MUSCLE CAR NAMES

01 Mercury Couga r

Mercury was merely Ford’s upmarket spin-off, but it captured the spirit of a space-seeking age. Meanwhile, many cars have found fame repurposing the name of a big cat, and ‘cougar’ has rather morphed in meaning since then, but hey, this was a more innocent time.

04 Plymouth Ba rra cud a

First name from a British seaside town, second name from a predatory fish that can swim at up to 27mph for short distances. Its motoring namesake was much less agile, and streamlined, but with up to 425bhp from its monstrous 7.0 V8, it was presumably faster.

07

Plymouth Roa d Runner Superb ird

The successor to the Dodge Charger Daytona, keeping the 19in nosecone and giant rear wing. The aero pack was designed for 200mph stability in ovalracing, and the added weight made the Superbird slower than the standard Road Runner over the quarter-mile.

02

Dod ge Cha llenger

The modern Hellcat and Demon have proudly continued Dodge’s tradition for gloriously evocative names on the back of grossly overpowered coupes. Choosing between Charger and Challenger is subjective, and you’llhave your own favourite.

05 Mercury Super Marauder

‘Marauder’ was the name given to Ford’s most powerfulline of V8 engines. The Super Marauder was the first mass-produced 400bhp engine in the USA, available in allof Mercury’s line-up. Later, the brooding name became a modelin its own right.

08 Oldsmobile Cutlass

Cutlass is doing the heavy lifting here – the Oldsmobile marque was surely the most geriatric name a marque ever bestowed on a car. ‘Cutlass’ has menace about it. However, Olds really one-upped itself with the name given to the short-lived turbo version: the Jetfire.

03 Pontia c Fireb ird

Debuting in 1967 and sharing its basic platform with the Chevy Camaro, the Firebird reached its zenith as The Bandit’s eagle-emblazoned Trans-Am in 1977. It just goes to show, even the more tasteless, kitsch and downright pony muscle cars can be redeemed with a coolname.

06

Ford Thunderbolt

Only 100 of these were ever built – 49 manuals and 51 autos – to homologate Ford’s NHRA Super Stock contender. Packing a mighty 7.0-litre V8 related to Ford’s contemporary NASCAR, the company claimed 425bhp but secretly, the V8 was putting out close to 600bhp...

09 Dodge Super Bee

This entry-levelDodge muscle car shared its ‘B-Body’ architecture with the Plymouth Road Runner, while the 1970 model’s distinctive front end was supposedly inspired by bumblebee wings. Despite being the baby of the range, you could stillspecify a 7.0-litre or 7.2-litre V8.