As technology has grown we've seen massive upgrades in the way that cars are made. The fit and finish are dramatically improved. What used to be a world of physical triggers finalizing in combustion is now a vehicle that requires a group of computers to run properly. However, more complex modern cars and drivetrains are more powerful, more predictable, and usually more reliable.
Still, it's tough to get over the gorgeous cars of yesteryear in terms of overall beauty. Some owners have the best of both worlds. They've married old-school looks to new-school tech and power. Let's take a look at 15 of the best out there today.
15 Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
The Bel Air is one of the all-time greats. It showed that you could have four proper seats or even doors and still go fast. This one is particularly fast though. It sits on a custom modern chassis built by Art Morrison and houses a monster LS3 Corvette motor under the hood.
14 Spared No Expense
The wheels alone might give this car away but what really does it is the paint. Those colors and those lines are unique to this beast. Modernizing an old Challenger means a lot of hard work to improve it in every way possible and this one has been picked over with a fine-tooth comb.
13 A Judge In White
Some people have a real dedication to a particular car or platform and that's what we see here. The GTO Judge was a real threat to so many muscle cars of its day. This owner has taken his Judge to the next level though. Focusing its abilities and making it a drag racing machine.
12 New Parts & New Paint
This home-made modern Mustang-killer was stripped down to the metal and built up into this. The wide-body was custom-made for it and the motor has been stroked to 392cid. It makes more than 420 horsepower and sends it through a 5-speed manual. Yes please.
11 R For Righteous
Perhaps this is a bit of overkill but this creation from the Ring Brothers shows what can be done when you put your mind to it. Clearly this Camaro looks nothing like a stock car but it doesn't go like one either. It packs nearly 900 horsepower under that hood.
10 SuperVette
Art Morrison is someone you should absolutely be looking up if you've never heard of him. He is a huge name in resto-mod creations and has continually set the bar higher. He builds custom chassis that modernize the handling capabilities of older cars like this Corvette. They're everything great about this automotive niche.
9 Sleek
I'm not usually a guy who likes a super low car but this old Cadillac is brilliant. It's low but take another look at the hood. That cowl hood scoop is unique and striking. It makes this whole car look better and adds a brilliant design line to the back of the car.
8 Not Small Turbo
It's pretty rare to see a turbocharger this big. A compressor housing the size of a small tire means a tower of power as this thing tears down the track. Thankfully it seems he's got all the rubber he needs to lay down that power too.
7 Subtle But Special
Dodge clearly hit a home run when they built the Charger. There's a reason it's so well-received today. This owner has made his own modifications but left them subtle. The fat rear tire makes it clear how much horsepower this thing must house though.
6 GS Tribute
The Grand Sport Corvettes were built in very limited supply but that hasn't stopped modern interpretations of those classic cars. This one is clearly up to no good since we can see the racing slicks on all four tires.
5 Hallmark
The Ford Thunderbird gets very little attention these days it seems, and so I'm proud to show this example off. Look at how appropriate those wheels are. The size and the chrome only compliment an already stunning car. A little more power than stock under the hood doesn't hurt either.
4 Green With Envy
Electric green is such a brilliant color on an old car. It stands out even when it's not moving. The off-center striping looks terrific too. Even better are the color-matched wheels that go a step further than the other cars we're seeing here.
3 Parkwood
That's right. We are featuring a wagon again. The Chevy Parkwood was a cool old wagon but this one is far cooler than original. While it's nice to seat 9 passengers, this one shuttles them in modern comfort and speed. It features an LS1 Corvette engine, modern interior, and brakes as well as air suspension.
2 New Javelin
In case you were unaware, this is an AMC Javelin. Originally these muscle cars could be optioned with an engine producing a little over 300 horsepower. This owner has gone to the trouble of updating everything, not just the engine. That engine though, it's stout. It makes 1100 horsepower now.
1 Demon Dart
Not to be outdone. This owner took what is a far more rare car, the original Demon is Dodge's history and freshened it up. He dropped a modern 6.1-liter HEMI V8 into the engine bay good for nearly 500 horsepower without any real strain or reliability issues. A match made in hell.