Muscle cars are big, loud, powerful and purely made in the US. We simply can get enough muscle cars and their popularity lasts for decades. Muscle cars have proven to be so popular that car manufacturers have brought back iconic cars from the past. The modern Camaro and Challenger are both extremely popular and high-selling cars. Everyone loves the Camaro and Challenger, but they’re not the only muscle cars out there.

There are many muscle cars that many people have forgotten about. Some of these forgotten muscle cars are actually hidden gems. Sure, there are many muscle cars that are absolutely terrible, but let’s not talk about those. There are plenty of other great examples of muscles cars and some of them are not even from the US. Maybe some of these classic muscle cars should get a modern remake?

In this article, we take a look at all kinds of different muscle cars spanning from around the world. Although these rides have separate legacies, these cars are regarded as underrated in their own ways. Muscle car enthusiasts prepare to drool over these all-time classics that went under the radar during their prime. Like always, be sure to share the article with a fellow muscle car enthusiast.

Here’s a look at the 20 most underrated muscle cars of all time. Here we go!

19 Dodge Dart Demon

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The current Dodge Dart is nothing special since Chrysler decided to make it a low-budget daily driver, but the Dodge Dart Demon is another story altogether. The Dodge Dart Demon takes us back to a time when the Dodge Dart was a true muscle car.

The 1971 Dodge Dart Demon was based on the Plymouth Duster, and it came with two trim packages. The Dodge dart demon 340 was the more powerful of the two. Today Dodge uses the Demon nameplate for its powerful Challenger, but back in the day, all the power belonged to the Dodge Dart.

18 Buick Gran Sport 455

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Buick made some very good cars over the years. The Buick Gran Sport 455 is a very underrated muscle car. The quality of the 1970 Gran Sport 455 was a surprise because Buick was known for solid and dependable cars rather than showy and powerful muscle cars.

The Gran Sport had a stellar 455 cubic inch V8 with a staggering 350 hp, but there was also the Stage 1 Gran Sport 455 with an extra 10 hp. When Motor Trend reviewed the 455 Stage 1 it ran the quarter mile in an impressive 13.38 seconds. This is a muscle car that could hold its own against the industry leaders of the time.

17 Mercury Cyclone

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The Mercury Cyclone, which was the performance model of the Mercury Comet, is a forgotten muscle car that deserves much more hype than it gets. Mercury was never known as a muscle car brand, but with classics like the 1969 Mercury Cyclone Cobra Jet, it probably should be.

The CJ was heavily overshadowed by the Super Bee and Road Runner, but it was just as good as those legends. The 428 cubic inch V8 put out an earth-shattering 335 hp. However, that’s simply the number that Mercury touted. It is widely believed that it was capable of as much as 400 hp.

16 1970 AMC Rebel Machine

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The AMC Rebel Machine was a beast thanks to the 340 hp 390 V-8 thumping beneath its twin snorkel hood. This muscle car was a collaboration between Hurst Performance Research and American Motors - the result was truly spectacular.

This muscle car could have surely given a Challenger a run for its money, so it’s a surprise it wasn’t more popular. AMC also had a much smaller development budget than GM or Chrysler, so it's a testament to the team that they managed to produce a car this great. The Rebel Machine was a muscle car that deserves a lot more credit.

15 Ford Torino GT

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The Ford Torino GT is one of the greatest muscle cars ever produced, but it doesn’t get enough credit for being one of the best. The Ford Torino GT is often overshadowed by the Ford Mustang, which isn’t a true muscle car at all. The Mustang is pony car, not a muscle car.

Other Ford muscle cars like the Fairlane and the regular Torino had reputations for being family haulers, but the Torino GT was a powerful muscle car through and through thanks to the V8 with 390 hp on the 1968 model. This was a high-performance muscle car with beautiful styling that shouldn't be overlooked. This is a historic muscle car and extremely underrated.

14 Plymouth Duster

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The Plymouth Duster is a perfect example of a forgotten muscle car. It certainly has its fans. However, a Duster is unlikely to achieve high prices at a classic car auction like a Charger or a Super Bee.

A top of the line Duster came with a 340 V8 with 275 hp and 340 lb-ft of torque, which meant this muscle car could go up against the best of the best. Back in the 70s you got a lot of bang for your buck. This was an affordable and powerful muscle car that cost less than a Plymouth Road Runner.

13  Buick Wildcat

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The Wildcat is often considered to the manufacturer’s first performance car. This car started off as a luxury sports coupe, but it soon morphed into a fabulous muscle car. The 1970 Buick Wildcat had an engine that made it a true muscle car.

In fact, it was the largest engine ever used in a Buick car. The 455 cubic inch V8 was capable of generating 370 hp and a very impressive 510 lb-ft of torque. This was a muscle car that nobody wanted to mess with. However, just as the Wildcat reached perfection it was sent the way of the dodo.

12 Chevy Laguna

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By 1975, the muscle car was on the way out. Regulations severely hurt the muscle car market. However, many still pinned for the glory days of the previous decade. The Chevelle Laguna S-3 was one of the last true muscle cars. This beauty was also a beast on the NASCAR track and won multiple Winston Cups before it was banned.

The street version of the Laguna wasn’t nearly as fast, but it still offered a great ride. It lacked the big block engine of many of its predecessors, and it was only capable of between 145 hp and 175 hp. Even with regulations that tried to lessen this car, it still held on quite well. It may not be the most powerful, but it had luxury styling that made up for that.

11 Pontiac Grand Prix

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The Pontiac Grand Prix was a luxurious muscle car. When the Grand Prix first hit the market in 1962, Pontiac offered consumers a plethora of choice when it came to exactly how powerful they wanted this muscle car. The standard engine was a V8 four barrel rated at 303 bhp.

