Ford’s third generation Mustang was by far the most popular muscle car of the 1980s. Arriving on the Fox body platform, Ford’s iconic muscle car achieved 2,608,812 sales between 1979 and 1993, despite being hated for most of the period for its small, nimble frame and its low-powered engine options. Somehow, the Fox Mustang body continues to increase in value.
As for 1980s muscle cars, the likes of Ford, Chevrolet, and Pontiac endured the entirety of the humiliating 1980s. Although the decade saw American muscle cars reduced to 150-hp shoeboxes, innovation was central to the Big Three as they sought to revive the reputation of their iconic muscle cars during the period. The world-class innovation led many 1980s muscle cars to embrace turbocharging and even accept a V6 engine configuration. But who wore it best?
10 1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo
Pontiac ended its legendary 6.6-liter V8 Trans Am model in 1979 due to tighter emissions regulations stifling the classic muscle car. What followed was an 18-month project that saw the GM team successfully turbocharge their 4.9-liter offering. As a result, the impressive Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo produced 210 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque; Pontiac’s innovation had ensured that the Trans Am maintained more than 200 hp at a time when the big V8s were being retired.
The Trans Am Turbo is one of the best muscle cars of the 1980s, as it showed what was possible for the American icon during the peak of the oil crisis. This vintage icon from a bygone era brought performance numbers back to the Pontiac lineup with the help of a Garrett TB0-305 turbocharger mated to a newly beefed-up 4.9-liter V8. As a result, the Turbo Trans Am outperformed the Camaro Z28 and Ford Mustang of the era, which came in at 190 hp and 131 hp, respectively.
9 1981 Yenko Camaro Turbo Z
Don Yenko used his mechanical prowess to show Chevrolet what they should have done with the iconic Camaro. Using a 1981 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, Don Yenko reworked its internals and bumped the base car from its measly 175hp to 220-250hp.
Yenko only built 19 Camaro Turbo Zs, three of which featured the “Stage II” package, making it the most desirable classic Camaro of the 1980s priced between $60,000 and $80,000.
Don Yenko’s Turbo Z was an ambitious project that involved strapping a water-cooled Turbo International turbocharger to the proper “upset” Camaro and letting the muscle car icon breathe. Additionally, the Camaro Turbo Z was the last vehicle that Don Yenko released through the Yenko Company, making it one of the most sought-after classic muscle cars of the 1980s.
8 1983 Dodge Shelby Charger
Dodge gave the world its monstrous 90-horsepower Charger in 1982 / With a 2.2-liter inline-four, the L-body car had an aesthetic appeal that many couldn’t resist. However, Carroll Shelby was the man who took the reins of the project and came up with the 80s classic, the Dodge Shelby Charger.
Some of the rarest Shelby Chargers are 1984 models equipped with a three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission. Only 1,955 customers opted for the automatic box, leading to its discontinuation after 1984.
The Shelby Chargers came with a T3 Garrett turbocharger. The tuning icon also installed stiffer MacPherson coil springs and a quick-rotating power steering system to enhance the iconic muscle car’s reputation. Working with the vehicle’s suspension and incorporating lightweight aluminum alloys, Shelby brought the little muscle car up to 142 hp and 168 lb-ft of torque. The Shelby Charger is another classic ’80s muscle car that blatantly highlighted the importance of forced induction. Today, prices for a Shelby Charger average $27,000.
7 1983 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, which arrived in 1983, coincided with legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt’s switch from Ford to Chevrolet. Chevrolet’s marketing team clearly had a field day, as the Monte Carlo SS sold 154,815 units between 1983 and 1988.
Aside from Dale’s track antics, what made the Monte Carlo SS special was the L69 block inside. Chevrolet’s 5.0-liter V8 produced 175 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque and skyrocketed the Monte Carlos’ reputation among ’80s greats like the Fox-body Mustang and C4 Corvette.
6 1985 Buick Riviera T-Type
Buick launched its personal luxury Riviera in S-Type form in 1979. In 1982, the car was renamed the T-Type due to its turbocharged nature. The Riviera appeared in GM’s E-FWD body, while seeking the power of the 3.8-liter turbocharged V6, with 185 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque at 2,400 rpm.
