Easily recognized by the bow-tie logo on their vehicles, the Chevrolet brand name is undeniably a popular one to car enthusiasts, whether they're into muscle cars, sports cars, or pickup trucks.
In the early '60s, muscle cars were presented with powerful engines that were nevertheless affordable for the average consumer, this was in a bid to please the majority of performance car lovers, who could not afford high-end performance cars. The first-ever muscle car was arguably the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 back in 1949, while others dub the 1964 Pontiac GTO as the first true muscle car.
Chevrolet released their muscle cars to the market in the early '60s with the Impala SuperSport. Since then, Chevy has been one of the more recognized brands when it comes to American performance cars, especially with the Corvette, Camaro, and Chevelle models, all of which packed powerful engines that produced just as much power as their Ford and Mopar counterparts.
Though Chevy produced a lot of muscle cars, only a few of them are limited editions. So if you like to be exclusive, here are some of the sickest limited edition Chevrolet muscle cars of all time.
10 2020 Chevrolet C8 Z51
First on this list is the 2020 Chevrolet C0rvette Stingray Z51, the Corvette is one of the best muscle cars in the Chevrolet line. The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was already a brutal beast that was made more powerful by the Z51 package. The interior of this car is just too sleek, embodying the beauty of a luxury car.
A powerful V8 engine powers the Stingray. It is a 495bhp, 6.2-liter LT2 V8 engine, which also produces 470 lb-ft of torque. The Z51 performance package adds heavy-duty cooling to the car and a performance exhaust system. If you are looking for the fastest accelerating corvette ever here you have it. 0-60 in just 2.9 seconds (2.8 according to Car and Driver).
9 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
Seems like Chevrolet has a well beefed-up budget for its performance cars, producing a variety of Camaro models from the Z06s, to ZL1s to the Yenkos. All of which are power-packed monsters. The ZL1 series has seen massive success in the auto market since the inception of the Chevy Camaro.
The ZL1 1LE is a manual 6-speed car, fitted with a V8 engine that produces as much as 650 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. These numbers might sound good, but they don't mean anything until you experience the brutal acceleration yourself.
8 2018 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko
Originally based on the Camaro SS 1LE, the Specialty Vehicle Engineering (SVE) folks really put in the work to create this limited edition car. With a couple of major changes and a very significant increase in price, this car commands respect.
SVE bored out the LT1 engine to 6.8-liter from the original 6.2-liter displacement and added a high-output custom supercharger and a performance tune. All of these added up to create this 1000-hp monster of a ride.
7 2018 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Great on the tracks and great on the streets with a blistering speed that begs the question "why do we need supercars when there's this?" That's how crazy the Corvette Z06 can be. Mash down the throttle, and you're at speeds of over 60mph in about 2.9 seconds.
The Z06 uses a supercharged LT4 V8 engine that's 6.2 liters, making 650 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. A 7-speed manual gearbox is standard, with automatic rev-matching downshifts. The optional transmission is a GM-built paddle-shifting 8-speed automatic.
6 1971 Baldwin Motion Phase III GT Corvette
Joel Rosen’s east coast-based Motion Performance Speed Shop was well known for building unbeatable muscle cars in the '60s and '70s. Teaming up with Baldwin Chevrolet, customers could order a Corvette which would be torn down and rebuilt into an 11.5-second drag car, complete with a factory warranty.
The Phase III GT Corvette is one of the cars worked on by Rosen, and it made its debut in April 1969. According to Corvetteblogger, Motion Performance would build just 12 of the 500+ horsepower grand touring Corvettes, with the last one leaving the shop in 1971
5 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS454 LS6
When the standard version of the Chevelle SS454 was released, it did not gain much attention due to other muscle cars on the same level, but with higher engine capacity and power output. Then came the LS6 performance upgrade, which boosted the power produced from about 300hp to a whopping 450hp.
In those days, a vehicle that accelerated from 0-60 mph in just 6 seconds was an incredible performer and the Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 rightfully earned its position as a highly desirable muscle car.
4 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 COPO
One crazy thing about the ZL1 Camaro was that you had to special order it through a Central Office Production Order (COPO) due to a GM edict disallowing engines larger than 400 cubic inches to be installed in small and mid size vehicles.
It was conservatively rated at 430 hp at 5,200 rpm and 450 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,400 rpm, but in reality, it easily made up to 500 hp.
3 1968 Chevrolet Impala SS427 L72
Just like the 1971 Phase III GT Corvette, the Impala SS427 L72 was also an upgraded version of the standard SS427. This upgrade was done by the Baldwin Chevrolet Performance shop.
The L72 option gave a massive boost in power to the engine ratings, from the standard 385hp to a massive 425hp, believe in the '60s that was crazy power from an engine.
2 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88
Nothing says rare like the Corvette L88 1967 model, only about 20 were produced, notwithstanding the desirability of this car. This is one car that was built with performance specifically in mind.
The L88 with 12.5:1 compression, hi-lift cam, 850cfm 4-barrel carburetor, and aluminum heads was intentionally under-rated by GM at 430hp stock, as L88s actually have been dyno-tested at 560hp. Referred to as the "Holy Grail of Chevrolet Corvette fans" by RobbReport.
1 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16
Only about 200 of this sleek muscle car were built, a couple of them ended up in promotional space, one convertible made for the then General Manager of Chevrolet, but reports have it that it crashed after some time.
The highlight of the package is present and accounted for; an L37-code, 375hp 396 with 11:1 compression and a Holley 3310 four-barrel, plus a '65-vintage Muncie four-speed swiped from the world of Corvettes were pressed into service in this particular application.