Most sports cars today fall under the $50,000-200,000 price range, though some can go as cheap as $30,000 as well. The range fits almost all budgets, needs, and choices, and you can go hypercar high as well if you have that kind of moolah.
That said; if you thought to skip a sports car and buy a classic muscle car instead, your pockets better be deeper if these are the models on your bucket list.
These rare classic muscle cars are unbelievably expensive today and aren't the kind of cars that anyone with a limited or even set budget can buy. These classic muscle cars were the best of the best in their heydays and their power and beauty are still very much vaunted even now. All these cars hold a special place in the American automotive industry and their game-changing ways make them expensive buys.
We list 10 classic muscle cars that are way more expensive than modern sports cars, and why…
10 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible: Worth Millions
The Plymouth Barracuda was the first muscle car on the scene, preceding the Ford Mustang by a few days. While the Barracuda was an amazing car, its when they stuck a 7.0-liter Hemi V8 into it and called it the Hemi ‘Cuda that people sat up and fawned.
The Hemi ‘Cuda convertible was available for only the 1970 and 1971 models, priced $900 over a Barracuda. Only 600 Hemi ‘Cuda coupes were made and only 17 were convertibles. With such rarity, its no wonder a Hemi ‘Cuda convertible can cost anywhere between $2-4 million…
9 Shelby Mustang GT500 Super Snake: The Only One
Only one of these was made as a prototype with the Le-Mans winning GT 40 engine, special Good Year Thunderbolt tires, as well as a majorly upgraded transmission and suspension. The idea behind this was to show what a Mustang could truly do.
Only, at about $8,000, this was way too expensive to be a success in 1967, even though many more models based on its were made later. This single example of a muscle car that jetted 600 horses in the ‘60s sold for $1.3 million.
8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1: Worth Seven Figures
In the ‘60s, Chevy put a corporate ban on racing. So in 1969, they snuck in a secret drag-racing special called the COPO Camaro Zl1 that ran on the acclaimed aluminum Zl1 7.0-liter V8 engine, and only 69 of these ever came out. It soon became one of the bests from Chevy stable of muscle cars.
The COPO Camaros don’t look different than the usual Camaros of the time unless you pop the hood or rev the engine. This car was unbeatable, jetting an easy 500 horses, and will cost you around $1 million each to buy.
7 Ford Mustang Boss 429: Perfect NASCAR power
The Boss 429 was developed with a special NASCAR engine, to better compete with the Chevys of the time in 1969. The Ford 385 was worked upon for a 7.0-liter hemispherical “Boss-Twisted” wonder than was rated at 375 horses and 450 ft-lb of torque.
Only 1,359 of these were made so while they are not the rarest of the lot, these cars do demand six figures when sold, and in 2007, one of these sold for $605,000 in a Barrett-Jackson auction. Quality does not come cheap.
6 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6: Popular + Powerful
The Chevy Chevelle was a cool car, and when it came in its 7.4-liter SS avatar, it was unbeatable. But lying amidst the 454 SS LS5s, there were 3,700 very special Chevelles. These came with the LS6 engine that had the same displacement but a racing compression of 11.25:1.
The carburetor was also bigger and a lot of the engine’s insides had been upgraded. On paper, these extra special Chevelles made 450 horses but many say, they jetted well above 500. Probably why you need to spend more than $1.2 million for these.
5 Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible: The Last Of The Era
The start of the ‘70s brought about an end of the muscle/pony car. While the impending oil embargo hadn’t hit yet, emission control loomed large over gas-guzzling muscle cars. One of the last of these was the Pontiac GTO Judge.
Brought out in 1971, the GTO Judge came with a crazy 7.4-liter V8 and some 17 of these were ragtop convertibles. One of these sold for $230,000 and that’s way more than even a Corvette of now. The limited number and that insane power make them an expensive collectible.
4 Plymouth Superbird Hemi: A Step Above The Roadrunner
The Plymouth Superbird, a buildup over and above the acclaimed Plymouth Roadrunner remains one of the most recognizable racing-specialized muscle cars of its time. Since Plymouth wanted to race this in NASCAR, they had to build 2,000 of these for road use to get the needed homologation.
While they never did well on the road, these aerodynamic wonders decimated race tracks. Over 1,000 of these still exist but only 35 were fitted with the 7.0-liter Hemi, each of them costing a cool million for anyone wanting to own one.
3 Dodge Charger Hemi R/T: A Hemi-Charger? Yes, Please
In the late ‘60s, the coke-bottle styled Dodge Charge wowed fans. The muscular body, as well as the recessed rear glass, made people queue up for it, especially since they introduced the top trim, the R/T with a 7.0-liter Hemi V8.
Only 475 of these were built and obviously, not all have survived down the years, making it one of the rarer and cooler collectibles from the past. One of these sold for $220,000, making it a classic car far more expensive than the new sports cars of today.
2 Buick GSX: A Rare Wonder
1970 was a cool year for muscle cars, and many a great one came out then, probably because the end was nigh. The Buick GSX was one of the watersheds, although since it did not look as flashy as its counterparts, its often shadowed by the rest.
However, only 678 of these were made, and at 510 ft-lb of torque, it remained the most powerful of all American muscle and performance cars for 33 years before being unseated by the Dodge Viper. Today, prices are $150,000 onwards and are still rising.
1 Yenko Camaro 427: Finely Tuned To A Tee
Much like the COPO Camaros that Chevy tuned itself, one major Chevy distributor, Don Yenko also did the same. So he took the Camaro SS and converted them in Yenko Camaros by dropping in a 7.0-liter V8 in them, the same LS7 that went into Corvettes.
Further fine-tuning went into them to create a total of 450 horses, officially rated, though many claim the Yenko Camaros went an easy 500 horses. Since not many of these were made, prices remain high, beginning a cool $300,000 and rising.