast. The $60,000 price tag didn't bode well for Holden, who actually built the thing. This one has the engine massaged to 362 HP and came with a 6-speed transmission and cross-drilled brake rotors.
The wheels were special to this model and the Pontiac and Holden models did not get them. 5 second zero to 60 times in a car that got 23 miles per gallon, and it handled because it had a real independent suspension.
1 Toyota Mark X +M
This is a special tuner version of The Mark X that comes with a factory supercharger on the 3.5l v6 putting out 355Hp. Available in RWD and AWD with all the best equipment this thing has a serious following. Upgraded cross-drilled brakes and suspension with a premium interior.
The car shares parts with a Camry but has different styling similar to a Corolla GTS. 6-speed auto and 6-speed manual transmissions are available depending on the year. Before ending production in 2019 there were almost 7 million Mark II and Mark X cars built in 50 years.