'Muscle Car' or 'Sports car'

[Docker]

Originally Posted by rontammy0

The inline 6 camaro was never ever considered a muscle car. The heritage doesn't designate wether it's a muscle car car of not. You dont see 6 cylinder equipped cars back in the day on the list of muscle cars. We are talking many years ago but still. You reached muscle car statues based on the options of a specific car. A mustang was a pony car until it came with a 390 motor...then it was considered a muscle car. So displacement has a large impact on a car's designation.

V6 equipped muscle cars aren't as powerful as their V8 equipped counterparts but they are still muscle cars. there is no true definition stating that's it has to have V8. The Camaro was built during the the start of the muscle car era so Chevy could cash in on the Mustangs wave, it's not like today where V8's are rare, just about everything in the 60's had an optional V8.

The GNX is considered muscle car and it's a turbo 6, the Mustang SVO is considered muscle car and its 4cyl. The key here is performance not displacement.

If that's not your definition...all good bro...The V8 is just the most popular configuration.

[Kenny Camaro]

So the Z28 is not a sports car? Didn't it set some kind of 'class' record at the Nurbegring?

[Kenny Camaro]

What about the flat six in the 911 and its 10 or so variations? Sports or muscle or both?

[TangoMike]

All muscle cars are sports cars. Not all sports car are muscle cars.
In the same way rock crawlers are off road vehicles, but not all off road vehicles are rock crawlers.

I say a sports car is built for performance/competition. To go fast in general, to drift, rally, drag race, stock car racing. Muscle cars are just a sub category. American built vehicles, higher horsepower, etc. They do completely different things than, say a Subaru suited for a rally race.

[HDRDTD]

Are we really going to revive this old debate yet again?

[Kenny Camaro]

Originally Posted by HDRDTD

Are we really going to revive this old debate yet again?

Looks like it

[Docker]

Impala SS's weren't even considered to be muscle cars in those days, because everything including your grandmas 1962 Dodge Dart had a 5.2 V8 under the hood.

Originally Posted by Kenny Camaro

So the Z28 is not a sports car? Didn't it set some kind of 'class' record at the Nurbegring?

Sports cars are exclusively two seaters from what I gathered.

Originally Posted by Kenny Camaro

What about the flat six in the 911 and its 10 or so variations? Sports or muscle or both?

911's aren't American so they can't be considered muscle cars. Also they corner like no ones business.

[KJS]

Well, maybe....

[gajagfan]

Originally Posted by Docker

Impala SS's weren't even considered to be muscle cars in those days, because everything including your grandmas 1962 Dodge Dart had a 5.2 V8 under the hood.



Sports cars are exclusively two seaters from what I gathered.



911's aren't American so they can't be considered muscle cars. Also they corner like no ones business.

The don't corner any better than a Z/28. This is why I have trouble lumping all Camaros into one category or the other.

[NC_SS]

It's a pony car

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by Docker

V6 equipped muscle cars aren't as powerful as their V8 equipped counterparts but they are still muscle cars. there is no true definition stating that's it has to have V8. The Camaro was built during the the start of the muscle car era so Chevy could cash in on the Mustangs wave, it's not like today where V8's are rare, just about everything in the 60's had an optional V8.

The GNX is considered muscle car and it's a turbo 6, the Mustang SVO is considered muscle car and its 4cyl. The key here is performance not displacement.

If that's not your definition...all good bro...The V8 is just the most popular configuration.

As a dyed in the wool Buick guy (Chevies are cute and all, especially those adorable little 7 liter engines) I need to say:

GN and GNX are called muscle cars because as a group we are so unimaginative that we never figured out a unique name for them. As a parallel, was a factory turbocharged Corvair Corsa a muscle car?

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by Docker

This is the first camaro ever made. Look what's under the hood bro.





The Chevy inline six.

Yes, when the camaro was released it got the V8 option. But the V8, like today is an additional option.

You are picking nits there...
When the Camaro was made available to purchase both 6 and V8 models were available... Your post insinuated that they were inly svailible as 6 cylinders until people demanded more power which was not true.

[Welker2]

Originally Posted by GMfan454

Not trying to be jerk. But if you were really old school, you would know that they are pony cars. They are not and have never been muscle cars. People who don't know their car history typically call them muscle cars.

No offense taken. You are right; as a model in general, the Camaro, Mustang and a few others were/are known as pony cars. However, as I have heard & learned since being a teen and through the years, those which had/have high performance packages and V8s were/are also referred to as muscle cars. Maybe the difference is in where we grow up & live

[Kenny Camaro]

Originally Posted by Docker

Impala SS's weren't even considered to be muscle cars in those days, because everything including your grandmas 1962 Dodge Dart had a 5.2 V8 under the hood.



Sports cars are exclusively two seaters from what I gathered.



911's aren't American so they can't be considered muscle cars. Also they corner like no ones business.

Let off the gas in one of those corners and it will spin out like nobodies business also. You can take the seat out or just fold down the back of the seat. I remember something about the Z28 setting some kind of class record at Nerbugring.With over 100 corners , it must have some kind of ability to turn unlike the givin definition of a muscle car having only straight line speed.