Top 5 Fastest Muscle Cars of the 1960s

While this may be a short and quick ride, kinda like a muscle car, we are basing our list on the standards of drag racing… the elapsed time needed to go from 0 to 60.

On your mark, get set… GO!

Here are The Top 5 Fastest Muscle Cars of the 1960s

1. 1963 Shelby Cobra 260 – Elapsed Time: 4.5 Seconds

This car is light, agile and full of power. It holds our number one spot for the 1960s because it’s the undisputed king of speed in elapsed time.

Carroll Shelby’s vision came to fruition with great design and power to weight ratio, plus the handling with quite extraordinary to say the least.

The engine wasn’t too shabby either. It sported a 4.3 liter V-8 that pushed this little rocket with 269 ft-lbs of torque at 4,800 RPMs.

Although it’s listed in its specs at 5.5 seconds for 0 to 60, it more often than not hit the mid 4 second range in the real world and on many tracks across the globe.

It was also normal for it to break a 14-second quarter mile.

2. 1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO – 4.6 seconds

With a V-8 that pushed 348 hp at 4,900 RPMs and a monstrosity of torque measuring 428 ft-lbs, it was hard to keep control of this monster, to say the least. Although the car was a monster under the hood, it didn’t look like a typical muscle car.

It was actually somewhere between a family car and muscle car as far as appearance. Some looking very plain as far as classic cars. But make no mistake, it was a monster at heart.

3. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427 – 4.7 seconds

My dream car. I’ve only driven one back in the mid-1980s, but that short ride is permanently embedded in my heart forever.

A friend of mine had just bought it at a car show, had it shipped to his home, and it was absolutely stunning… and scary when you accelerated as fast as you could. I remember feeling the skin on my then young face having a hard time keeping up with my skull.

It was almost like some magic force was pulling my skin back as I grabbed one gear after another. That huge 427 was a lot of motor and a lot of torque to deal with. It made me feel like I was in the batmobile being pushed by superman. It’s one of the most memorable and sought after antique cars on the planet.

4. 1968 Dodge Charger 426 Hemi – 4.8 seconds

With 425 screaming horses under the hood, this bad boy was well known on the streets in the late ’60s and into the early ’70s. It pushed an incredible 490 pt lbs of torque, and you understood it’s power from the time you hit the gas pedal. It was not anything to attempt to gawk at either. Take too much time and it was gone. Not in 60 seconds, but less than 5 seconds to hit 60 MPH.

5. 1967 Ford GT40 Mark III – 5.1 seconds

With a 4.7 liter V-8 gracing the engine compartment, this car only pushed 329 ft-lbs of torque, but the look and feel of driving it made the ride much more exciting.

It comes in at number 5 on our list but looks and feels like the king of speed when in action from behind the wheel.

And there you have it, the fastest muscle cars in the 1960s.