Born in the USA: Five American muscle cars for under £20k

From the first tussle of muscle in the 1960s that brought us the Mustang, Camaro, Firebird and plenty more, muscle cars have defined how US performance machines have been designed, made and enjoyed ever since. 

With a budget of £20,000 or less, you can have your own slice of this American pie, and here are five of our favourites. 

 

Credit - Greg Gjerdingen via WikiCommons 

Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

Even without its slung-back coupe looks and that Burt Reynolds film franchise, the name ‘Firebird Trans Am’ just sounds fast. It helped that the Trans Am Series, or Trans American Championship as it was known by the time the Firebird first flew the nest in 1967, was already a motorsport institution across the US for production-based cars – Pontiac just took full advantage of the association. 

The first Firebird Trans Am arrived in 1967 as Pontiac pushed back against the wave of success of the Ford Mustang. These early cars are now making big bucks and outside of our £20,000 budget, but don’t lose faith because all the following generations can still be found for this sort of money or less. 

Go for the second-generation Trans Am and it’s all blue collar 1970s attitude, while the third-gen car adopted sharp angles and creases to meet the 1980s. In 1993, the fourth in the Trans Am line went all swoopy and makes for a remarkably refined and rapid modern classic at affordable prices. 

 

Credit – Classic Car Auctions 

Chevrolet Corvette

The Corvette is the definitive US sports car and has been pinning drivers into the back of their seats since 1953. Finding one of these early cars or a second-generation C2 version within our budget would mean taking on a restoration project, though the ’Vette’s glass fibre body means you’d have a fighting chance of rescuing even a rotten example. 

For our sort of money, the later C3 and C4 models offer rich pickings. The earlier C3 has all the shark-like looks you could wish for along with a Stateside swagger. Out of the eight generations of Corvette to date, the C3 was the longest-lived, running from 1968 to 1982, so there are plenty to choose from. For £20,000, you’ll be able to pick up a tidy example. 

Look to the later C4 with its smoothed-out lines and you have just as much choice, with the added appeal of a 1980s digital dash to keep tabs on speed and engine health. 

Credit - Daimler Chrysler UK Ltd 

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

You will spend a lot of time explaining to passers-by that it’s not a Bentley, but it’s worth it to own this hunk of four-door brawn. Most of the SRT-8 is much the same as the other 300C saloons made from 2004 to 2010, which were sold with right-hand drive in the UK, but the SRT hides a punchy secret under the bonnet. 

Put your foot down and you quickly understand why SRT stands for Street and Race Technology as the 6.1-litre V8 gets into its stride. With 425bhp on tap, it barges the 300C from 0-60mph in 4.9 seconds and will carry on to 168mph. It will also knock out quarter mile drag times in the 13-second bracket, so this is no slouch even if it can carry you and the family in complete luxury. 

The 300C SRT-8 can handle UK roads way better than its muscle car forefathers thanks to well sorted and lowered suspension, and uprated brakes to bring the 1965kg machine to a halt. Better still, you can have the SRT-8 as an estate, or station wagon in US parlance, and you can bag these pacey Chryslers from around £14,000 to stay well within our notional budget. 

 

Credit - Stellantis North America

Dodge Ram

A different kind of muscle to hustle your kit comes in the shape of the Dodge Ram pick-up. There’s a surprising number available in the UK, helped by excellent reliability and plenty being left behind by US soldiers based in the UK. For our budget, you’ll be looking at second and third generation cars, and we’d err towards the latter for its beefy looks. 

You won’t find the pleasingly unhinged SRT-10 within our budget as this 8.3-litre Viper V10-powered hauler is as collectible as it is swift. Don’t despair, though, as £13,000 will bag you a very clean top of the line Laramie model with a 345bhp 5.7-litre V8 motor. Given the Ram’s size and weight, it needs 8.6 seconds to get from 0-60mph, but the Hemi V8 sounds glorious. Just don’t look at the fuel gauge when you do this… 

In Laramie trim, you get leather seats, climate control, power adjustment for the driver’s seat, and huge chrome alloy wheels. If that doesn’t satisfy your inner cowboy rancher fantasies, the Ram makes a case as a practical family muscle machine in crew cab form and the pick-up bed is enormous. It will also happily cruise past 200,000 miles before it needs any major mechanical attention. 

 

Credit - Classic Car Auctions 

Ford Mustang

Ford has stuck with the Mustang through the hard times and the good. This means there are loads to choose from, including the original first-generation models built from 1964 to 1969. It may have been beaten out of the blocks by the Plymouth Barracuda by a mere two weeks, but Ford’s Mustang was the one everyone wanted. It notched up one million sales within two years of its launch and is Ford’s fifth best-selling model name in the history of the company. 

One look at a first-generation Mustang tells you why buyers were queuing up to drive the original Pony Car. It had the whole package, from looks to performance, and you could choose from fastback, notchback, or convertible body styles. Which you buy is down to personal taste, though the fastback coupe remains in high demand thanks to its association with Steve McQueen and the Bullitt film. Just forget trying to bag a genuine GT 390 like the one driven with gusto by McQueen in the film, as our budget won’t stretch that far. 

Look instead at the straight-six models and those with the 289cu in (4.7-litre) and 302cu in (4.9-litre) V8s. All are easy to look after and offer anything from acceptable to excessive performance, plus there is an entire industry devoted to tuning, upgrading, and restoring Mustangs of this age so you never have to worry about tracking down illusive parts. 

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What's your favourite American muscle car? Let us know in the comments below.