Today’s muscle cars still boast a lot of horsepower, but there’s a refinement about them that tends to dilute the experience. That is even before you consider the host of electronic driver aids and other safety measures available today. Classic muscle cars had none of these and were all about tire-slaying drama, noise, and brute power, especially during the 1960s and early 1970s when the muscle car craze was at its peak.
Carmakers created some truly fine muscle car specimens during that era and it is no surprise that most of the priciest muscle cars sold at auction in modern times were from that era. The price paid for the current record holder should get you a few hypercars with change left over for a mansion or two!
10 1969 GTO Judge Ram Air IV Convertible: $682,000
In 1969, the standard power plant for the Pontiac GTO ‘Judge’ was the 366-hp Ram Air III engine. The Ram Air IV package though took the car’s performance to another level and the official power output of 370 hp was wildly conservative.
This was an extra-cost option on top of the already expensive Judge package and out of a total production run of 72,000 GTOs for 1969, only 5 units were equipped with the Ram Air IV package. Now, you can understand why this example changed hands for almost $700,000 when it came up for auction.
9 1969 Dodge HEMI Daytona: $900,000
Dodge built 503 Daytonas in total and equipped only 70 of them with the famous HEMI engine. This particular HEMI Daytona was one of only 20 that was factory-paired with a 4-speed manual transmission, making it very unique indeed.
That was not all though, when the car came up for sale, there were only 6,435 miles on the odometer. It was the lowest mileage HEMI Daytona on record and the bids came in rapidly until the price topped out at $900,000. One wonders how many additional miles the new owner has put on the car after purchase.
8 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500R ‘Eleanor’: $1,000,000
Here’s another classic Mustang made famous by its appearance in a movie. This Shelby Mustang is one of the remaining surviving Mustangs used in the movie, ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’. The car was powered by a 351 cubic-inch V8 engine mated to a 4-speed manual transmission.
Interestingly, it is not an original Shelby Mustang; rather, it is based on the 1967 Ford Mustang fastback. A huge chunk of that $1million price tag came from the fact that this was the actual car driven by the movie’s protagonist, Nicolas Cage, in the closing scenes.
7 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1: $1,094,500
The ZL1 engine remains one of the most powerful engines that Chevrolet put in a production car. The official power output was rated at 430bhp but in the real world, the number was closer to 500bhp. The 1969 Camaro ZL1 was a real beast; a shame the company only made 69 units.
This pristine example came up for sale in January 2020 and remains the only Camaro to command a price north of the million-dollar mark. It was even more special because it had been fully restored by Barry Burstein, one of the original ZL1 engine builders back in the 1960s
6 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6: $1,242,000
To make this car eligible for NHRA Super Stock racing, Chevrolet had to have made at least 50 units of the car. However, some people allege that less than 20 units of the LS6 powered Chevelle convertibles were built. In 2006, the car changed hands for a staggering $1.2 million, an unthinkable amount for a Chevelle at the time.
Sadly, the car’s value plummeted sharply after that. When the owner put it up for sale 3 years later, it could only command a price of $264,000 which frankly, is a more realistic value.
5 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake: $2,200,000
This hulking muscle car was a one-of-one project built by Shelby as a test platform for Goodyear and its Thunderbolt tire brand. The car boasted an impressive 520hp, enough to propel the car to an insane 170mph top speed.
In January 2019, it became the most expensive Mustang ever sold at auction (and remained so until the McQueen Bullitt Mustang) when a buyer paid $2.2million to add it to the collection. Interestingly, this same car had sold in 2013 for $1.3million, translating to approximately $150,000/year appreciation in value – not a bad investment at all.
4 1971 Hemi Cuda Convertible: $3,500,000
This muscle car belongs to a very hallowed company indeed. Chrysler only made 119 Hemi Cuda muscle cars in 1971; 108 coupes and 11 convertibles. Of the 11 convertibles, reports indicate that 2 or 3 were fitted with 4-speed manual shifters and this happened to be one of them.
It is also the only one to still retain its original engine and transmission. That rarity and exclusivity served as a springboard for the price when it came up for auction in June 2014. The bidding war was intense and the eventual winner parted with a cool $3.5million to acquire the vehicle. It remains the most expensive Hemi Cuda sold at auction.
3 1968 Ford Mustang 'Bullitt': $3,740,000
The 1968 Mustang has always been a special car with a raucous V8 that spun out 427 pound-feet of torque at 3,200rpm. In January 2020, this particular ’68 pony car took things to a whole new level when it went on the auction block and sold for $3.74million.
That’s more than enough to purchase a fleet of 10 McLaren 720S supercars. However, this was no ordinary Mustang, it happened to be the same one driven by Steve McQueen in the iconic movie ‘Bullitt’ and that alone was enough to send the value through the roof.
2 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 “Super Snake”: $5,115,000
There were 23 Shelby Cobra 427 Competition Roadsters ever built and this is one of only two that later got upgraded with the ‘Super Snake’ package. That package included among other things, 2 superchargers that boosted its power output to an insane 800hp.
It was then reclassified as a 427 Cobra Semi Competition because unlike the pure Competition Roadsters, this one was road legal with the addition of parts like windshield, mufflers, and bumpers. It is also the only one in existence today and with such a rich history behind it, that $5 million price tag seems just about right.
1 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX2000: $13,750,000
It was in August 2016 that this particular muscle car rewrote the records books and took the crown for the most expensive muscle car ever sold at auction – and by some distance too. Chassis number CSX2000 happened to be the first car assembled by Carroll Shelby and his team back in 1962.
The car went through a whole range of colors as it was shipped from event to event to create the impression that production had begun. The car has never been restored and the mismatched paint colors were still visible around some of the body parts. It undoubtedly added to the special appeal of the car and there’s no telling what the car will be worth down the road if the owner ever decides to sell.