{"id":993,"date":"2017-04-21T04:33:05","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T08:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/motor-junkie.com\/?p=993"},"modified":"2023-11-14T04:19:04","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T09:19:04","slug":"top-five-rarest-american-muscle-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/top-five-rarest-american-muscle-cars\/993\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Five Rarest American Muscle Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>You don&rsquo;t see these every day&hellip;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Owning a muscle car is more than just a hobby. For many car enthusiasts, it&rsquo;s a way of life, and although the &lsquo;muscle car era&rsquo; is long behind us, millions across the globe still worship these powerful beasts.<\/p>\n<p>Among the all-time greats are the <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/25-facts-about-the-legendary-ford-mustang\/15488\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ford Mustang<\/a>, Plymouth Hemi Cuda, <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/the-legendary-pontiac-gto-the-car-that-started-it-all\/8313\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pontiac GTO<\/a>, Chevy Chevelle and so many others. Attempting to name all the greats in one sitting would literally consume an entire day.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-901\" src=\"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/0603phr_02_z1971_ford_torino_gt1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Popularity<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Owning a muscle car became a status symbol and, as the stars of the big screen also embraced them, these tarmac-crushing beasts became a global phenomenon. During the muscle car prime, widely considered as 1965-1970 ish, car sales boomed.<\/p>\n<p>Also during this era, before and beyond too, it&rsquo;s fair to say, a number of special editions were built in extremely limited production. Today we&rsquo;ll celebrate those <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/rare-power-these-classic-muscle-cars-could-make-you-a-millionaire\/60251\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ultra-rare muscle car classics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy the top five rarest American muscle cars ever produced!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-997\" src=\"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Plymouth-Hemi-Cuda-Convertible1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"625\"><\/p>\n<h2><strong>1970-1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible-Only 21 Produced<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Coming out at the tail end of the muscle car era, the Plymouth Hemi Cuda convertible is among the rarest of rare. The highly coveted <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/chryslers-legendary-hemi-v8-engine-full-history\/4937\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">426 Hemi<\/a> lump was up there with the greatest car engines ever produced, period.<\/p>\n<p>The 1971 Cuda came with a base model 340, with five options, but an upgrade of $250, a fortune at the time, would get you a 440ci. To get the beautiful 426 Hemi, customers would have to dig very deep and cough up $871 USD.<\/p>\n<p>Hence the reason only 21 were ever produced in the convertible edition, which itself was the rarest of an already seldom-seen car these days. To say these cars have held their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autoevolution.com\/news\/hemi-cuda-convertible-the-rare-muscle-car-thats-now-worth-more-than-a-bugatti-chiron-186919.html#:~:text=The%20rare%201970%2D1971%20Plymouth,rarest%20muscle%20cars%20ever%20built.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">value is a drastic understatement<\/a>, so keep them in good condition if you own or buy a Hemi Cuda Vert.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-999\" src=\"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/1970Chevelle454Black-frontleftsideviewphoto1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"699\" height=\"452\"><\/p>\n<h2><strong>1970 Chevelle 454 SS LS6-Only 20 Produced<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Pushing out 560HP, this ultra-rare Chevelle was the top of the line for the model. The base came with two options, the RPO225 or RPO215, which were 402 and 440ci respectively.<\/p>\n<p>To say this car is unseen is an obvious statement, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotcars.com\/1970-chevelle-ss-454-cost-today\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">they fetch ridiculous money<\/a> if you can find them for sale.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1001\" src=\"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/sc0516-243439_1@2x1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><\/p>\n<h2><strong>1971 Pontiac Judge GTO Vert-Only 17 Produced<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Brainchild of John DeLorean and inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO, the Pontiac Judge became rare by chance. Originally meant to produce 207 models, the factory line ground to a halt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hemmings.com\/stories\/2013\/11\/05\/one-of-17-1971-pontiac-gto-judge-convertible-sells-for-230000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">after just 17<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Why? Emissions standards are why; thus, we have the uber-rare 455ci 1971 Judge convertible.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1003\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1003\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1003\" src=\"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/1969-chevrolet-corvette-stingray-zl-1-c3-21.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"550\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1003\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ZL-1 (C3); top car design rating and specifications<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>1969 Corvette ZL-1-Only 3 Produced (Yes, 3!)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Taking the already incredible L88 to a whole new level, the ZL-1 held the record for most powerful production Corvettes until recent years. The aluminum block kicked out well over 500HP with the turbo 427ci add-on.<\/p>\n<p>Fancy buying one today? Get saving, because this animal is <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/30-muscle-cars-drivers-avoided-that-are-now-worth-millions\/39983\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">worth upwards of $1.4 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And finally&hellip;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com\/originals\/8a\/12\/5f\/8a125f49a1e92f38007db1aaeb8d93c8.jpg\"><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"secondary-title start\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>1967\/1970 Dodge Coronet R\/T 426 Hemi Convertible-Only 2 Produced<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>With two made in &rsquo;67 and two in &rsquo;70, the 487 Coronet road &amp; track had the most coveted engine, in the rare vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>Want to buy one of the four out there, either <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motortrend.com\/features\/1970-dodge-coronet-rt-hemi-convertible-restoration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">two from 1967 or 1970<\/a>? Don&rsquo;t think so!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You don&rsquo;t see these every day&hellip; Owning a muscle car is more than just a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":47357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cars","iab_keys-automobile-markets-of-germany","iab_keys-automobile-markets-of-japan","iab_keys-automobiles","iab_keys-automotive-equipment-manufacture-car-industry","iab_keys-car-parts-and-supplies","iab_keys-cross-country-vehicles","iab_keys-ford","iab_keys-motor-vehicles","iab_keys-motorcycles","iab_keys-road-transport","iab_keys-small-size-cars","iab_keys-sports-cars","iab_keys-test-drives","iab_keys-traffic-and-transport","iab_keys-vehicles"],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":993},"pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=993"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61269,"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993\/revisions\/61269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.motor-junkie.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}