Well, the definition of "muscle car" varies from time-to-time and is really hard to pin down.
They used to say, "a big block, hi-po motor in an intermediate car, such as the 1966 GTO." But, the times have changed, and so have the cars. Is the car's performance a part of the equation? I'd say so. That 1966 389 GTO is nothing special by today's standards, when you can go buy a soccer-mom V6 Camry FWD grocery-getter that will easily outrun a bone-stock Tri-Power '66 GTO in the quarter-mile (14.2@100 mph for the Camry, according to Motor Trend Dec. 2011.) I don't recall pure stock GTO's on street tires with factory gearing running over 100, nor quicker than 14.2 (not even DeLoreaan's bogus 421 "road test" cars...
But, the GTO was fast, in 1966. The 375hp Big Block Camaros were even faster, the following year... but, is a Camaro a "muscle car?"
The daddies of them all were the 1968 Darts and Barracudas, fitted with the competition version of the 426 Hemi... but, they were not an assembly-line car.
I think it would take a TEAM of Philadelphia lawyers to devise a list of qualifications that would make a meaningful group of "the 50 fastest muscle cars" possible. There are just too many variables.... cars like the '66-67 medium-riser 427 Fairlanes and '64 T-Bolts... and the '64 Stage III Max-Wedge cars (to say nothing of the '64 Hemis,) and a whole host of other cars that were really fast, but arguably, not necessarily "muscle cars," depending on the contest rules. How about C.O.P.O. 427-powered Camaros???
Then, there's the 350HP Chevy 327 small-block cars that were quick enough on the street, to dust a LOT of big block "muscle cars," in 1966. Are they "muscle cars"??? No big block... Hmmmmmmmmm......
It goes on and on... I guess, a pass time for people with a lot of time on their hands... LOL!
Fun to talk about, though...