That’s fine and dandy but what about the muscle car fans who wanted some real power? That’s where the 370 bhp Pontiac 421 Super Duty engine came in. Only 16 of these beefed-up 1962 Grand Prix types were made, and today it is believed that only one still exists.

10 Mercury Marauder X-100

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The 429 V8 under the hood of this powerful and luxurious muscle car makes it a real winner, so it’s puzzling why it wasn’t a bigger hit. That powerful V8 was capable of putting out a blistering 360 hp. Thanks to 480 lb-ft of torque, this muscle car was capable of going 0-60 in a mere 7.8 seconds.

The X-100 had a lot more going for it than just a powerful big block engine. The trim package came with fender skirts, bucket seats, and Goodyear Polyglas H70×15 bias-belted white sidewall tires. Despite all that power, this muscle car handled like a dream. The combination of luxury and power made this a muscle car that should have been one of the most popular on the market.

9 Pontiac Ventura GTO

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First isn’t always the best but perhaps first it best when it comes to the GTO. The GTO is the grand-daddy of muscle cars. The 1964 GTO is considered to be the first true muscle car, but the GTO nameplate had many of ups and downs over its run.

By the end of its lifespan, we had the 1974 Pontiac Ventura GTO, which is easily one of the most underrated muscle cars of all-time. The 1974 Ventura GTO may have been a tad slower than its forefather, but it handled like a dream. Pontiac used a 350 cubic inch V-8, producing 200 hp and with 295 lb.-ft of torque in the Ventura GTO.

8 Chrysler 300 Hurst

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Luxury muscle cars were not only powerful, but they were absolutely huge. The Chrysler 300 Hurst is no exception. The Chrysler 300 Hurst was a long and powerful beast, but the big block engine that Chrysler installed made it a very capable muscle car. The Hurst treatment gave this 300 a cool muscle car look, which was an upgrade from the standard luxury styling on the standard 300.

The 440 cubic-inch “RB” V8 was standard in the Chrysler 300 Hurst, and Hurst swapped out the factory hood with an impressive hood scoop. The only downside of this car was that the Hurst additions didn’t make the car more powerful; they were simply for show. This is a quintessential 70s muscle car.

7 Ford Falcon 260 Termite

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The Falcon was a simple and basic car. It was fun, but it wasn’t some all-powerful muscle car. The 1964 Ford Falcon 260 Termite is another story. This race car tore up the track and won numerous awards. The Falcon was modified and driven by race car driver Johnny Hawkins, and he broke many American Hot Rod Association records by driving this iconic race car.

This is a perfect example of what you can do with a base model with a little ingenuity and added power. The modified 260 engine made this Falcon super fast and a winner on the track.

6 Chevy Biscayne 427

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The 1968 Biscayne was a solid luxury car. It was the kind of car you would take for a Sunday drive, but you wouldn’t expect to take it out to the drag strip. When Chevy added a high-performance 427 cubic-inch V8 engine the Biscayne went from a car your grandpa would drive to a car that would demolish rivals at the drag strip.

It was so speedy that race fans gave this underrated muscle car a very cool a clever nickname: “The Bisquick.” This is another example of taking a run-of-the-mill entry-level sedan and turning it into a monster. A big block engine can do wonders.

5 AMC Matador Machine

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Many of the muscle cars on this list have become coveted collector’s items because of their rarity. Back in the day they were looked at as just another muscle car, but today they are works of art with plenty of power.

The 1971 AMC Matador Machine 401 is a perfect example of that. It is believed that only 60 of these muscle cars were ever made. Today, far less than that are known to exist. There might only be a handful of these beasts out in the

4 Buick GNX

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The GNX was a late-era muscle car and one of the coolest muscle cars from the 1980s. The glory days of the late 1960s muscle cars had long since passed but the GNX was proof that a comeback is possible.

The GNX went against the grain. It didn’t have a big block V8. Rather, the black beauty had a 276 hp Grand National Experimental V6 engine. This was Buick’s way of upping the ante. The GNX was a step up from the 200 hp Grand National Engine. This muscle car was all about boost and speed. The GNX is now an 80s icon.

3 Oldsmobile Jetstar

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The Oldsmobile Jetstar was big and beautiful as many of the first muscle cars. The 1964 model had a 345 hp V8 engine, while the 1965 model had a 370 hp V8 engine. The Jetstar may have been just a more affordable Starfire, but it is an important part of automotive history.

Classic car collectors would be wise to snap on of these muscle cars up now. The vehicle had a limited production run, which makes it fairly rare. The ride is high-performance and looks both elegant and powerful. This one may be highly sought after in years to come.

2 Dodge Coronet Super Bee

via motor1.com

When a muscle car has a Hemi engine there’s a very good chance it is going to be great. The Dodge Coronet Super Bee is no exception. This is a brilliant and often overlooked gem of a muscle car. The 1968 model came with a 426 Hemi rated at a staggering 425 hp. This muscle car was a beast, and the racing-inspired interior made the car even better.

It performed great and looked great, too. The high-performance tires and the racing stripe really made the Coronet Super Bee stand out. The only downside was that all these extra features and power upped the price.

1 Pontiac 2+2

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Pontiac once called the 2+2 the older brother of the GTO. That is an excellent way to describe this underrated muscle car. An impressive 338 hp 421 cubic inch V8 was the standard engine for the 1965 Pontiac 2+2.

The meaty engine managed to put out 459 lbs.-ft of torque. If you wanted a bit more power out of this coupe you could opt for the 376 hp 421HO package. Auto journalists loved this underrated muscle car. Motor Trend gave the 2+2 the prestigious Car of the Year award, an accolade the 2+2 shared with the entire 1965 Pontiac line up.

Sources - Hagerty, Motor Trend & Motor 1