Buick built 29,060 Riviera T-Types between 1979 and 1985, including the initial S-Type models. The Riviera is an American icon in its own right, but the 1980s T-Type is one of the best muscle cars of that decade. Thanks to its unique FWD format and acceptance of a turbocharged V6, the Riviera set the tone for the Buick GNX, the most incredible muscle car of the 80s.
5 1985 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z
Chevrolet built the Camaro IROC-Z in 1985. The vehicle takes its name from the 1974 International Race Of Champions, and of course the Z comes from the Z28 performance variant, which serves as the basis for the IROC- Z.
Chevrolet powered the IROC-Z using a 5.0-liter V8 and included an optional TPI package from the Corvette. The Tuned Port Injected option took figures from 190 to 215 hp in the IROC-Z. A number that would eventually reach 230 hp when Chevrolet increased the block to 5.7 liters for the twilight years of the legendary muscle car.
Today, the Camaro IROC-Z costs an average of $24,156, exposing punters to an affordable ’80s classic that brings the Camaro muscle car back to life.
4 1987 Buick GNX
Buick’s reputation for reserved luxury was shattered in the 1980s by its hugely successful Regal model. In 1987, Buick commemorated the G-bodied Regal with the most iconic muscle car of the 1980s, the GNX, or Grand National Experimental. The project saw the input of McLaren UK and ASC (American Special Cars) while Buick powered its malaise monster with its familiar 3.8-liter turbocharged V6 producing around 276 hp and 360 lb-ft of torque. pair, on paper.
According to enthusiasts, the iconic GNX had actual power figures closer to 300 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, allowing it to do 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds. As a result, the GNX is more powerful than the 1987 Corvette C4! And more importantly, the fastest production car in the world for a brief period.
The GNX is one of the best muscle cars of the 80s; the vehicle was innovative, record-breaking and surprisingly sinister. Buick produced 547 GNX models for the 1987 production year, all with an exclusive black paint color, and today, a 1987 Buick GNX costs an average of $167,089.
3 1987 Ford Mustang 5.0
In 1979, Ford debuted the “Fox Platform” as they tried to cope with the current emissions regulations affecting the US market. Jack Telnack launched the third generation Mustang, now known as the ‘Fox body Mustang’, in 1979. The Fox body Mustang achieved over 2.6 million sales between 1979 and 1993, making it the muscle most popular car of the eighties.
In 1982, Ford fitted the Fox-body Mustang with a 4.9-liter V8 engine in the returning GT trim, later known as the Mustang 5.0. Ford had taken the icon’s limping 120 hp to 175 hp and 245 lb-ft of torque overnight, and keep in mind that the 1982 Mustang only weighed 3,070 pounds. Also, the Ford Mustang 5.0 returned a reasonable 0-62mph time of seven seconds. While the figures are deceptively flat by today’s standards, they were incredibly refreshing for the limping pony during the era as the Blue Oval resurrected its muscle car icon.
2 1987 Oldsmobile 442
Oldsmobile returned to the iconic 442 nameplate in 1985, with GM’s G-body platform providing a silhouette that epitomized today’s ’80s muscle car. The 442 returned for three model years between 1985 and 1987, and about 11,400 units rolled out of the Oldsmobile yards.
The returning 442 was a bodied muscle car full of luxury items from GM’s entry-level luxury brand. Buick had been innovative with its G-body Regal by adopting a turbocharged V6 setup. Instead, Oldsmobile drew on the past and stuffed the 442 with a high-performance 5.0-liter V8 that drank gas through a Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor. The result is an ’80s classic that produces 180 hp and 225 lb-ft of torque. A 1987 Oldsmobile 442 costs an average of $20,005 today.
1 1983 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe
Ford launched the ninth generation Thunderbird in 1983 and since then the model has become one of the best Ford muscle cars of the period. The top-of-the-line “Turbo Coupe” started with a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder producing 142 hp, which would increase to 190 hp in 1987 thanks to the introduction of an intercooler. Ford also equipped the Thunderbird with a five-speed manual transmission and a “Traction-Lok” system, essentially a limited-slip differential.
Ford produced 885,745 Thunderbird models between 1983 and 1989. While the Mustang was the most popular muscle car of the ’80s, its dance partner, the Thunderbird, had much more creative freedom, resulting in a stunning classic.
