[AyAn!]

That Cobra replica looks really neat! Is it a Kolkata car?!

[amit V8]

Originally Posted by AyAn!

That Cobra replica looks really neat! Is it a Kolkata car?!

no, its a Haryana regd. car.

[predatorwheelz]

Originally Posted by amit V8

what would you like to call them??
as for the cobra's concerned, isn't the replica good enough for a country like india??

Amit, allow me to clear out the concept of the American Muscle Car for the benefit of everyone. Muscle cars are a breed I take genuine interest in, so it pains me as much as Wasif to see the wrong type of cars quoted as "muscle" cars.

Please be patient and read through the post. Once the concept is understood, rest assured, all of us can meaningfully contribute to this thread and achieve the reason Indrojit started this thread.

The second world had ended in 1945, and established USA as a global superpower. Americans had plenty of disposable income, fuel was cheap, and vast tracts of roads were buing built. The abundance of space meant that vast land barges were built in the name of cars.

Naturally, in a land with no shortage of space, fuel or money, the requirement of power came naturally. Manufacturers started playing a game of oneupmanship, putting in large engines with abundant power into basic coupe bodies.

The brief was simple. No one wanted a car which had chassis, drivetrain and cosmetics to match the power. That would mean costly engineering and the final product costing as much as a supercar. The only thing needed was a huge, guzzler engine producing few hundred bhp, a sleek looking coupe to plonk it in, and Bob's your uncle.

As a result, the American muscle car had only one real USP - FEROCIOUS STRAIGHT LINE SPEED. It could not go around corners like a true supercar because it did not have the chassis, the cabin parts were all basic, and the brakes were bad enough to kill.

__________________________________________________ __________

Some people credit the 1949 Oldsmobile Super 88 as being the first muscle car. (see pic below). It came with a fearsome "Rocket V8" engine and won 6 out of 9 NASCAR races in its debut season.



To me, the first flagbearer muscle car was the 57 Chrysler 300C. Except the subtle tail fins (a nod to contemporary design) the rest of the car is pure subtle muscle. Truly a brilliant car, and thanks to Wasif, I came to know that an example does exist in India.

I'll detail 2 more cars. First is the 1964 Pontiac GTO. A fearsome V8 put into the pretty Pontiac Tempest coupe body, affectionately called the "Goat". A sales darling and true trumpet blower of the muscle car generation.



Second is the revolutionary Plymouth Road Runner. You must have heard of the "Hemi" engine. The name was given due to its hemispherical combustion chambers, which allowed more power to be produced (I'm keeping matters very simple here). The road runner also gave birth to the fearsome Plymouth Superbird, which ranks right at the top on the list of my supercar gods.



Other famous muscle cars include the AMC AMX, Ford Mustang Boss (perhaps the largest number of muscle cars you will find in India are mustangs), Chevrolet Chevelle SS and the Dodge Charger (Harit has 2 of them, so does a collector from Pune)



As I already said, what was common to all muscle cars was the presence of a fearsome engine, and a donor coupe body. The GTO came from the tempest, the Road Runner from the Belvedere, the Mustang Boss from the regular pony Mustang....and so on.

The decline of the muscle car was another story, dictated more by changing economic conditions and fuel shortage than by reasons automotive.

__________________________________________________ ___________

So you see, the cars you guys were highlighting were not technically muscle cars. Perhaps my effort in typing all this will help in sticking to the topic.

[NOS Power]

Great writeup predator and wasif. I think the basic concepts should be clear by now.

The Ford Fairlane that is in kolkata (i have seen it at the Statesman Vintage & Classic) that amit has posted is not at all a muscle car. It just has a V8 but not a powerful one to be called a muscle machine. It didnt even sound like one. Rather had a muted burble.

To give a modern day example (sorry anoraks, am not quite good with classics, still learning ), The Cadillac CTS sedan is equipped with a 304 hp V6 engine, which is by no means an underpowered car by any standards. But it is used (generally) for everyday driving rather than tarmac scorching. But things change when the 556 hp V8 engined CTS-V comes into the picture.

[AltoHoncho]

Check out this link:
Muscle car - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A laymen equivalent of a muscle car would be "Street legal drag car which has a powerful V and is affordable" finely differentiated than a Muscle RACE Car. The weblink contains an exhaustive list of Muscle Cars recognised by Elite Car forums.

[wasif]

Other hot favourites are the Buick Grand Sports, Olds 442, the Super Bee, the Cuda's, teh GTO, Tempest, Le mans to name a few.

[john a milne]

[quote=NOS Power;1521438]Great writeup predator and wasif. I think the basic concepts should be clear by now.

The Ford Fairlane that is in kolkata (i have seen it at the Statesman Vintage & Classic) that amit has posted is not at all a muscle car. It just has a V8 but not a powerful one to be called a muscle machine. It didnt even sound like one. Rather had a muted burble.

Great looking car, but with a Straight "6", not a lot of muscle!

[the mole]

What about a Chevy Malibu?

[wasif]

Originally Posted by the mole

What about a Chevy Malibu?

What about the Malibu apart from it being the favourite old lady car. all grandmoms are required to have one I guess !!!

[amit V8]

To all,

i read the article and understood the whole concept.
if it is possible, i would request the mods to delete the pictures as i find them now to be inappropriate.

[IndrojitSircar]

So it seems we are finally on the right track after a write up by many.So we are still waiting to see some more pictures with details of cars in india.Guys need your help to do this.

[IndrojitSircar]

I found these picture of the Chevrolet Chevelle SS on another thread i guess this would qualify.This car was seen in chandigarh

[agspins]

There used to be blue colored 70's Oldsmobile/Chevelle parked at apartment opposite my then residence at Middleton Street in Kolkata.any idea....

[harit]

My take on muscle cars to satisfy LOCAL requirements.
Unfortunately very few real muscle cars came to India, cost + lack of opportunity saw to that. Most cars came in as embassyconsulate cars, small chance of the bringing in muscle cars. But some did. Others came in on TR, companies imported cars, some journalists, NGO's etc. In the Indian psyche we were concerned about image and economy. So we brought 6 cylinder Mustangs, Mercs, Chevy's in huge numbers.
As mentioned before, if we go by Wikipedia definition, there will hardly be any real muscle cars. I suggest that we adapt to Indian conditions as follows:

Minimum requirement for "Indian Muscle Car" ( applicable for cars located in India, not built in India.
1) V-8 engine
2) 2-door, coupe or convertible
3) Pre 1972

These are only suggestions to accomodate some more cars like Chevelle etc., otherwise there is very little stock here. Ofcourse others will have their views. Like me:
Are chevy's SS Impala etc. muscle cars? If yes, how does that explain my 1965 SS Impala 2 door coupe with a 6 cylinder engine? It is original 6 cylinder, mentioned in the RC book.
Happy debating

Cheers harit

[IndrojitSircar]

That is indeed a great idea.Other could also please put their views forward to try and make this forum a bit more interactive.