Just because new cars often boast more power doesn't always mean they are the fastest. Even older sports cars can obliterate modern muscle cars.
Every time a new model launches, gearheads always look to see how much power it produces, but power alone is not always the deciding factor when it comes to performance. Weight plays a huge part, as does chassis configuration, as mid-engined sports cars are normally quicker through corners, while power and weight are crucial to straight-line performance.
10 TVR Griffith 500 - Simple Brutal Performance
Proving British carmakers can do muscle also, TVR's Griffith 500 would be one of the last models to feature the venerable Rover V8 engine and to great effect. Like all previous TVRs, the recipe was a simple one: a steel chassis mounted with a glass-fiber bodyshell and powerful engine, with no electronic driver aids to spoil the experience.
Blisteringly quick from 0 to 60mph taking just 4.1 seconds, which was at the time as quick as any other production car. This was thanks to an updated 5-liter V8 engine pumping out 340hp and, backed up with TVR's legendary loud exhaust, helped make the Griffith one of the best value sports cars of the 1990s.
9 1989 Corvette ZR-1 - Performance Bargain, Track Day Superstar
Automotive collaborations are great for gearheads. Chevrolet had already produced C4 Corvettes that were fast, and then parent company GM utilized overseas in-house engineering expertise to make the ZR-1. The first finalized examples appeared in 1989, later entering production with LT5 V8 engines boasting quad cams and four-valves per cylinder, a first for GM at the time.
Overall, the ZR-1 was slightly heavier than the standard model, but greater power output improved performance with 60mph flashing by in 4.6 seconds, reaching a maximum 180mph. More power is always good, but ZR-1s also featured Lotus-tuned suspension with Bilstein adjustable suspension giving better chassis control.
8 Aston Martin Virage Vantage V8 550 - Straight-Line Monster
At a time when most carmakers were adopting turbocharging, Aston preferred to go in another direction by utilizing lag-free supercharging for their 1990 Vantage model. Produced between 1989 to 2000, the Virage would be the company's last model developed before the arrival of the newer DB7 models. Although both ranges existed at the same time, Virage was referred to as Aston's flagship model.
Aston had always been about luxury performance. With the Virage sporting the same high-quality interior, Vantage badged models were capable of embarrassing any supercar at the time. Packing a 5.3-liter supercharged engine developing 550hp (later 600hp) could launch the two-ton GT to 60mph in 4.6 seconds, flat out approaching 190mph.
7 Ferrari 512BB - First V12 Mid-Engined Ferrari
Berlinetta Boxer (BB) Ferraris preceded the later and uglier Testarossa and yet offered near-identical performance; the 512 BBs is arguably the better-looking car. When Ferrari's first mid-engined V12 road car launched in 1973, it was never officially imported to the US market, which led to dealers later independently importing BB 512 for resale.
Similar in profile to their smaller 308 cousins, 512s offered greater performance with naturally aspirated 4.9-liter V12s that produced between 360 to 390hp depending on the state of tune, both capable of 180mph top speeds and reaching 60mph in 5.4 seconds.
6 Lister XJS Le Mans - Jaguar's Legendary V12 Lives On
Starting with a big engine, increasing capacity, and then adding superchargers seemed to be the Lister way of doing things. The incredibly rare XJ-S Le Mans considerably more powerful than Ferrari's legendary F40. Retaining the stock car's Jaguar V12 engine bored out to 7-liters with two superchargers bolted on for good effect made it capable of 600hp.
The 3,900 lb XJS is still very fast by today’s standards despite launching in 1986, as it can hit 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and easily top 200 mph.
5 Ruf 911 CTR - More Performance Than A Porsche 959
Despite being launched in 1987, Ruf Automobiles' 911 CTR can still be purchased today as the model only ever produced to order, though the original used Porsches 911 Carrera as the base. Factory fresh bodyshells with unique Ruf serial numbers are the very same items from Porsche's production lines with much of the exterior panels ditched in favor of lighter aluminum items.
Very few gearheads would spot any visual differences, as Ruf preferred to keep the important changes hidden away from view. Under the rear hood is an enlarged 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged motor pushing out 493hp with stunning results, hitting 60mph in just 3.85 seconds making it on par with modern machinery today.
4 Pontiac Tojan - Supercar And Muscle Car Killer
Modern muscle cars are fast approaching 700hp as standard, but back in the 1980s, there was a faster more powerful US muscle car: Knudsen Automotive's Pontiac Tojan. What we are looking at here is exactly what the third generation Firebird should have been from the start. Factory spec 5.7-liter engines received extensive reworking which, when combined with two turbochargers, upped output to 800hp, potentially maxing out at 206mph.
Depending on the sources, production numbers vary anywhere between 150 to 300 examples, making the Tojan very rare. Although many gearheads think it's just another Firebird, its one that's capable of beating every muscle car today.
3 Lamborghini Countach QV - 1980s Pin-Up Supercar
There was a time when every young gearhead would have had a poster of one of these on their wall, as the iconic Countach was very much the dream car of the '80s. Eventually updated to a more modern QV (Four Valves) spec in 1985, the most powerful Countach ever produced resulted in 449hp.
Compared to modern cars, the Countach remains a seriously quick car, with 60mph taking 4.2 seconds, and any gearhead brave enough will be able to top 183mph on a track.
2 Cizeta V16T - Lamborghini Look-ALike
Unashamedly bearing a close resemblance to Lamborghini's Diablo didn't help the Cizeta's sales with just 19 road-going examples completed. Aiming to produce a more outrageous supercar than Lamborghini is no mean feat, the Cizeta adopting the more is better philosophy by building a unique V16 engine.
Effectively possessing two Uracco engines that shared common crankshaft results in 6-liter, 64 valves, and 8 camshafts producing 547hp resulted in a claimed top speed over 200mph with a sprint to 60mph in just 4.5 seconds.
1 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake - Fastest And Greatest Cobra
Anything a modern muscle car can do, Shelby already did it that in the 1960s with custom Cobras being some of the fastest sports cars of all time. Standard Cobra 427s were already immensely powerful, packing 360hp V8 engines under the hood. Shelby managed to barely squeeze a supercharged version under the hood, which resulted in 800hp.
Nearing an incredible 800hp per ton is going to be quick, with 0 to 60mph taking a claimed 3.8 seconds, and was flat out capable of over 200mph. Only two examples were ever built, with one used by Carroll Shelby as a daily driver, and the other once owned briefly by Bill Cosby, who later returned the car for being too scary to drive.